Buying A Used Car In The Winter Months: 8 Tips and Suggestions

There's a reason winter is the best time of year to think about buying a used car: Sellers are desperate to get the things off their hands, and buyers are few and far between. It's nice not to have much competition when out shopping for used cars. Here are 8 tips to help you buy a used car in the winter months:

Tip # 1: Your Winter Budget. Factor your potential monthly car payment into your budget, and don't forget to include those credit cards and holiday bills coming due in January and February. If you know you're going to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars during those months on gifts for your family and friends, you may need to adjust your down payment, buy a used car or a cheaper new car, or hold off on your purchase. At the same time, you may see your monthly take-home pay drop during the winter, depending on how you are paid.

Winter with its cold, damp weather presents unique challenges when it comes to test driving a used car, which is why you need to follow these tips on how to test drive a used car in winter for the best results.

2. Winter Worthy Used Car. Make sure the car's components that are most important in winter are working properly:

· Inspect the battery, which could have its power reduced by up to 50 percent by severely cold temperatures.

· Check the belts, hoses and wipers.

· Check the tires for proper tread, inflation, and determine their all season traction.

· Test the heater and any cold weather features like heated seats, rear window defroster, etc.

· If equipped, make sure the four-wheel-drive or all wheel drive system is operating properly.

3. Road test the car in an empty parking lot. Snow and ice on the roads make you more conservative when road testing a used car. Consider going to a large empty parking lot like you might find at a high school, and drive just like you would in a summer day test drive. Get the vehicle up to speed and jam on the brakes-test the car’s ABS system (it should kick in with a thump-thump-thump if working properly). Also, when braking, see how straight the car stops. Pulling in one direction or another could indicate brake or alignment problems.

Here are some tips for you personally while inspecting and riding in the car:

4. Bring a towel. Use the towel to rub on spots or stains on the car’s exterior, because they might be permanent. You're going to see spots and stains in the winter that might not be permanent. Give it a quick rub with your towel, just to see if it's wet snow or ice that can be cleaned easily. Also, use your towel or rag to wipe your hands off while looking underneath the hood.

5. Bring a change of shoes. Don't judge a car on how it feels when wearing your winter boots. Bring a pair of sneakers or shoes so you get a feel for how the vehicle drives the rest of the year. Bulky, clumsy boots just won't give you a true feel for the car and you might end up turning down something you would have really liked.

6. Keep your coat on and test the A/C. This is the best way to test the air conditioning. A bulky coat is going to demonstrate how you might feel on a hot summer day. Does the air conditioning cool you sufficiently? If so, it's probably going to work fine come winter time.

7. Take your coat off and test the heat. See how quickly it can warm you up on a cold day. It's an important consideration. Don't settle for how it warms you while already wearing a warm winter coat, because it’s not the same.

8. Take your gloves off. Your fingers, not surprisingly, are extremely tactile. Your sense of touch is going to help you find flaws with the car that you won't find with the gloves on. However, you should make sure part of the test drive does have some glove time. You still need to see how things can work with your bulky finger warmers on.

Come out and visit with us-we do not mind the cold, and we have our comfortable showroom to warm you up! Helping people with less than perfect credit buy used cars in Salt Lake City is also what separates West Valley Auto Plaza from all other used car dealers. Our goal is to get you back on your feet in a good reliable pre-owned vehicle that you can afford at a fair price, regardless of your credit situation.

Salt Lake City Used Car Dealers West Valley Auto Plaza vs Low Book Sales

Low Book Sales is a good dealership and they have been our biggest competitor for years. I know that most of the customers who come to our dealership have been there, or are going there, in the used car purchase process. I want you to know that there are HUGE advantages for you if you choose to give West Valley Auto Plaza a shot to buy your used car. Watch the video to see why you should consider buying a used car or truck from us:

West Valley Auto Plaza ADVANTAGE #1: Lower Interest Rates.
Typically our interest rates to finance your used car purchase are lower-sometimes HALF the interest rate, compared to LowBook.

West Valley Auto Plaza ADVANTAGE #2: Lower Money Down.
You can purchase a car from us for as little as $99 Down! Read my earlier blogs of genuine customers who have been asked to pay higher down payments at LowBook and other dealerships, than at West Valley Auto Plaza.

