When I’m not writing a post, I am often working to keep my neighborhood a great place to live.  Good schools, safe streets, non-invasive businesses, and minimal traffic are all important.

The problem with traffic is that there really aren’t that many good options.  Stop signs and speed bumps slow people down, but that also means increased noise from cars speeding up and slowing down.  You really can’t win…. UNTIL NOW.

Enjoy the following clip about how to slow down neighborhood traffic and be sure to let me know when you implement this creative solution in your own city!

A friend of mine alerted me to a radio article by NPR about how some new cars are cheaper than used cars.  I’m always up for a good debate, so let’s have some fun and debunk the claim that “Some New Vehicles Selling For Less Than Used Ones.”

Claim #1: “Some new cars are actually cheaper than used…”

• Truth Meter: Low
• Comment: This is true only under certain conditions. As a used car buyer, you CAN always pay more than a new car but you would only do this if you got tricked into paying too much!
• Reality: Used cars are still much cheaper than new cars. The idea that new car prices are plummeting and therefore making used cars relatively more expensive makes little sense. Car pricing is partly based on the price of similar alternatives. Therefore, if new cars prices come down, used car prices follow suit.

Claim #2: “Honda Civic Hybrid” is an example of a car where the new car is cheaper.

• Truth Meter: Even Lower
• Comment: A new Honda Civic Hybrid will cost you about $21,000 plus tax, title, and license. This is more than $3,000 less than the suggested retail price. However, I just used Carsala to do a price check, and I can buy a 2007 or 2008 for $17K (19% cheaper). Even better, I found the following ad on AutoTrader. It’s a Certified Pre-owned (CPO) car and the asking price is $1,000 less than the new car price. CPO means the warranty will be extended by one year and 12,000 miles so it has the same warranty as a new car.

Claim #3: Used cars are getting more expensive because if you’re “not producing as many new cars, then you’re not producing as many used cars.”

• Truth Meter: Very Shaky Grounds
• Comment: The statement if taken entirely literally is true. However, the used cars you want to buy now are two years old (see here for why), and the current decrease in car production will have minimal effect on the used car market. How many people are in the market to specifically buy a used car that is only three months old? Hogwash.

Claim #4: To buy a new car you will have to do some “serious research”, “shop well for financing rates”, and shop for “deals in your area.”

• Truth Meter: Finally something true!
• Comment: Buying a new car is a colossal pain. For me, it ranks with getting ALL my teeth pulled – without a painkiller. Read my past post about The Top 10 Things a Dealer Absolutely Won’t Tell You in case you need to be reminded about what car dealers will do and say to make as much money as possible from you.
• Reality: Buying a used car is much easier. With Carsala, all you need to do is (1) choose the car, model year, features and colors that you prefer, then (2) let Carsala find your cars and negotiate a price of up to 25% off Blue Book, then (3) inspect and drive the car in person, with the option of buying at the Carsala price. It doesn’t get much easier than this…

Walk into a new car dealer and your heart is pumping and thumping.  Adrenaline rushes through your body as you see the beautiful car on the showroom floor that has every feature you want and is in your favorite color!  What should you do now???  Turn around, and walk out because you’re about to waste more than $10,000 on a new car – as if it were a 50 cent piece of candy at the corner store when you were 10 years old.  If you don’t have the courage to walk out, then read my Top 10 Reasons To Buy a Used Car to boost your confidence and help you to understand why buying a used is always in your best interests.

1. Car Dealers Are Hurting

• If you haven’t been following the news, car dealers are having a hard time selling new cars. However, cars manufactures can adjust to this change by producing fewer cars. The problem lies in the used car market. People are turning in their leased cars and not buying them back partly because dealers set the buy-back prices too high and partly because people leased more car than they could afford. You can take advantage of this trend by buying a used car at an incredible discount.

2. Certified Pre-Owned Programs

• Imagine this: you buy a two year old used car in perfect condition with 24,000 miles for $10,000 less than a new car and the warranty is extended from 3 years/36,000 miles to 4 years/48,000 miles. Sound too good to be true? It’s not – you just need to read a little more about Certified Pre-Owned cars to understand why they are an amazing deal.

