| Years ago, buying a used car from a dealer meant walking from the new car side of the lot to the used car side. However, the term "used" became synonymous with something of low quality. So to meet the emotional needs of the market, used cars are now purchased from pre owned car dealers, or previously owned car dealerships. These pre-owned car dealers are still part of the main new car lot in most cases, and the cars they sell still are not new.
Many of the used car dealerships that are part of a new car dealership sell cars that have been traded in for new cars, or bought at auction. There is generally a high percentage of previously owned cars from the manufacturer that the dealership is affiliated with, however the entire inventory does not reflect only these cars like the new car lot would. For instance, a giant Ford dealership would sell only Fords on the new car lot. On the used lot, there will be quite a few Fords as the result of brand loyal customers trading in their old cars for a newer model. In addition to the used Fords, there will be used cars from other manufacturers from trade ins from customers who are switching from one vehicle make to Ford. A new trend among these manufacturer affiliated used car dealers is to sell Certified Pre Owned Cars. Any number of the large dealerships can certify that a particular pre owned car, from their manufacturer, as a quality vehicle. These certified cars often carry a warranty and the piece of mind that they are in good, running shape.
Not all used car dealerships are attached to new car lots though. As budgetary constraints keep many people from purchasing a new vehicle, many independent used car dealers exist as well. These used car dealers have no affiliation with any of the car manufacturers so their inventory does not always come from trade ins, although they do pick up a good deal of cars this way. For the independent car dealerships, the inventory is usually achieved by going to large car auctions and bidding on automobiles to sell in their lots. Another way they build their inventory is by purchasing trade in vehicles that the large dealerships will not sell on their used car lot. The car may be too old, or require too much service. The smaller dealers can sell these vehicles as is for very low prices. Generally, the independent car lots do not have as large an inventory as the manufacturer affiliated lots do.
One of the independent car dealerships, CarMax, does carry quite a large inventory. Modeled after the manufacturer affiliated dealerships, CarMax’s prices are a bit higher than the smaller used car dealers, however they do offer financing from a legitimate company and their vehicles are of a higher quality than the smaller used dealers.
People looking for a used car for sale now have a new option, the Internet. The Internet hosts many different sites that offer used cars for sale. Like any other used car, if you are purchasing one of the Internet that is not certified by a manufacturer, have a qualified mechanic look at the car. This can save time, money, and headaches in the long run.
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