The only buying guide for used cars you will ever need is right here...

Buying guide part 1 - Choosing The Right Car		Buying guide part 2 - Where to Buy Your Car?		Buying guide part 3 - What to Look For?
Introduction Choosing a car Work out a budget and stick to it Lets get passionate Extras		Introduction Car Supermarkets Local Trader Home Trader Private sellers Buying at auction		Introduction The basics First Impressions Exterior Under the bonnet Test Drive The Gadgets Do you like it?
Need Finance?	Get a quote...	Need Insurance?	Get a quote...	Need to find a car?	Click Here...

We’ve compiled this guide because we understand how hard it can be to choose the right car. We’ve sourced cars for many different customers with many different needs over the years and realise how important it is to make the right choice.

Because we source many used cars to meet our customer’s requirements rather than just selling them stock we already have, weare more in tune with what cars really mean to people. The result iswhat we believe to be the most realistic and usable buying guide for used cars ever published.

This first section is designed to help you choose the right car. Further sections can be reached via the links above and at the bottom of the page.

You don’t have to know anything about the motor trade to follow this buying guide for used cars, its designed to help anyone with any level of knowledge. Enjoy.

This can seem like a daunting task but in reality its simple. Your lifestyle will reflect and determine you make the right choice of used car. This buying guide for used cars will show you how.

The first thing you must do is forget about looks, forget about performance and all the technical stuff and think about you, what do you need your car to do for you? A singleton with no kids living in the city has different motoring needs to a married couple with three kids living in the country. Consider your job, your hobbies, your location, your friends and your family, get all the practical questions out of the way first and be clear what role your car should play in your life.

Just by spending a few minutes establishing the function your car must perform, you will already be performing a process of elimination that will make choosing a car much easier. Too many people leave decisions like this until they are actually on the used car forecourt and will find themselves sat at a salesman’s desk having their car chosen for them because they’ve not thought it through. The customer is amazed at how informative and helpful the salesman is and ends up buying a car, which may not necessarily be the right one for them.

This buying guide is designed to help YOU to choose what is the best used car for you. The salesman may seem very helpful, but believe me; he will have a motive for choosing a particular car for you that is far different from your real needs. Remember, whatever your budget, a car is a major purchase in your life, so stay in control of deciding what car is right for you.

Remember, this is the “head not heart” part of the process, try not to get personal at this stage. Most people will keep their car for at least 3 years and cover 50,000 miles or more. If you are anticipating a change in lifestyle soon; moving house, having a baby, changing job, starting a business or anything that may affect your motoring needs, take this into consideration now. Make sure you choose a vehicle you can live with tomorrow as well as today.

By now you should have a clearer picture of what type of vehicle you need; 4x4, SUV, estate, hatchback, saloon, small car, sports car, executive etc. Ideally you will have settled on one category and in doing so have will have eliminated thousands of cars in one go. Now you’re really getting somewhere.

Now you know what type of vehicle you need, its time to start looking at how much you want to spend. I cannot stress how important this is, and it may seem obvious, but so many people don’t budget properly when buying their car. This is definitely a decision NOT to be made when sat in the car showroom, there is too much to consider; running costs, insurance, road tax, and financepayments. Its easy to convince yourself you can afford that little bit extra when you’ve just test driven a car that you really like and the salesman is telling you he can do you a great deal.

Do your homework; only you know how much is comfortable, so work it out on paper honestly and clearly and take all costs into account. A few minutes of your time now, as in step one, will save you time and money in the long run. No one wants a car that’s not right for them and no one wants a car they cant afford, many people end up with both!

If you are planning on financing your vehicle with a loan, work out your monthly budget allowing for insurance and running costs. Then see how much your budget will allow you to spend on a car by getting quotes from the banks (including loan companies).Finding the best finance deals with the bank means you are not limited to which dealer you can buy your car from. The dealer with the best finance package may not have the right car for you. So if possible make the bank your first port of call for finance.