West Valley Auto Plaza ADVANTAGE #3: Easier Finance Options For Bad Credit.
We offer anyone with a job a way to finance a car and reestablish your credit-no matter what your credit history. Do you have bad credit? Bankruptcies? Repossessions? Late Payments? We offer you a fresh start to repair your less than perfect credit. I have had many comments on the better financing and easier terms we deliver for car buyers here, than at other dealerships. (Read the e-mail from yesterday's blog).

Do'nt get jerked around by other dealerships or finance companies who charge interest rates from 20% or higher. We are even getting people with lousy credit into 2010 model cars, for under $300 monthly payments! Fill in our online credit application, and get started selecting the used car or truck you need, without the:

• Hassles from used car loan companies;
• "Bad credit" or "poor credit" high interest rates;
• Poor selection from "Buy Here Pay Here" car lots.
  

Come in and see us at 3899 South Redwood Road, call us at 801-886-1700, or view our used car selection online.

West Valley Auto Plaza Customer Reviews: 'Better Than The Competition'

Here is another video review from one of our used car purchase customers-Preston. He had less than perfect credit, but our used car financing program got him the vehicle he wanted, and needed.

To prove that he is the rule-not the exception-of our Utah car buying clients:

I received this unsolicited e-mail from one of our used car buying customers this week:

"I just wanted to email you and let you know how thankful me and my wife were when you approved us to take the car home last night. Our 2^nd car of the year broke down over the weekend, and could only borrow a car from a family member up until yesterday. So we were in a huge bind and appreciate you helping us. The fact that you are willing to take time at night and look at emails was extremely surprising but you really are true to your word and goes to show you really want to help people.

After visiting your dealership on Tuesday night, I decided to look at a couple other places before making a decision. 1^st Low Book Sales, which claimed to be the number one used car dealership in the state of Utah and willing to help anyone in any financial situation. I told them that we had picked a car out at your car lot, and they told me to be careful because you charge very high interest and have been known to sale lemons. After filling out an app and running our credit, he took it to his manager and when he returned he explained he was unable to do anything for us. That we didn’t even qualify for in house financing. Needless to say we were shocked and felt incredibly dumb.

The 2^nd dealership we decided to visit was First Class Cars, which claimed to be the dealership that started the in-house financing and were the credit experts. They wanted an $800 deposit and said they could get us into a good reliable car, they asked what kind of car were interested in and explained we had a 2004 Chevy Cavalier picked out at your lot and wanted something similar. He then explained that places like yours claim you are approved and give you the car but a couple of days later call us back and tell us to bring back the car or give a larger down payment. Afterwards he takes us to look at the cars available with an $800-$1000 down payment. Most were in bad shape and in the 90’s. He then shows us a 89’ Toyota Corolla and tells us his mom had one and got over 300,000 miles on it before it broke down. At this point we were freezing from walking around outside and let him know we weren’t interested.

When we returned to your dealership we were greeted by Cole which was very helpful and did his best to help us in any way...Again THANK YOU for giving us an opportunity to rebuild our credit while getting into a car we really like and will serve our needs. People like you are rare and we really appreciate that."-CP

Do you need more proof we deliver what we promise? Come in to our used car dealership-and see for yourself! Then, you can recommend your friends and family to come see us too!

Customer Reviews Prove We Do Not Jerk You Around!

Our happy customer comments and reviews confirm what we share everyday with those who come to our dealership: You buy a used car or truck that you want and need, at a price and financing that you can afford, with respect and dignity-no hassles, no getting jerked around.

This is a customer review video from a year ago, thanking Craig for putting together an awesome deal for this couple to buy a 2009 Hyundai Sonata.

Fast forward a year later, to this week, and we see another happy customer, giving us a great review (on Google), for the way we helped them with their used car purchase-after the sale. And, again thanking our guy Craig for an awesome job.

Some good things never change-especially at our dealership. We offer used car financing for anyone in Salt Lake county with a job and a dream . Come see why we have so many loyal customers that keep coming back to us over & over-the very happy couple in the video, and our new customer who posted the Google review.