How to Buy a Car Online

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Buying a new cat online

Contact the dealership by phone or email to negotiate a price.

Most people don't actually buy a car online, because the payment is made in person when you take possession. However, using the Internet allows you to shop for new or used cars in your area from the comfort of your home. This article identifies some of the most popular websites for locating cars for sale and outlines the typical buying process.

Go to websites that show the MSRP (sticker price) and dealer invoice price for available new cars. This may include websites of a dealership in your area as well as websites like CarsDirect.com, which looks at the vehicle inventory of numerous dealerships in a given zip code.

Narrow down the potential vehicles to one or more that you are interested in.

Visit the dealership, if necessary, to see the vehicle, finalize the contract, find out the trade-in value of your car or discuss financing options through the dealership.

Buying a used car online

Some websites sell just used cars and some sell both used and neUse a variety of online sources to shop for used cars in your areaw cars.

• Go to websites of dealerships that sell used cars.
• • Look at CarsDirect.com, AutoTrader.com, Cars.com and other sites that cater specifically to buying cars.
  • Many people sell used cars using eBay, and Craigslist.com can be a good way to find a car in your vicinity.
  • Search the sites of newspapers in your city and neighboring cities. Most of these sites offer a 
  classified section where individuals post vehicles for sale.
• Click on the CARFAX link to see if the vehicle has ever had a major repair covered by insurance. This could be accident or weather related. If there's no link, you'll need to find out the vehicle identification number (VIN) to look up the history.
• Contact the seller by phone or email to get more information. Ask the following information if it wasn't provided in the ad:
• Mileage
• Type of transmission
• Number of previous owners
• Warranty coverage
• Condition of the exterior and interior
• Whether the owner is a nonsmoker
• Whether the owner has maintenance records
• Whether the vehicle was stored inside or outside
• Whether there's any damage to the interior or exterior
• Whether it recently had tires, brakes or other parts replaced
• Options that are important to you (e.g., leather seats, DVD player, GPS, seat warmers)
• Make an appointment to see the car in person.
• Review the exterior and interior for any damage.
• Check that the VIN on the vehicle is the same one checked in CARFAX.
• Ask to see the maintenance records.
• Take the car for a test drive. Drive it on the highway, in traffic and other conditions.

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