Five Essential Rules To Find a Cool Used Car
In this episode I discuss five simple, yet essential rules to help buyers find a cool used car, truck or SUV. These may seem basic and fall into the "Duh, Captain Obvious" category, but it's surprising to me how often people ignore these simple steps and end up with a used vehicle that's less than perfect.
What should be common sense is not always common...
To demonstrate in real life how effective these rules can be when properly followed, I worked with Nic Bodiford, a used SUV buyer on an $8,000 total budget to help him find a cool used, but well-maintained 4x4 SUV to carry his dog and camping gear.
Nic is a co-host on RB1, a fantasy football podcast found on the Fake Teams podcast feed on all major podcast apps, so please check that out, plus he is also my nephew (that's the reason he got 24/7 text advice from me for this search!), and since he's in the market to replace his 275,000 mile Nissan Pathfinder that recently died, I wanted to introduce him to these rules and help him find a cool used SUV.
Running Time & Description:
00:00 - Show Open
I introduce the 5 basic, but essential rules to help you find a cool used car, truck or SUV without spending a lot of $.
01:10 - Guest Introduction
I introduce my guest, Nic Bodiford, and find out why he's in the market again for a used SUV.
04:33 - Rule #1 - Know Your Budget.
Most people blow past their budget number because they don't consider extras, including license, title and sales tax (depending on what state they live in) or unknowns, like potential unseen repairs or maintenance. To stay at or under budget, whatever your budget number is, reduce it by 20% and that should be the target price of vehicles in your search for. (Example: $10,000 budget = $8,000 target search price)
06:07 - Rule #2 - Know What You Want
It seems painfully obvious, but the more time you spend up front getting really clear about the features you need and want, the more likely it is that you will find your ideal vehicle. Don't underestimate how important this step is in the overall vehicle selection process.
11:20 - Rule #3 - Be Realistic About Your Used Car Search.
A car search is emotional. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement about the purchase and lose focus. But that's exactly why you do the first two steps FIRST. Knowing your budget and knowing exactly what you want will keep you grounded and you won't waste time looking at cars or trucks that are cool, but out of your price range, not right for you, or both.
Now, I'm certainly not opposed to you taking, for example, a quick test drive in a Mustang GT while you're out looking at Ford F150s (This used car buying experience should be fun, after all!), but if you come home with a muscle car when you really needed a work truck, that's on you, so keep it real.
14:12 - Rule #4 - Be Patient During Your Search
This kind of goes along with the emotion mentioned in #3, but goes a little deeper. At some point during your used car search, you may feel like you are not even close to finding a car and you just want to give up and buy the next car, truck or SUV that comes along because you're tired of looking and emotionally wrung out. But if you stay the course, the effort you put into patient, focused search will definitely save you a lot more money when buying a used vehicle.
Sure, you could just give up and go to a new or used car dealer because they make it easy. They have cars all lined up in a row and you just have to pick your color and features (at least, pre-pandemic anyway), then sign your life away. But in today's market, finding a good used vehicle at a low price takes effort, especially if you are buying from a private party.
But that's where the best deals are found, so be prepared to put in the work and be willing to wait for the right vehicle. The right vehicle for you at a great price is out there and you will find it, but patience is a virtue. And if you do miss something good, don't worry... "the next train passes in 10 minutes". There's always another car... just be patient.
15:42 - Rule #5 - Be Ready To Buy When You Find the Vehicle You Want.
It's funny how many people mess this up a time or two before getting it right. Typically it's because they are too slow to act when they find a car that seems perfect at a low price, OR... they don't actually have the money ready to make the purchase. This happened to Nic. He missed out on a couple of good SUVs thinking that some money was coming in soon when it was still a week or two away. However, that forced him to spend more time doing research (Rule #2 - Know What You Want), which in turn led him to the SUV he eventually found. It all works out in the end if you follow the steps and put in the work.
18:08 - Bonus Tip - Limit Your Search Parameters To Find the Hidden Gems.
When I search on Craigslist, for example, I typically filter out dealer ads (too many ads for the same vehicle) and I use as few search parameters as possible to keep from filtering out cars and trucks I might actually want to look at. Example: Nic was looking for a Toyota 4Runner, but we found at least one seller spelling it as "forerunner" (uh, okay).
However you can bypass all that simply by typing "Toyota" into the search bar. Another option is to type nothing at all into the search bar and just scroll down the main page after you select "owner only" ads.
If you are searching Craigslist two or three times a day - and you should be if you want to find the best deals - it won't take more than a couple of minutes to scroll down to cars you've seen earlier in the day. This may seem simple, but it's surprising how often I find cool cars this way.
19:35 - You have to call first and get there first to get the best deals
With very few exceptions, people will not wait for you to show up, so just lean in and don't hesitate to contact the owner asap when you find a vehicle that seems to be right for you. You can always say no later after you see it in person, but if you don't call first you'll never get a chance to see (or buy) the best vehicles.
20:20 - Call or Text Rather Than Email For Contact When Possible
If there is a phone number listed in an ad, just call. Motivated sellers will tell you their preferred method of contact (calls, texts, email, smoke signals), but when in doubt, if they list a number, call... and do it quickly once you see the ad. The best used vehicles at the lowest prices sell within a few hours, so you want to be the first to call and the first to see it. The early bird gets... oh, you know.
21:35 - Wrap up and Preview Next Episode
Next time Nic will tell us which SUV he bought and how much he paid for it.