If, when you find the car you want, that dealer can beat your banks finance package then fine, use the dealer finance. Don’t however; assume that a dealer will give you a better deal if you walk in with cash. This is not the case. In fact it’s quite the opposite. More details on this can be found in our “trade secrets revealed” e-zine.

If you are purchasing your car with your hard-earned savings, bonus, inheritance or any other form of outright payment, keep your money in your bank; it really is the safest place. If you are buying privately (which we will come to later) you may feel you will get a better deal if you turn up with the cash. Well it’s just not worth the risk. Tell them you have a cash deposit, then pay the balance by cheque or draft. The cash deposit should be enough to tempt them into a deal providing you negotiate successfully.

If you are buying outright, you still need to work out a budget and stick to it. Be sure you know exactly how much of your money you really want to spend on a car. When you are sure, you are ready to make your final choice.

You now know what type of car you want and how much you are going to spend. This should make your final choice of car much easier. For instance: you need a medium size estate car and you can spend up to �5000. The task is not quite so daunting now as you have narrowed down your possibilities to a manageable level.

Now hopefully this hasn’t been too painful so far, would you agree? You’ve not even had to leave the house yet and you have a much clearer idea of what car you want. By the time you’ve taken the next step you will no longer feel daunted by the prospect of going out and finding your next car. You’ll be entering the marketplace with the confidence of a consumer who knows exactly what they want. You are ready for the next step inour buying guide for used cars...

Right we’ve got the practical stuff out of the way. The next step is a lot more fun and what choosing a car should really be about: passion. Ok so its not a word that everyone associates with cars and motoring but deep down its what affects us all when we make that final decision of what car to buy.

Even if you have no interest in cars and just need something to get from A to B, you need to invest some emotion into your final choice, even if it’s a simple thing like colour. You have to live with your car, you have to like the look of it, inside and out, and you will spend your valuable time in it, so make that time as pleasurable as possible.

Now is the time to grab a few magazines, look at the pictures, read the reviews and find the cars that appeal to you. Get your family involved if necessary. Make a list of the cars that really do it for you, they may not stir your blood but you could see yourself driving them. Imagine the cars parked on your driveway, which ones best represent you and your lifestyle.

Visit our car reviews page and see if you can get some inspiration.This database of real customer used car reviews is growing daily as our visitors contribute their own reviews of their own cars. Feel free to add a review of your current car to help others. We want build the biggest and best database of real used car reviews ever compiled and your help is appreciated.

Most modern cars built today are of a good standard and a quick scan through the car magazines will give you an idea of any that should be avoided. The motoring press, who can be a ruthless bunch, quickly savages cars with a bad reputation. Visit our “Top ten of everything” page for more help.

When you feel you have a shortlist of models that you are comfortable with, do some final research on insurance and running costs etc and see if you can settle on a couple of models you like, fulfil your needs and are affordable.

One last thing you need to do is to decide on any features that you cannot do without. This is another area many people don’t pay attention to. Don’t wait until you’ve bought the car and got it home to discover there’s no ABS, air conditioning or centre rear seat belt. Make a list of options you cannot do without. Consider safety as well as luxury and don’t compromise.

Hopefully by now you should be able to say something like: “I want either a VW Passat or Ford Mondeo diesel estate with airbags all round, air conditioning, ABS, alloy wheels in either Silver or Black for under £5000”, or “I want a Mazda MX-5 or BMW Z3 in Red or Blue with a CD player and leather seats for under £10000”.

Suddenly the hundreds of cars for sale don’t faze you. You know exactly what you are looking for before you’ve even stepped foot on a used car lot or looked in the classified ads. You are fully prepared to proceed to the next part of our buying guide for used cars and begin the search to find the best used car for you.

We hope you've enjoyed the first part of our buying guide for used cars, please feel free to respond or comment via our contact us page. We may use your comments in our ever evolving used car website, used-car-find-it.com.