3. Price

• New Cars are expensive and contrary to what a dealer might tell you, they are NOT a good investment. Tax, title, license and depreciation over the first two years on a $25,000 new car will cost you from $10,000 to $15,000. Ouch! When you buy a used car, you avoid steep depreciation and high taxes on an inflated price. Buying the same $25,000 car, but one that is two years old, will cost you about $11,000 less than its new counterpart. Thinking differently, the cost of owning a new car for two years could even buy you a very nice used car!

4. Used Car History Transparency

• Twenty years ago, we had to believe some stranger about the reliability of a used car. Today, services like CARFAX provide us with complete information about a car’s service, accident, or lemon history. We no longer have to worry about a used car’s history!

5. It’s Environmentally Friendly

• A Toyota Prius is a great car to own if you want to save on gas. However, it takes the equivalent of 1,000 gallons of gas to make a new Prius. When you buy a used car, you aren’t putting another car on the road. Instead, you are trading the energy it took to make your old car, with energy it took to make the used car you just purchased.

6. Depreciation

• Cars depreciate the most during their first two years. By my estimate, a typical new car will depreciate about 40% over the first two years. However, don’t take my word for it. Check out Car.com’s great residual value tool and see how much that new car you are considering will depreciate in two years.

7. More for Less

• Are you thinking about buying a Honda Accord, but really want the Acura TL? Maybe a Ford Taurus is on the top of your new car list, but you really want be seen in a Jaguar X-Type? The great news for you is that you get A LOT more car for less money when you choose to buy a used car.  Check it out for yourself with Carsala’s online price quoting tool.

8. Low Insurance Rates

• Insurance rates are partially based on a car’s value and that car’s safety features. When you an equivalent used car, your comprehensive and collision coverage is lower. If you choose to upgrade your car type when you buy used, there may be other insurance discounts for safety features such as a better anti-theft security system, stability control, or VIN etched windows.

9. Used Cars Have Never Been More Reliable

• I’m not saying that every car on the road is reliable. However, modern cars are incredibly reliable and with cheap services like Consumer Reports, we have easy access to information about the reliability of used cars.

10. You Can Use Carsala

• Buying a used car is suddenly easy. Choose the car, model year, features, and colors you prefer and then let Carsala find the car and negotiate the price for you. They will save you up to 25% off of Kelley Blue Book and you still get to inspect and drive the car before deciding to buy it. The car industry is filled with schemes to trick you into paying too much for a car. Carsala is different because what you pay for their service is based on how much you save, not how much you spend like every other car buying service.

Do you think I missed something?  Let me know by leaving a comment!

You have been looking for a nice car in your price range for a month and your heart starts to beat a little faster as you walk up to a shining used car that is in perfect condition!  Or is it in perfect condition?  Inspections are tricky and if you think intuition will guide you to a good car, you’re wrong.

First of all, there is no replacement for having a mechanic look at a car before you buy it.  Make sure somebody has put the car up on a lift, checked out all the mechanicals, and given you a full report on the cars problems (or not).  Mechanics will be able to find leaks, wear, and problems that aren’t visible to an untrained eye looking down at an engine with the hood up.

Now that the mechanic has done his or her job, it’s time for you to do your own inspection and make the final decision.  After all, it’s your own money.  Bring a small magnet,a rag or box of tissues (to clean your hands), and a print out of this blog so that you won’t forget about the insider tricks that will help you make sure you’re getting a quality car!

A. Rust

• Rust is cancer so finding it is important.
• TRICK 1: Magnets will not stick to car body fillers, so use your small magnet to check panels, wheel wells, fenders and door for rust and body damage.

B. Body

• TRICK 2: The factory alignment of exterior car panels is extremely precise. Look at the gaps between panels, doors, hood, and trunk. If the gaps are not even, this could be a sign of major damage.

C. Paint

• A new paint job is a sign of past distress for a car.
• TRICK 3: Open the hood and look for overspray in the engine compartment. Also, lift the molding edge on windshield at the paint line to check for repainting.

D. Tail Pipe

• TRICK 4: Check the deposits in the inside of the tail pipe with your finger. If it’s white or gray, everything should be okay. Black and sooty may mean a tune-up is needed. Black and gummy means something is wrong and the car is burning too much oil!

