Used Cars in Sacramento. Where to go?

 

Should I buy from a private party or from a dealer?

Weighing the facts of both options?

Looking for a new or used vehicle can be a very stressful task.  No one loves shopping for a car or truck. But on several occasions in our life, we must buy a car. A good place to start is the classifieds, and or craigslist. This will at least give you solid price comparisons for automobiles for sale.



Questions to ask yourself? Are you looking for economic, sport utility, or luxury car? What is the budget you have laid out for your purchase? Do you want to pay cash or finance? Ask
yourself this prior to moving forward.



Many private sellers, and used car dealers will give significant discounts for cash buyers. Also, think of the season at which you would like to buy your car or truck, Winter sales are significantly cheaper then say Summer time with Auto dealers. And Sundays particuarly at the end of the month you can also get a better deal on a new or used vehicle. Another great tip when dealing with a Dealer is to make an appointment with the fleet manager instead of being approached by a a car salesman. When you walk onto the lot have the name of the fleet manager ready, so that you can tell the approaching sales person you have an appointment. They will direct you to his office personally.



Despite popular belief car salesman are people too. Most will be very helpful, and may even offer you a drink while you wait. I recall a story of my neighbor buying an SUV for a camping trip planned with his family. Unfortunately, a freak accident occurred the night after he brought his shiney new SUV home. The new vehicle was parked outside his house, the gentleman lived near an active rail yard, and during the night one of the train cars derailed and was carrying large steel rolls, one of this 36 ton rolls slammed into his new vehicle. It made national news, and the salesman that sold him his SUV seen him on the local news cast. The salesman called him the next day, and drove over a loaner SUV so he could still make the trip with his family. That's true customer service that you might be hard pressed to find today.



Buying from a private dealer has pluses, and minuses. The pluses are price, but some of the minuses can involve the lack of powertrain warranties if something should go wrong. Extended warranties are not always transferable through private party situations. And the automotive work history is usually never as detailed as you will find with a dealers carfax. Nobody wants a car as dead as Sonny Liston after being hit by Muhammad Ali. 

Sonny Liston and Ali fight

Take notes, be prepared, you don't want to be stuck with a lemon, follow these simple steps, and you will come out on top. In my many years of buying cars I have bought cars from Cal Worthington, and his dog spot. I most recently bought a car from Paul Blanco, and I was really impressed with the quality of service, and selection that I received at there Sacramento location. When buying a used car I expect things to not always go right, it's just the nature of the beast, and I am okay with that as long as the dealer steps up to the plate to fix any issues that may resolve soon after the purchase. Even though I received a good deal, it's still a considerable purchase. We deserve to have the issues resolved. Mine was minor a chip in the windshield that I missed before I drove off the lot. I explained the issue and the scheduled me to bring it in to get fixed or filled.



Not sure how they do it, but when it was done I couldn't tell and they washed and detailed my car in the process. I didn't even expect that, but it was a great gesture...

Frank Creech - Auto Guru
Auto Market News