How to Find Cheap Used Cars

Buy from a junkyard. Junkyards and salvage yards frequently receive old "junkers." These cars are usually either in such poor condition that they could not be sold elsewhere, or they are in decent condition but are too old to be traded in. The cars usually get crushed or cannibalized for parts, but sometimes, junkyards have a few cars that have yet to be destroyed.^[1]

• Contact nearby junkyards to find out if they sell their "junkers" to the public and, if so, ask to come in and have a look. The junkyard will either show you the cars they have available or allow you to look for yourself. After you find a car that interests you, negotiate for a price. The price will usually be quite low.
• Be prepared to put a lot of work into the car once you purchase it. Cars purchased from junkyards are usually in poor condition and in need of some work.

Keep your eyes open. You have likely seen, at some point in your life, cars with “For Sale” signs in the window. When you do not need a car, you may not realize how many of these cars there actually are. Watch out for cars driving down the road or sitting in parking lots and driveways that are being advertised for sale. Jot down the number you see on the sign. When you call, ask how much the car is going for and what the car’s history is.

• Be aware of the fact that buying a car from an individual seller does present a risk. It is harder to verify whether or not an individual is being honest about the car’s history, and it is also harder to hold the seller responsible if the car turns out to be a lemon when you bring it home.

Ask the people you know to look around. Let your relatives, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, and neighbors know that you are looking to buy a cheap used car. Ask them to keep their eyes open for cars with “For Sale” signs in the window. A close relative might go so far as to call the number and find out the necessary information for you, but even a casual acquaintance or co-worker whom you get along with will probably be willing to jot down a phone number if he or she sees it.^[2]

Go to a used car lot. This is, perhaps, the most obvious option. A used car lot will offer you a good amount of selection and a decently low price. Even though used car dealers have a notorious reputation for cheating their customers, you can find out if a particular dealer is trustworthy or not by looking the company up on the Better Business Bureau or on local review websites. Regardless of the dealer’s reputation, you should also protect yourself by checking the vehicle history report of any car on a dealer’s lot before you buy it.^[3]

Check the newspaper. Your local newspaper will be able to put you in touch with local individuals who have a used car to sell. Check out the classifieds section to look at the cars for sale, paying attention to price, make, and description. Due to character counts, the descriptions might be fairly scant, so you should be prepared to ask for more details when you contact the seller.

• If you do not receive the newspaper on your doorstep, go to a gas station or drugstore and buy a copy there. If you do not want to buy the paper, ask a neighbor or someone you know to save the classifieds for you.

Look at free online classifieds. These websites are very similar to newspaper classifieds with the exception that there are no character counts limiting the ads. That means that you should look for an ad that divulges more information rather than less information. Typically speaking, the more informative an ad is, the less the seller feels he needs to hide.

• Gravitate toward ads that also have photographs. As they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” You cannot know everything there is to know about a car simply from a picture, but you can learn a lot.

Shop on an online auction website. You can search for a specific make or model when browsing for used cars on an online auction website, or you can just search for used cars by category. You can also specify a minimum and maximum price you are willing to pay. Unless you are also able to specify where the product is being sold from, though, you run the risk of finding a car on the other side of the nation, which may make it unreasonably difficult to get the car shipped to you.