Do A One-Eighty To Save on Used Cars, Tools and Repairs

00:00 - Intro: Do A One-Eighty To Save on Used Cars, Tools and Repairs

To find the best deals on used cars, tires, tools and maintenance, you need to employ opposite thinking. You need to do a one-eighty and look for deals at times and places where others don't. That's how you can save a substantial amount of money on your next used car, truck, tool or tire.

00:50 - Immediate Gratification And The Marshmallow Test

Humans want what they want right at the moment they want it. We don't want to wait. To illustrate this: I give you the Marshmallow Test.

This experiment was first conducted in 1972 by a Stanford psychologist and his research students to gauge whether young children had the ability to overcome their desire to experience immediate gratification by eating one marshmallow sitting in front of them, or wait (alone in a room for 15-minutes!) without eating that marshmallow, just so they could get a second one and eat two.

02:44 - The Convertible Conundrum

Like the Marshmallow Test, the convertible conundrum confounds used car buyers every spring and summer when they're tempted to buy a convertible when the sun comes out. As tempting as it is, if you can hold out and wait until fall or winter, prices on convertibles will be substantially lower then. Good luck!

04:49 - The All-Wheel Drive Dilemma

Similar to the Convertible Conundrum, with the All-Wheel Drive Dilemma comes the desire to get a used vehicle with all-wheel drive as soon as the rain or snow starts to fall. Typically this kicks in around October or November, but the best time to buy one is when everyone else is not looking (or selling theirs), and that's likely to be spring or summer.

06:00 - Save on Winter Tires In The Off Season

I turn to Craigslist to find slightly-used winter tires right after the winter driving season is over. This also works in summer. It's counter-intuitive, but more often than not I find what I'm looking for at a low price, simply because I'm one of the few people actually looking for winter tires in summer.

08:38 - Find Last Season's Winter Tire Deals at Online Retailers

I typically purchase new tires from Tirerack.com (great selection, low prices and they review and test what they sell) and find that summer can be a great time to buy winter tires from them for a steep discount. If you shop online in June/July you can occasionally find close-outs on last year's tires that are still in stock. These tires are new/unused, but they are a year old by the date code on the tire so their price gets marked down appropriately.

09:30 - Get Winter Tire Rebates in Late Summer/Early Fall

Tirerack.com features $50 to $100 manufacturer rebates starting in mid to late August for their winter tires. The rebates tend to go into October, but the best deals are gone by mid-September, so mark your calendar.

10:57 - Save Money On Tools By Doing a One-Eighty

Skip the immediate gratification of buying brand new shop tools at Home Depot or Harbor Freight and do a one-eighty by heading straight to Craigslist for your next tool purchase. I do this when I need a tool, and nine out of ten times I find what I want at a substantial discount. And the bonus? Many of those tools are barely used, but keep in mind that you're not the only one shopping for used tools on craigslist, so you have to get there first. The early bird gets... oh, you know.

12:00 - Should You Buy From a Dealer or Curate Your Own Used Car?

Whether it's a brick-and-mortar used car dealer or an online used car dealer, you can expect big mark-ups on the used cars and trucks you are looking to purchase. If you don't want to put in the work to find a used car from a private party that is not marked up, then go ahead and save time, but pay a lot more at a dealership.

But if you want to save money, do a one-eighty and curate that list of cool used cars, trucks and SUVs yourself. With a little effort, you can find high quality, interesting, reliable, low-mileage cars for a much lower price... before they get traded-in at a dealership.

14:10 - You Really Can Do Your Own Maintenance To Save Money

I encourage every car owner to tackle some of their own maintenance to save money if they feel comfortable giving it try. Start with something simple, like an oil change. If that works, try doing something more extensive, like changing brake pads. You can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars if you can do some of the maintenance work yourself. Pro tip: Find a competent mechanic friend with tools who is willing to help you first time out!

15:50 - Instead of Buying One Used Vehicle for the Average $33K Price, Use that Same Amount of Money to Buy Two or Three Cool Used Cars.

Let's assume you have the money to pay the average used car price in the US, which is now more than $33,000. But instead of buying one vehicle to do everything, an option most people don't think of is to buy two or three vehicles for specific missions - all for the same total cost.

My $30,000 fantasy Used Vehicle line-up would include a 1994 NA Miata for $10,000, a 2005 Jeep Wrangler TJ (preferably a Rubicon) for $16,000 and a well cared for 90s Toyota Corolla for $3500. Ask me what I would buy next week, and the list will be different, but you get the idea.

So what cars, trucks or SUVs would you want in your fantasy used vehicle line-up for $33,000 or less??

20:15 - Do a One-Eighty and Think Outside The Used Car Box To Save $

If you want to save money on your next used car purchase, tire purchase, tool purchase or maintenance procedure, then do a one-eighty, go the opposite direction from the herd and think outside the box. If you can do that, you just might save yourself a lot of money in the long run.