Used cars

 We've been trying to buy used cars and trying to negotiate with data that we have. Just wanted to record the experience and learnings here for what it's worth.

Used car dealers are not selling just the car, they are actually selling financing options where they make a cut by being the middle man between the bank and you. 

You should always give them as less data as possible and get all the details from them before buying the car. For ex " Saying you are going to buy full cash does not make you look like good buyer. It only shares the fact that they won't make money through the bank. So they will now focus on adding other things that can make them get a better cut from selling the car and not the financing. 

Other things to note are they will try to put some mandatory accessories that you have to negotiate off and ask them to bring as close to the listing price as possible because they make a deal from it. They might not remove the whole thing but you should be able to remove 2 of 3 things roughly. And ask a few extra questions - like is this actually a feature or just some paper/ protection. or maybe it's car alarm + 3 year protection and the protection part you can ask to remove etc. They will say things like they can't remove things already installed.

Manufacturer supported Dealers give certified guarantees. so it may help to go to actual manufacturer supported dealers.

Other things to note is what warranty is on the car and miles/ years : power train warranty / bumper to bumper warranty. More recent cars will have a few years of warranty left - like a buying a 3yo car with 5 year warranty. The warranty is based on miles and years so remember to note the miles too.

There's a price for different mileages so note the mileage.

It's better to buy used cars over new cars if you are planning to sell them in a few years. because new cars depreciate at a higher rate than used cars. 

Outside of this there are websites that give you stats on depreciation in 1 year , 2 years etc that helps you compared equivalent cars, or depreciation between used / new etc.

KBB is a site people refer to understand car values.

Carmax reeport and KBB both give you stats on previous damage.

While choosing between financing and buying by cash, if you are going to have a better use of putting that cash into a home loan of 30 years rather than a car loan of 5 years, it may just be better to finance the car.

Also if you are planning on selling even before you pay off the car, it might just be better to finance.

When buying insurance , make sure you mention you drive less than 6500 miles to get better rates