The day that your daughter called to tell you that she had been in an accident and that it looked like her 2001 Ford F150 pick up was totaled, you were mostly concerned about her. Was she alright? Was she in a safe place? Did she have a friend who could come get her?
Fortunately, the answer to all of those questions was yes and she was far more upset about the fact that she had wrecked the pick up that her grandfather had given her than anything else. Since that accident, you and your husband feel like you are now pretty well versed in the best priced available new cars and trucks. And while you would have loved to have found an affordable used Ford F150 regular cab pick up, you simply could not force yourself to trust the thousands of miles that someone else had put on a vehicle that you would be buying. The gifted truck that your daughter was driving had more than 130,000 miles on it. You knew, however, that your father had cared for that 16 year old vehicle like his own child. The thought of trusting another person’s used vehicle with your daughter, who was in college 12 hours from home, was not comforting.
In the end, you send your husband’s used car to your daughter, after first finding another vehicle for him. After a few weeks of researching new cars and considering lease or buying options, you finally found a vehicle that fit within your budget but was what your husband was looking for. And while no one wants to spent every spare moment comparing one vehicle with another, the fact of the matter is it takes some real research to make sure that you are getting a good deal when it come to buying a new or used car, truck, SUV, or van.
Nearly 40 million used cars exchange hands each year, between dealership sales and private-party transactions. If you are in the process of trying to locate the perfect vehicle for you or someone in your family, though, you are not always that interested in the statistics about the 40 million transactions that involve someone else, you are focused on finding the one right vehicle for you. Given that the average vehicle will have three owners in its lifetime it should come as no surprise that many Americans carefully consider their choices between buying a used or new vehicle every time that they need to make a new purchase. Working with a reputable dealer or getting the help of a reliable mechanic, however, makes any purchase, whether it be new cars or used cars, an easier decision.