When I arrived in Australia I knew nothing about mechanics. Yet in the space of two years I have found, negotiated and purchased at the best price for me and my friends nearly a dozen cars, a 4 × 4 and a van. If you want  buy cheap used cars, follow my method and you'll never in a bad deal by purchasing a used vehicle ... even if you are at the other end of the world!

Identify the cheap to buy your car

I must tell you that my first experience was not very conclusive, I found an ad for used cars in a garage and I was left with a 1995 Mazda 626. The only problem is that the mileage displayed ... 597,000 miles! Mechanical breakdowns and chained themselves is with great relief that I sold two Thai students. The story does not say whether that day they managed to return to the city where they lived, 100 kilometers from Sydney.

I was the victim of the first pitfall of buying a used vehicle, that is to choose the wrong market in which you want to buy. In Australia I had identified three markets. The first was that the garages of reselling cars bought mostly at auction and whose origins and history was completely unknown. The second was the cars used by young people who travel across the country. The prices were way too expensive because they were based on prices or garages (who tended to the empapaouter) or on the purchase price to other travelers who were already higher. It is talking with a passenger who sold it bought a van at a great price that I found the third and most interesting markets: the retail market, completely neglected by travelers.

In this market it was possible to do very good business. Moreover, these vehicles had a clearly identified owner who usually owned the car for several years and had properly maintained. This leads naturally to the second point: identify vehicles that are worth buying.

Learn to identify cars that are worth to be purchased

Without knowing anything mechanical I had developed a method for determining whether a vehicle was in good condition. Of course I was around the body, I looked under the chassis to verify that there was no rust, I opened the hood and looked at the different levels. My mechanical knowledge ends there. I even leaned over shocks and I looked at the tire. After all, if I knew that I knew nothing about mechanics that was not the case of the seller.

I also wanted to test his reaction because while I was inspecting the car I questioned the motives of the sale. I asked him how long he had possessed, if he had made repairs or if he had had accidents, while remaining relaxed and friendly but determined in both my questions.

In reality the true test was going on at the dealer, I was watching his reaction to determine if it seemed to hide something. If the person had kept the vehicle under one year, I immediately disqualifiais this vehicle regardless of the reason he gave me. Conversely if a person had kept his car for a few years, I was convinced she had taken a minimum care.

The idea was not to be certain that the car is in perfect condition because it is impossible, but to remove the maximum risk to ultimately have the greatest chance of getting a good deal. As in finance, a good investment is characterized by the risk / return, I wanted to minimize risks to maximize the profit potential of my purchase.

Know negotiate the sale price

Upon examination of the vehicle I was already preparing the negotiation that followed. I made ​​a list of things to check (body, tire, state of the interior, vintage car air conditioning, lights, brakes, shocks, opening doors and trunk) and I took my time to check them one by one as or during the inspection of the vehicle or during the road test. Especially I took good care of the oral report. Needless to say that on a vehicle, even in good condition, you still have odds and ends that go awry.

The idea was to prepare my proposal to the seller. Indeed, once the inspection is complete I made ​​a proposal deliberately low, highlighting the details that I had recorded and deducting the estimated price of repairs to the listed price of the car. It was a tangible argument to open the cone trading very low and bring the negotiation to my advantage.

The basic idea was also to "annoy the seller" to the point where it will say "I prefer to drop a couple hundred dollars on the price and be rid of the story rather than have another pain in the neck which going to come take me an hour of my time over the weekend. " In fact my purchase offer, it was not just money against his vehicle, but more money relief to be rid of his trouble with this vehicle.

Ridges not moving if the vehicle you really like

After the development of this method I made ​​one mistake: a van in very poor condition that I went too far, 150 kilometers from Sydney and I finally bought. Let me explain: it takes more time to see a vehicle, the more one invests it, and we tend to want to buy it. For the same reason that the seller is more likely to grant a discount when you just take it one hour of his time to test his vehicle, he wants to get rid of this task. If you take half a day off or do a two hour drive to see a vehicle, you must be aware that it affects your mind and you're more likely to purchase the vehicle. So you must prepare yourself to be even more demanding than usual.

Affordable used cars in irving that suit your needs are offered by a host of dealers. One should be careful of choosing the dealer and it is better to go as per recommendation rather than just walking into a dealer showroom without any references or recommendations. Ensure that your dealer offer you Affordable used cars with good financing, warranty, and at affordable prices which are comparable to others in the market.