E. Oil

• TRICK 5: Oil that is murky brown, gray, or bubbly has water in it and is a sign of a cracked engine block.
• TRICK 6: Feel the oil with your fingers. Grit or gum means the oil hasn’t been changed often enough.

F. Doors

• TRICK 7: Open and close the doors without slamming them. If they hit and bounce or just don’t close easily, this could be a sign of major damage.

G. Trunk

• TRICK 8: Lift up the mat in the trunk and look for signs of rust while you are checking out the spare tire.

H. Hitch

• TRICK 9: Check for signs of a hitch being attached the car. Towing can be ruinous to an engine and transmission.

I. Tires

• TRICK 10: Look at tires for even tread wear. Uneven tread wear could be a sign of major damage.
• TRICK 11: Make sure all four tires are the same tire. If tires are rotated frequently, properly inflated, and there is no damage to the car, all four tires will always be replaced at the same time.

J. Shocks

• Check to see if any of the shocks are leaking.
• TRICK 12: If you bounce the car five times, it should only bounce once after you stop.

K. Seats

• Sit in every seat and make sure they aren’t lumpy. Look for tears, damage, and that they don’t move when they are locked in position.

L. Floor Mats

• TRICK 13: Look under all the mats for signs of rust.

M. Pedals, Armrest

• TRICK 14: Check to make sure the wear on the pedals and the driver’s side armrest look appropriate for the mileage on the car.

N. Smell

• If the car is has a very strong deodorant, it may be covering up a musty smell that resulted from water damage, leaks, or something worse.

O. Instrument Panel

• Make sure everything works – radio, heater, AC, clock, horn, etc.
• TRICK 15: When you turn the car on, make sure ALL the lights on the dashboard light up. Lights that don’t work could be burnt out (usually not easily replaceable) or could have been disconnected to hide a problem.

P. Lights

• Check to make sure all lights work (brake, turn, reverse, headlights, interior, etc)
• TRICK 16: Make sure the signals self-cancel after turning.

Q. Windows

• Check that all windows operate smoothly and don’t make any unexpected noises.

R. Glass

• Check for broken or cracked glass.

S. Transmission Fluid

• TRICK 17: Low fluid means a leak, brown means no maintenance has been done on the transmission, a burnt smell means the transmission has a lot of wear, pieces of metal in the fluid means the gears are being ground off.

T. Engine

• Check for leaks.
• TRICK 18: Steam cleaning and engine is a way to hide leaks. Make sure the car has been driven enough after the cleaning so that leaks can still be identified.
• TRICK 19: Squeeze water hoses to make sure the soft and flexible as compared to hardened and cracked.
• TRICK 20: Make sure there isn’t too much play in the fan blade which can mean the water pump drive shaft may fail soon.

U. Belts

• Check for frayed, cracked, and loose belts.

V. Steering

• TRICK 21: Look out the window at the wheel when you are turning the steering wheel. If it doesn’t turn in the first two inches of steering wheel movement, there may be major suspension problems.
• With a power steering car, turn and lock the wheel in both directions. There should be no screeches or bouncing.

W. Exhaust

• TRICK 22: While you’re driving, check the exhaust. Blue smoke means excessive oil burning, black smoke means it may need a tune-up, white smoke on startup is just water in the exhaust line, and white smoke while driving means there is water in the cylinders.

X. Brakes

• TRICK 23: Make sure there is at least two inches between the pedal and the floor when the brake is fully applied.
• TRICK 24: Brake suddenly when driving and listen for screeches. A car that pulls or dips to one side means brake or potentially costly suspension problems.

Y. Leaks

• TRICK 25: Drive the car through a car wash to check for water leaks.

Z. Underneath

• If you really want to picky, TELL the salesperson to put the car up on a lift for you to take a look. Look for engine leaks, transmission leaks, brake line leaks, shock absorber leaks, accident damage or repair, frame welds, and rust.

Thanks to Massey for writing an excellent and well hidden article titled “Inspecting Your Purchase – Six Ways to Identify a Lemon” which has a lot of great information about inspecting cars.  Also, if you think I have missed something in this list or want to discuss the inspection process then please leave a comment!  Thanks!