When you think about it, the process of buying a used car is pretty similar to hiring an employee.
|
Buying a Car |
Hiring an Employee |
| Determine the budget | Determine the budget |
| Search for cars (online and in publications) | Search for candidates (online and in publications) |
| Research the car’s history using online tools | Check the candidate’s history using resumes |
| Hire a trusted mechanic to confirm condition | |
| Conduct a thorough test drive | Conduct interviews…maybe a lot of them |
| Negotiate the best price | Negotiate the compensation package |
| Drive the car home | Onboard the new employee |
Buying a used car means the buyer can get more car for the money, have less depreciation, and make lower payments. But, if the buyer isn’t careful, she might buy a car that turns out to be a lemon — unsafe and under-performing, maybe requiring hundreds if not thousands of dollars to fix or replace.
Few people purchase cars based on the seller’s description alone. Instead savvy buyers work to discover the facts about the car’s condition before they write a check. The car buying process generally looks like this: keep reading…
