Pre owned cars and auto sales have been on the rise for seven consecutive years. Despite this, there are still plenty of car buyers who are being taken advantage of and are making terrible mistakes when it comes to actually finding, negotiating, and purchasing used vehicles.

Make sure you’re avoiding these common mistakes when buying pre owned cars:

• Neglecting to research — When it comes to buying a new or used vehicle, it all starts with the research. The majority of used vehicle buyers are not doing nearly the amount of research they need to be doing before making a purchase. Talk to people who have bought similar models, research all kinds of brands online, and spend a few hours each day during your search to ensure that you know what you’re getting yourself into.
• Starting your search too late — In order to be in full control of the purchasing process, you can’t be boxed into a corner. Don’t wait until you absolutely need to buy a car before you start your search. If your current vehicle is slowly on its way out, start at least thinking about how you’re going to go about researching and starting your  used vehicle search.
• Neglecting auto maintenance — Another common mistake when it comes to buying a used car is not having a mechanic look over the vehicle before making a purchase. Even if you feel great about the vehicle you’re going to buy and think it’s the perfect fit, you could end up having some major problems on your hands down the road. Most auto shops provide a maintenance service onsite, but make sure you’re asking for a professional mechanic to inspect the car you’re thinking about buying.
• Only taking one quick test-drive — Simply test-driving a car for a mile or two or just driving around the block is not enough to give you a real feel for the vehicle. Since you’re planning on driving this vehicle for years, you need to give it at least a half-hour of drive time.

If you want to learn more about how to effectively buy pre owned cars or if you just want to visit a helpful used car dealership, give Auto Sales and Service a call today.

It can be quite difficult to buy a new or used vehicle when you have poor credit. Unfortunately, so many Americans have credit issues due to a variety of reasons — and purchasing a functioning vehicle can be tough if the situation is bad enough.

Thankfully, there are some things you can do in order to improve your chances of purchasing a high-quality vehicle, even with poor credit. Here are some tips for buying a car with bad credit:

• Work on your credit before car shopping — Unless you are in dire need of a vehicle, you might want to take some time to start bringing your credit score up before you begin shopping for a new car. Cleaning up your credit can help you in just about every financial aspect of your life.
• Purchase used cars — Used vehicles aren’t nearly as bad as some people think. Thanks to modern automotive technological breakthroughs, just about every vehicle that’s been manufactured over the last 15 to 20 years remain viable options for buyers. The average age of vehicles currently on the roads in the U.S. is 11.6 years, and these used cars are much more affordable than their newer counterparts.
• Acquire bad credit auto loans — A bad credit auto loan is the perfect solution for acquiring a high-quality vehicle despite trouble with credit. Just because these loans exist doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work towards improving your credit, however, but they can at least help you get back on your feet (and inside a car).
• Avoid additional bad credit items — In the months leading up to your credit loan application, it’s best to keep your credit score as best as possible. Pay everything on time, don’t take on other major credit obligations, and don’t ignore calls or letters.
• Make a bigger down payment — If it’s feasible, making a bigger down payment can help you offset the interest, taxes, and fees associated with the car buying process. Your credit history will limit the size of the loan you can get right away and high interest rates will lower that amount even more, so placing a larger down payment is a great idea.

If you want to learn more about purchasing used cars with bad credit, give Auto Sales and Service Inc. a call right away. Good luck!

If you’re planning on buying a pre owned car in the near future, you need to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. If you buy from a reputable used car dealer, then the vehicle itself will likely run fine and be just what you’re looking for. But knowing how to handle all the various steps of the actual car buying process is the real trick.

Here are some important things you need to do prior to purchasing pre owned vehicles:

• Talk to the dealer about price — This one seems obvious but it is too important to leave out. The average price of a new vehicle in the U.S. is about $35,309; if the used car you’re thinking about buying is anywhere close to that cost, you might want to hold off. Make sure you are discussing the price of all the vehicles you’re thinking about buying and see if you can talk the dealer down at all, as well.
• Inspect the vehicle yourself — A reputable car dealership will keep each vehicle functioning properly, but it’s still important to perform some mechanical checks yourself. Carefully look over the vehicle’s interior and exterior, perform a leak test, go for a test drive to make sure everything seems right, and have a professional mechanic thoroughly inspect the car. Additionally, it’s important to inspect under the car’s hood before ever driving it — a professional mechanic can give you advice, but if something doesn’t look right, you might want to keep looking.
• Discuss your credit score — Talking about a car’s price is one thing, but if you are at all concerned about your credit score, you need to bring it up with your dealer. Thankfully, there are used car dealerships that can offer bad credit auto loans to help you purchase a quality vehicle.
• Don’t forget auto insurance — Many used car dealerships require proof of insurance before selling the vehicle to anyone. When buying a pre owned car, make sure that you have it insured before you drive it off the lot.

Whether your credit is great or not, if you’re ready to check to some high-quality pre owned cars at a fair price, head down to Auto Sales and Service Inc. right away!

If you and your family are thinking about purchasing a new vehicle or two, it’s important that you know exactly what you’re looking for and that you’re not spending a significant amount of money. It’s no secret that certain automobiles are extremely expensive, but you can find plenty of used cars for sale that are much more affordable options for you and your family.

Here are the steps that will help with searching, finding, and purchasing affordable pre owned vehicles in a timely fashion:

• First, start by crafting a realistic budget — Since you’re searching for used cars for sale in order to save money, you need to determine exactly how much you can spend to not go over budget. Just because you’re buying a pre owned car doesn’t mean you’ll be necessarily getting a great deal. Though there are plenty of affordable vehicles out there, there are some used cars that might cost much more than you can afford. So setting a realistic budget for you and your family during your car search, and sticking to it no matter what can help you land the perfect used vehicle.
• Next, browse online for ideas — Before you even step foot in a dealership, it’s recommended to browse the Internet for a few hours to get a better idea of what you want as a family. If you’re purchasing at least one vehicle for your kids, you can sit down with them and determine what vehicles would be perfect. They will likely select the most expensive sports car they can find, and you can quickly shut that down. Once you’re all on the same page, it’ll be much easier to figure out what you want.
• Then, narrow your search as much as you can — Knowing exactly the kind of vehicle you are hoping to purchase is essential for a quick and efficient auto search. For example, if you are hoping to find a great used car with a manual transmission, it might be a little bit more difficult since manual transmission vehicles are actually outnumbered by automatic transmission vehicles 10 to one. You can still have a broad idea of what type of pre owned vehicle you want, but as you talk to each auto sales representative at the dealership, it’s best to give him or her as many specifics as you can.

Hopefully, as soon as you and your family perform these three steps, you’ll be ready to walk into a reputable dealership and drive out with some excellent pre owned vehicles. If you want to start this process and checkout some awesome used cars for sale, give Auto Sales and Service Inc. a visit right away!