Recently my old beater gave up the ghost and the repair costs to make it operable again were more than I could justify sinking into the cars, so I was in a position where I required a new vehicle to get me back and forth to work. At the time, it was not feasible for me to look at buying a new vehicle, so I decided to look around for at good used cars and see what was available.

Since I had not purchased a car in many years, I was at a loss to know where to start as far as pricing was concerned, so I did some research on the internet and found several good resources.

I found out that values remain pretty constant, unless the owner or dealership wants to move the vehicle quickly, then they can fluctuate accordingly. Since I live in Dallas, I started my search by typing into google: used cars in Dallas. The great thing about the internet is that whether you live in Dallas, Detroit, Jacksonville, Columbus, or Indianapolis, you can find great used cars by entering: used cars in Detroit, used cars in Jacksonville, used cars in Columbus, or used cars in Indianapolis.

You can check out pricing for these great used cars by visiting any of the following websites:

Kelly’s Blue Book – http://www.kbb.com
NADA used cars – http://www.nada.com

And, although you can check out many online classifieds, some free and some paid, I found that you will not find more reliable pricing information than those supplied in the two references linked above.

The other aspect of used cars for sale that puzzled me was how to know what I should be looking for when purchasing a great used car, so it was back to the internet to see if someone could be of assistance. It was while reading some material in a forum about used cars, that I found “Consumer Reports” http://consumerreports.org. This website has a wealth of information on used cars and used car values. It provides unbiased opinions on the vehicle’s track record, weaknesses, strengths, and pricing, making it easier for consumers to narrow their search for the perfect used cars.