The Best Way To Buy A Used Car

The Best Way To Buy A Used Car

George Kamel is a personal finance expert and co-host of The Ramsey Show. Following Ramsey’s proven money plan, George went from negative net worth to a millionaire in under 10 years. His goal is to help people spend less, save more, and avoid money traps so they can live a life with more margin, options and freedom.

This channel will simplify complex money topics, bust money myths with actual facts, and debunk the stupid financial advice you're seeing in your social media feed. All with a healthy dose of pop culture, humor, and snark.

[waterbottle]

The only way to win with a car dealership is to never buy a car.

[JigsawPiece]

Agreed! I've walked away from several car salesmen just to have them call me back with a better offer.

[cheapskateaquatics]

I agree with everything, except not getting the extended warranty. I bought a gently used honda hr-v that still had factory warranty until 2026. But, for about $1000 or so, you can get Honda care ( Hondas extended warranty). That covers mechanical, electrical, some dents, windshield replacement, vehicle replacement, roadside assistance, ect, for 7 years /90, 000. It also includes tire rotation and oil changes. For all thats included, its worth it.

[ninerknight]

I went to a car salesman with 800 credit and fully saved up for the car. The salesman got so mad he asked me why I “like to live life dangerously” because I wouldn’t buy an extended warranty. That was right after he told me he had 3 leased cars through his employer!

[themanable]

I remember when a salesman tried to get me to pay a $500 doc fee. I left the sale, and the guy called me back the next day, saying he would drop the price $500. Some dealerships just have stupid rules that get in the way of good business.

[jesseraphael]

I bought my used car private sale. 4500 dollars for an 09 civic hybrid, had to recharge the ac and get new tires, but other than that, I’d say was a win

[Bootsamongus]

Just save up to buy it! Yeah sure, no problem. My son has no way to get to and from college because his car just died but lemme wait and save up $30, 000 to get a used freaking car real quick.

[PartikleVT]

Check out every engine and transmission option for problems, every problem database per model year. Good example: Ford Focus 2011->, 100% of a certain automatic transmissions blew up due to engineering mistakes, but the manual transmissions are very reliable and the engines are great as well. On paper this car looks average reliability, but little do you know you might be buying a timebomb if you go for the automatic. Always check every variable. To avoid big repairs, dont buy a car, buy a powertrain, and see what car is built on it. If you are going to buy a piece of engineering, you need to pay attention to the engineering. Simple as that.

[codykoon]

Please do not pay a doc fee over $100, there are some great videos on YouTube about how to negotiate that fee.

[jacob_mcm]

Had a dealership refuse to sell me a car if I paid in cash. Said their cars were priced to low to not get a cut of the financing.

[CelticsWin]

It's crazy to think I purchased a car 11 years ago that had a $79 doc fee. Standard today is like $299 if I'm not mistaken... up to around $1000. Should've invested in doc fees the last 11 years lol.

[Njs]

When I bought my Tacoma in 2020, after I test drove it I said straight up I’ll offer x amount, in cash, with zero fluff on top. No dealer fees, nothing. The lady got on the phone with her boss and accepted my offer in about 10 seconds 😆 numbers are numbers until you see cold hard cash on the table

[Reesestoked]

This is great advice, George. Just bought a used car last week. I researched the car heavy! Made an appointment with the dealer and the sticker price was $5k over the internet price I found. Screenshotted it. Gave it to the sales rep and got the cashier’s check for the final cost and bam, walked out with an awesome 3 year old low mileage car $5k below the price. I was elated. 😂

[tcnewyork]

It would be helpful if you actually listed the fees, saying “ a bunch of other stuff” doesn’t really tell us what to expect.

[Extra_ordinary]

So car dealerships, because of price information on the internet, are no longer making money on selling cars. They are now in the business of loan brokering and "insurance" like gap and extended warranty. This is where they make their money. If you can pay cash, do it! Just keep that part to yourself until you have agreed on an out the door price from the sales person. They are trained to ask, "how are you paying for this?" Or, "what's your monthly budget?" Tell them you'd be happy to discuss that with the finance manager once you've agreed upon a price

[pgreen]

Works great until the used car market dries up like it did recently and everyone is paying 5 k over asking price. Then you just get left behind.

[oldarkie]

It's OK to finance, just make sure it is simple interest and pay it off first month.

[markmurrell]

The absolute BEST experience I’ve ever had buying a car from a “dealer” is when I bought a repo car from my credit union. It was SOOO easy to negotiate and they only took tag and taxes fees. I had the cash in my account so the only weird thing was I had to withdraw a cashiers check from my bank, made out to my bank. 😂 it’s been a great car I’ve had it for 6 years

[xTRellyx]

every dealer around me (NJ) charges an additional $2500 - $4500 - for used cars inspection/rehab fees

[ehderguyyashootadeerorno]

Also check all the body seams to make sure it was not in an accident. I fought a S10 zr2 once and everything looked good and the carfax was good but I was sitting in the truck one day and reached up by the top of the door and realized it did not line up. Several months later I had to take the dash apart for a vacuum leak and that’s when I saw all the broken glass in it. I wish I would have seen that before I bought the truck.