How'd Maya use car in an overpriced market? Hello, I'm Kevin Hunter, the homework guy here today with the amazing Elizabeth, with the amazing long hair. You know Liz, somebody recently said they'd love to see you with a short haircut just for fun. You know what you don't know is back when I met Liz, she had actually just cut her hair. And so it was all grown out since then, but she had donated her hair to locks of love, right? Yeah. Everybody knows that used cars are way overpriced right now. Our video today is for everyone who is stuck having to buy a car now. Anyway. And both of us have bought several used vehicles and our process produces excellent results both in the market is good and when the market is bad. No matter where car pricing is, the steps we'll share with you today are basic common sense techniques. We're going to start by helping you open up your options for finding a good used car. If you're looking for a used car, the first thing you should do is let your friends, family members and co-workers know that you're in the market for a vehicle. Any one of them could have the vehicle you need. And if you attend a church, you can ask the receptionist or pastor if you can post a notice to the community bulletin board. Give people an idea what you're looking for and how you plan to use it. Be prepared to act on it when a good deal services. They usually don't last long. Keep your options open and don't be overly picky on color or style. You're looking for a good quality vehicle at a good price and that should be your top priority. And hopefully you actually get an older person to respond to you and offer you one of the cars they have. They're generally well taken care of and maintenance is up to speed and they have lower miles. For example, I bought that 1999 old ZD-8 with 91,000 miles on it when the vehicle was about 10 years old. The interior was almost in brand new condition and no one had even sat in the back seat. It had a little hell damage on the outside which I wasn't concerned about. The old ZD-8 had GM's famous 3.8 liter V6 engine. I paid just 1600 cash for it. The previous owner had tried to trade it in at a local dealer who only offered him $800 and he refused to trade it. And then I put 150,000 miles in the car only needing to change oil and replace the tires periodically. It drove like a dream and the insurance was super cheap. That was the burgundy old ZD-8, right? Yeah, exactly. I do like my old guys car. It was extra comfortable. You got it now. If notifying your family, friends, and coworkers and church community doesn't bring you any leads, you might want to try one of the local used car lots. Now there are some types of used car lots that you should avoid at all costs. They are the buy here, pay here, lots who will finance anyone who can fog a mirror. If they got signs all over the lot that said we finance anyone, walk away. Their cars are what Sky to Killmer refers to as junk iron. Those kinds of lots will commonly buy multiple vehicles in a single purchase for just a few thousand bucks. They usually have hire miles and the amount of money they ask you for for a down payment will actually be how much they paid for them. So you drive off the lot having already covered their cost and every extra penny they get out of you in the way of payments is just extra on the top. You miss a payment and they come to repossess the car and sell it to somebody else. There are also certain types of vehicles you should avoid. Any vehicle that has the word recondition stamped on the title is a vehicle that was totaled by an insurance company and sold as is. It's a major red flag and every good mechanic will tell you to avoid them at all costs. They can often have hidden damage even if the car seems solid. It can be hard to detect even for an experienced mechanic. Now let's move on to the new car dealers that also carry used cars. Beware that you tend to pay more money for a used vehicle at a dealer that also sells the same vehicle new. So a used Ford will be the most expensive at a Ford dealer lot. A used Toyota will be cheaper to buy at a Chevy dealer than it is at a Toyota dealer. So bottom line, look for the used cars that are on the lot of a dealer who doesn't sell them new. The reason for this is pretty simple. A person who's looking for a specific brand of vehicle doesn't tend to shop for it on a different dealer's lot. So that's why a Honda will tend to have a lower resale sitting at a key a dealer. Of course when you're shopping on a car lot you'll encounter the dreaded salesman. But this actually isn't that big of a deal. I've never had a problem with a car salesman but I always start my car shopping by reminding myself that this person is working for me and I am the one who's going to pay them. And I'm picky about who I'm going to work with and who I'm going to pay to help me shop for a car. Now sure the salesman's actual paycheck will come from the dealership but the sale of your vehicle will contribute to that check. Never forget that the number one thing the salesman trains on is how to control you and control the situation. Do not let them do this to you. So what you have to do is put yourself in the driver's seat and stay in control of the buying process. You should be the one leading the situation. Remember the salesman is working for you and you can fire them by walking away or by asking for a different salesperson. And you can do it at any time they start to bug you. You can also ask to see a list of aged inventory. The longer a vehicle has been on the lot the more likely they want to get rid of it. So all of these ideas are centered around opening up your options for finding a good used car that's available at a reasonable price. You should have done your homework in advance so you have a clue what comparable vehicles are selling for. That way you can recognize a good deal when you see it. Also remember that any car you consider should go through two levels of inspection. The first inspection is your own. You don't have to be significantly mechanically inclined to do an effective initial inspection yourself. I'm not a mechanic but I'll look the car over thoroughly inside and out. I always check under the hood. Look for something that seems like it's worn or out of place. Before I even leave the lot I fire the car up and listen to it idle while I test the switches inside. I turn on the windshield wipers, hit the spray button, turn on the AC, make sure it blows cold and the heater to make sure it has heat. I also check the various fan speeds make to the blower in the switcher. OK, if you have power locks and windows we'll cycle those too. When you're ready to start driving do a hard brake stop to make sure the vehicle stops effectively and a hard acceleration to check engine response. Repeat the brake tests at a higher speed out on the road to check for vibrations or warp discs. Rock the steering wheel from left to right at a reasonable speed to check for loose front end parts or suspension problems. And of course this is all an initial inspection that you should be doing yourself. But don't ever skip having a good trusted mechanic to look at the car too. Always ask the seller if you can have your own mechanic take a look at it. If the answer is no just walk away no matter what excuse they give. I've signed a 24 hour temporary rental or like an extended test drive agreement with dealers who said I could take the vehicle back to my own mechanic. It's no big deal. If you're meeting a private party person you can even ask them to meet right up the mechanic shop just to keep things simple. Be sure to ask for the inspection printout any unit you decide not to buy the car. Just give it to the owner. It's a nice thing to do. If your mechanic says not to buy the car don't buy it. You will always regret going against their advice. And don't worry about the minimal fee you have to pay to have the good mechanic look at over. It's worth every cent. Finally, if you're going to be financing talk to your own banker credit union first, you don't want to be stuck dealing with the stacked deck the finance office has to offer. I hope this was helpful to you. Best of luck to all you car shoppers out there. Alright if you appreciate our video today consider giving us a great big thumbs up and please always remember to comment and share the videos with family and friends. It's really matter because they help boost our online visibility and lead others to great home work guy content. The entire home work guy team is here to represent you the car buyer and that's what we love to do. Thanks everyone for coming back. We'll see you on our next video. You guys rock. I'm Kevin Hunter the home work guy with Elizabeth the home work gal. We gotta go.