More and more people are buying used cars and trucks. According to Edmunds, there were 9.81 million sales of used vehicles in the first quarter of 2015. This was 3,23% more sales than in the the first quarter of 2010. during that same time frame, 2.85 pre-owned vehicles were sold by franchised dealers. This translated into about 17.7% of those dealers’ sales. That climbed to 21.6% in the first quarter of 2015. If you are looking at reliable used trucks, you have a lot of options.
Tips to Help You Find the Right Used Truck:
- Figure out how much you can realistically spend. Before you set out to look at reliable used trucks, you need to take a look at your finances. Look at how much money you have coming in and what your expenses are. You need to have an idea of what your budget is and how much you can afford to spend on a used truck. Your monthly payment should not be more than 20% of your salary each month. And that 20% refers to what you actually take home, not your pay before taxes. Your budget should narrow down your options in reliable used vehicles.
- Pull your credit report. When you look at reliable used trucks, you will probably need financing. You will put yourself in a better position if you have your credit report and know what lenders will see when they look you up. This may also be a way to narrow down your options in terms of what kind of affordable used trucks you can consider to buy. Plus, you do not want to learn about your credit report from the used car dealership. Also, when you pull your report, there may be mistakes on it. That does happen.
- Try to get your own financing. Most new and used car dealerships do offer financing for people who buy reliable used trucks from them but you will put yourself in a better position if you arrive at the dealership with financing lined up. You may even get a better deal at the previously used car dealership so your bargaining position is strengthened by having obtained financing independent of the dealership. Talk to your bank, if you have a mortgage with a lender they should be your first stop. Even if you do not have a mortgage, you probably have a bank that you use. They know you so it may be easier to get financing from them.
- What are you going to use the truck for? What is your reason for looking at reliable used trucks? Is this going to be for all around general truck use? Will you be hauling a lot of stuff? The reasons you are looking at reliable used trucks will make a big difference in the truck that you end up buying. Knowing how much you will be hauling with your truck will be the determining factor when you are deciding between two and four wheel drive, for instance. If you have something large you have to tow, like a trailer or boat, you will need a different kind of truck than if you do not have something like that.
- Get the right size. You need to decide the right cab and bed size for the truck that you buy, How many people will be sitting in the truck? There are three different cab sizes for most trucks. You can get the classic (one row), crew cab (large back seat and four doors) and the mega cab (legroom that is a lot like a limo). The larger your cab size, the smaller the bed can be. If you want the mega cab AND a long truck bed, you will end up with a vehicle that is very hard to drive. Again, this goes back to what you plan to use the truck for. Typical bed sizes are 5.5 feet, 6.5 feet and 8 feet. You should also ask about the bed extender so if you get a bed of one size, you can change the length of the truck bed if you need to.
If you do your research, you should get the truck you need.