Buying Used Cars in Greenville: 5 Tips on Calculating What You Can Afford

Most used car buyers visit dealerships in Greenville with a rough estimate of what they can afford. Often, their expectations are pegged on the price of the used car or the monthly payments they can carry without default. But if you research a bit, you will understand that used car expenses carry way more features than just the price of the car. Taxes, registration fees, interest rates, down payments, trade-in values, referral money, and extended warranties come in at different stages to either increase or decrease your overall budget.

So, you will have to crunch a few numbers before you can arrive at the actual budget that you afford. You cannot take a rough estimate to buy used cars in Greenville. The following 5 tips should simplify the process and you can factor in the essentials without breaking your calculator over it.

1. Think about trade-in and down payment first

That is where you must start. Your old used car is your ticket to bring down your used car expense and take affordable bad credit auto loans in Greenville. Arrange the papers, jot down the exact specifications, and research to get an estimate of what your car is worth now. Then, move on to your savings and see if you can add something to the trade-in value you will likely receive. Even $500 can help to bring down your loan amount and the associated interest rate.

2. Figure out the maximum amount you can afford monthly

Forget about used car prices, your bad credit score, buy here pay here interest rates and credit spans. Honestly, sit down with your bank statement and calculate the maximum amount of monthly credit payments you can make against your auto loan. Try to be liberal here because a high monthly payment means you can finish paying off your auto loan earlier and reduce your interest payments. Multiply the amount you decided with 36 months to land on the net loan expense you can shoulder.

3. Read up on taxes and registration fees

You will have to pay for these from your pocket. An auto loan will not cover these expenses. Again, fire up the internet and read up the various taxes used car buyers have to pay during their purchase along with the typical registration fees required. You may want to look at cheap used cars in Greenville if you feel that these additional charges are way too high for you. At the best dealerships, you will get sufficient options of quality used cars even at the price range you can afford.

4. To buy extended warranties or not

As a used car buyer, you will want to have warranties on your car to have peace of mind. And some dealerships will offer you extended warranties that come at a price. For a typical bumper-to-bumper extended warranty, you will need to pay a one-time payment of $1,500 that will run you for either 24 months or 24,000 miles. Think hard about this because, at Family Auto of Greenville, you get a comprehensive 2 years/36,000 miles warranty that is included in the package. You do not pay anything extra and yet get better coverage. A used car warranty is one aspect you can strike off your expense list if you buy from Family Auto.

5. Factor in insurance payments as well

Shop around for auto insurance. And add the estimated premiums either to the monthly credit payments you calculated or the overall budget that you can afford. Your dealership can always help you to get the best car insurance but you can also do your own research to pick an affordable plan. You should finally have the actual amount you can afford. From here on, visit a dealership with a large inventory of used cars in Greenville and buy a quality vehicle.