Lauren Fix, automotive expert with 'The Car Coach,' spoke with Cheddar News to provide tips and advantages on buying a used vehicle. "You let somebody else take the depreciation, which is probably one of the best things ... you then move in at a two- or three-year-old vehicle that maybe was leased, and you can get some great values," she said.

<div class="block">Lauren Fix, automotive expert with &#39;The Car Coach,&#39; spoke with Cheddar News to provide tips and advantages on buying a used vehicle. &quot;You let somebody else take the depreciation, which is probably one of the best things ... you then move in at a two- or three-year-old vehicle that maybe was leased, and you can get some great values,&quot; she said.</div>

Stretching Your Dollar

Stretching Your Dollar: Tips for Buying a Used Car

So if you're thinking about taking advantage, stretching your dollar is here to help guide you through the process of buying a used vehicle. And joining me now is automotive expert, Lauren Fix, better known as the car coach Lauren. What are the advantages to buying a used car? Oh, there are a lot of advantages. You let somebody else take the depreciation, which is probably one of the best things you get a, a fully loaded car, someone else drove it off a lot. They lost about, you know, 5 to 10% to pay on the vehicle as they drove off the lot. You then move in at a two year or three year that maybe was leased and you can get some great values. Ok. So I like that you quantified that they are easy, 5 to $10,000 savings by buying used. What else should viewers keep in mind if they are thinking about purchasing a used vehicle? Well, the first thing you want to do is if you're buying the brand, for example, you're buying a Volkswagen, you go to a Volkswagen dealer, Toyota to a Toyota dealer, et cetera. The reason you want to do that is you're gonna get that warranty that's transferrable. And that's really important if you buy it off a used car lot or from an individual off of ebay or any of those other places. And it's not a dealer of that brand. It's very difficult to get the warranty transferred. So that's always a major plus because a lot of things, things go with it, they'll also go through all the technical service bulletins, all the recalls, make sure that's all handled beforehand. If you buy it from a curb stoner, for example, that would be someone who just puts it on the corner of a gas station and says for sale, you kind of get what you're paying for. If you don't have an A E certified technician, check it out. Ok. So definitely get someone to check it out. Should you probably drive it too to just get a sense really? If you feel like it is in good condition, right? First thing is you never want to just buy a car because it's the car your friend has or you like riding and you need to drive that we're all built completely differently. We all have different interests. When driving a vehicle, you have to feel safe, you have to feel confident you have to seat seating position is the number one thing that people forget about because no matter how long you own that car, it's not gonna get more comfortable. It might get less comfortable, but it certainly won't get more comfortable. And then of course, all those safety features you cannot add on later. You want the safest vehicle you can get, you also want so that your visibility is excellent. You can see out of it, you can touch the controls, function of those controls. And you like the, you like the, the feel of that vehicle. If you get in a vehicle and you buy it without a test driving, you kind of a buyer beware. But taking it again to an, a se certified technician paying that anywhere between 100 and 50 to $400 put it up on a lift check to see if it's flood damage. If there's any problems in what I call a green, yellow, red checklist, green, the car is great. Great. Buy, you shouldn't go buy it, you know, you shouldn't miss it. Yellow. You know, you might want to be aware, it needs new tires or it needs brakes or it has a problem and red, this thing's been in an accident. This thing's got problems. Uh, the mileage is whatever it might be, those are important for you to know and then don't make an offer until you get that report. Ok. Uh Very good to know. What about leasing a used car? Is that an option? Most places do not offer leasing a used car and it's usually not to your financial benefit to do so if it is available. It'll be available from that brand of dealer again, like Ford at a Ford dealer or GM and a GM dealer. Typically they're one or two years old, but after that, there's no leasing options. It's a purchase option and I'm just going through this with my daughter right now. If you're going to buy a used car, please don't go longer than 60 months. They are offering 72 and 84 months to make that extend to that. The payments are smaller, but basically you're putting yourself in a negative situation because that vehicle will, you'll end up paying more in finance charges than the vehicle is worth. And also in the end trading in that vehicle, you're gonna be in a negative position and you'll be what we call upside down, which is never a good position to be in because you just keep rolling that forward and you can't get out from under it. Well, we all know interest rates are high, likely to probably stay high for a while according to the inflation report earlier today, how should viewers think about financing a used car purchase? Well, there is a lot of interest, a low interest rates available through the dealer themselves, whether it be a used car dealer or a new car dealer. So check with them first, find out what the rates are. Uh, I've seen rates as low as 2.9% because they're trying to get rid of a certain brand or a certain model that they're not going to be selling any longer. So that could be advantageous to you. But also check with credit unions, they seem to have the best rates. Uh, they're really easy to work with. You. Just tell them you want to be a member and wanna get a loan. I'd be more than happy to work out the numbers with you if you're a military. Look at USA A they have really good low rates. Ok, Lauren Fix the car coach with the Fix. Lauren, thank you. Thank you.