How to buy a used car

While buying a new car is always exciting, looking for a used one can be a nightmare. No matter what there's always a concern when you drive that car off the lot, no matter what kind of deal you might have got in negotiations, that it's a lemon.

There are some tips you can follow to help your used car buying experience be a little more pleasant and hopefully tilt the odds in you favor. Ultimately however, your instincts are your best guide. If something about the car or the deal doesn't feel right, then go with that and walk away. There's another one right around the corner that won't leave you stomach turning when you sign those papers.

Preparation is the most important thing you can do to make your experience a positive one. It takes a little more time, but in the end you'll be grateful you did it.

Knowing when to buy is also key in this process. And the first thing to remember here is that the best time to buy a car is when you don't really have to. If your present car is breaking down or it's already gone then you're buying under pressure to hurry up and purchase a vehicle. Buying under those circumstances can never work in your favor. Buying when you don't have to gives you more negotiating power, enabling you to wait out a seller or even walk to find something better.

Determining your budget before hand is always smart. Knowing how much you want to and can spend will influence the type of vehicle you buy. But the important thing here that many people don't do is making sure you stick to the budget you've set. Buying a car stirs up emotions that aren't always sensible. Don't get caught up in these and end up with a higher payment then you committed to.

What now? Civil disobedience is the sole path left for those who cannot support the Bush-Blair pact of aggression. Only then will politicians on both sides

How have we got to this point, where two western governments take us into an illegal and immoral war against a stricken nation with whom we have no quarrel and who offer us no threat: an act of agg(Continue Article)

World view: the wall between the US marines' culture and the Iraqi world is almost impenetrable. The troops cannot recognise the little signs that someone

For the past week, I have been "embedded" with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, in advance of the US army's promised attack on Fallujah.(Continue Article)

World view: we can expect a flood of criticism of Rwanda's leadership since the genocide, and there is much to condemn. But we must recognise why the Tutsis

In less than a fortnight, Rwanda will mark the tenth anniversary of its genocide. Already, the outpouring has started, and we can expect it to crescendo ...(Continue Article)

LeasePlan awards recognise suppliers

FAST-GROWING GLOUCESTER business All Fleet Services has scooped the Individual Recognition Award at LeasePlan's Sixth Annual Supplier Awards. David ...(Continue Article)

British intelligence could well have forged the George Galloway documents. But not the Telegraph itself: newspapers can never recognise forgeries, let

Charles Moore, the editor of the Daily Telegraph, proved so robust in dealing with his George Galloway exclusive that he has killed off rumours circulating ...(Continue Article)