Cheap Used Cars

We all have heard the old story about how driving a new car off the lot will cause the car to loose 2/3rds of its value instantly. Everyone knows this, but people still buy used cars constantly. If people understood that depreciation will actually cost you more over the life of the car than the gas will, people might behave differently.

Let me tell you a story. I drive a 1990 Honda Accord with over 200,000 miles on it. It cost me $1700 six years ago when I bought it, and I've been driving it ever since. It fuel efficient, is big enough for most of my needs, and as been generally reliable all things considered.

Of course, I've had to put in a few repairs here and there. I've installed a new alternator, replaced brake pads, and swapped out old leaky coolant hoses. On the whole, though, I've probably put only $800 into the car over the years (not including gas, of course).

My insurance is cheap. Since the car is so old, I don't need comprehensive and collision insurance, which save me a lot on my monthly premiums. On the whole, this car is amazingly cheap. Is it sexy? Heck no, but it does it job while letting me spend my money on more important things.

Let's think about what a new car would cost to get us the same point A to point B functionality. Say you spend $20,000 or so on a new Accord. Already, you've spent over ten times the cost of my car. Add more to that if you didn't pay in cash, and took out a loan.

You're going to need insurance. Since you just bought a shiny new car, you'll need both comprehensive and collision insurance, which can be high, especially for younger drivers in newer cars.

This car will still need money for maintenance. All this time, the car will be loosing significant amounts of its value. Is this really the best way to be spending your money?

Buying used will allow you to save a lot of money on the expense of owning a car. Imagine how much more free your monthly budget would be in the absence of expensive car payments and high insurance premiums. Buying a cheap used car buys you financial freedom.

Looking at buying a used car online, but aren't sure where to look? The Internet is a big place, and has numerous resources for used car buyers, but you need to know where to look to find the best deals.

First of all, you can find used car listings on your local newspapers website. These are nice, because they are all typically sellers in your local area which makes it easy to stop by and take a test drive, which is critical for getting the best possible deal on a used car.

Stepping out a little more, you can check online classifieds sites, such as Craigslist, which will expose you to a broad range of sellers, many of whom will be near you, though not to quite the same extent as a news paper might. These sites can be gold mines, though, so be sure to give them a look.

If you're looking to broaden your scope further, try sites like eBay Motors, which brings sellers from all over the country into one convenient location. These listings are both auction format and fixed price, so you have multiple buying options. These sellers will be located all over the country, but you can search for listings that are in your area. What's more, eBay offers some basic protection for its buyers, which helps prevent major rip-offs. Definitely worth checking into.

I've create the site Cheap Used Cars Central to help make the process of finding cars on eBay a little easier. This site breaks down cars by brand and price, making it easy to find exactly what you're looking for.

If you're looking at a very specific model of car, try search on car enthusiast forums. For example, if you want to buy a late '80s Nissan Z car, then visit some Z car forums to find sellers. Buying from these sorts of sellers can be great, because they are often very knowledgeable and passionate about the cars. You will be able to get a really good idea as to the condition of the car if you go with a seller like this.

There are many other places to find used cars online. In fact, there are many other car listing specific sites you can buy from. However, the places I've listed above have the highest amount of listings, and are thus the most "bang for your buck" locations for buying a used car online.

As always, be careful when shopping online. Don't throw away your common sense, and make sure that you're getting a good car at a fair price. If you do your research, check multiple sources for pricing, and check the car over thoroughly for buying, you can certainly buy used cars online and get great deals for it.

Overall, though, buying a used car online is a great way to go when it comes to saving money. You'll be glad you did.