Paying for Used Cars with Your Head – Not Your Heart

There's a disturbing new trend in the used car financing business called balloon loans that are good for the lender and not that great for the used car buyer.

Tax season is upon us and so are tax refunds for those who don't plan well and have too much withheld by the government annually. A survey shows a lot of folks may use their tax refund to buy a new or used car.

The first quarter of 2012 is shaping up to be a good one for people with both bad and good credit who are looking to buy a used car. The ever-improving credit situation is shaping the used car buying place and buyers ability to buy a used car.

There was an article in my hometown newspaper on an 18-year old woman who felt she got ripped for buying a used car for $1000 and then discovering it had major mechanical problems, which is why I offer advice on buying a $1000 used car. I don’t want you to feel ripped off

There was an article in my hometown newspaper on an 18-year old woman who felt she got ripped for buying a used car for $1000 and then discovering it had major mechanical problems, which is why I offer advice on buying a $1000 used car. I don’t want you to feel ripped off

KBB.com, which is part of the Kelley Blue Book empire, has issued its 2012 model year cost of ownership awards. While the information focuses on new cars, you can used this list as a good guide for buying used.

The Department of Energy's vehicle cost calculator is an excellent to way to check the environmental impact of a used car you want to buy. It's also going to help you easily compare used cars to see which is the most environmental and/or economical and have the best environmental footprint.

CarPriceGraph.com is a website that does an interesting job of demonstrating, in graph form, used cars for sale in 32 markets across the United States. It's easy to shop for a specific used car without having to wade through a lot of website clutter.

Looking for a used car in the wake of higher fuel prices? You may want to consider these ten reasons to buy a used truck or SUV because the fall of 2011 is a good time to buy them because of things like higher fuel prices and reduced demand.

Forget all the misinformation you have been reading in the mainstream media, the summer of 2011 is a good time to buy a used car.

Single parents are in a unique place when it comes to their used cars. They want a used car that serves their needs as parents and single people.

There has been a lot written on this site about what you need to do to buy a used car. This piece, though, will tell you the top 5 tips for buying a used car in 2009 regardless of your credit situation. Plus, I’m going to tell you a class of used car to avoid. These are difficult economic times so it makes sense to have updated info – and not advice published in 2005 when the living was easier.

Less than one in five used car loans are made from credit unions, which is surprising because they can be a great source of low-cost loans because they can offer competitive financing rates to their members versus other financial institutions.

Bankrate, Inc. is a leading aggregator of financial rate information. Bankrate's rate data research continually surveys approximately 4,800 financial institutions in all 50 states in order to provide clear, objective, and unbiased rates to consumers. There are also helpful tools on the site for figuring out what you can afford.

AutoFinancing.Net has some helpful articles on understanding bad credit auto financing, which is where a lot of used car buyers are coming from.

AWARE (Americans Well-informed on Automobile Retailing Economics) is a collaboration among various financial institutions with helpful information about financing your next car. It has helpful tools for figuring out what you can afford and other good advice.