Used Japanese cars - value and price
Don't look for cheapest car. When it comes to used Japanese cars, "best deal" doesn't mean the
cheapest one. Your goal is to look for a car in good condition for reasonable price.
If you choosing between relatively cheap car that might have an accident in the past or
was poorly maintained, needs some repair, etc. and more expensive one that is in excellent
condition, I would without a doubt choose the more expensive one. You will simply save on
repairs and will have less troubles driving it. Don't think they sell it cheap because they
don't know the price or they simply want to clear their inventory. If they sell it cheap,
definitely there is something wrong with it. Remember, proper price for a certain used Japanese cars
is not the one indicated in blue or black book - they give you just an average price.
The actual vehicle value big time depends on a car condition. Two cars may only look the same.
One may have been maintained so poorly and the engine won't last long after you buy it.
Previous owner of another vehicle may have been religious about maintenance, was using only
synthetic oil, has done the rustproof and so on. Without a doubt, I'd rather pay $3000 more for
this second car just to have peace of mind driving it.
So, how to determine how much you will have to pay for a certain model?
Just to show you as an example, I search used Japanese cars for sale website seecarsale.com
for a three years old Toyota Land Cruiser. The search result gives me more than 200 vehicles with
the price ranging from 12,000 to 22,000 USD. To be realistic, I know that for 12,000 I
will not be able to buy something really good. 22,000 USD seems to me too high. But there
are quite a few cars for 17,000 - 18,000 price range - this looks more realistic to me.
I also know that most new car dealers will be able to give me a discount from 1,000 to 3,000 USD
if I use proper negotiation strategy. So, in our case with three years old Toyota Land Cruiser,
I'd probably will be able to get the one in a good condition for 15,000 - 16,000 USD depending
on mileage, options, etc. You can use the same strategy everywhere.
Decide how much you can afford
Set yourself a firm limit of how much money you want and can afford to pay for a car.
The process of buying a used Japanese cars can be time-consuming and stressful and it might be difficult
to resist the urge to buy more expensive vehicle, especially when higher total price is hidden
under "low" monthly payments. Often dealers could try to push you into buying more expensive
vehicle to increase their commission. In fact, this is very common situation when people rush
into buying a car or a truck only to realize later that they cannot afford paying for it.
Thousands of people are searching the Internet for an answer to "How to get out of a car deal?"
You want to buy something that you can afford, something that will not put excessive financial
strain on your family budget, so you need to set yourself a firm limit. Check more money-saving
tips at How to save money on a japanese cars
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