Considering a late model pre-owned vehicle? They can be hard to find especially if it is a popular model? Where and how do you find them?

I have talked about buying a used versus leasing a new in other blog posts. It is no secret that I like new vehicles and I believe leasing is the way to go but buying a late model, pre-owned, can be a good purchase as well. The secret to purchasing a late model pre-owned is finding the vehicle at a price that makes sense. If a vehicle is only 2 or 3 years old and the mileage is in line (less than 15,000 a year) and the car fax checks out on a Car Fax , quality issues aren’t really part of the picture.

Paying a premium to a giant sales organization just because they claim their quality is top notch does not make sense. Some of the large used vehicle organizations charge way too much for a vehicle and like I said before, if it is late model and checks out, quality isn’t such a large issue.
How do you find a vehicle? Other than the classified ads or the car shopper magazines, I find the best way is to visit a large new vehicle auto group. Large dealer groups, 5 or more dealerships, often pool their used inventories so that they can advertise a larger selection. A dealership in Orlando might not have what you are looking for but possibly that dealership belongs to a group of stores with locations in other large cities, Miami, Tampa or Jacksonville. Those locations may have what you are looking for.
Find a New car dealership that you like. Maybe you know them or maybe you have heard good things about them. Go in and talk with a sales consultant. Tell them what you are looking for. If they have availability at one of their other locations it makes the shopping and searching a lot easier. You might like the unit they have or you might need to get on a call list. When the dealer group has what you are looking for, they call you.   

You can still apply all of the other considerations about price and trade in value but first you have to find something that you would like to own.  Chances are the price will be much better from the new vehicle dealer then a large used vehicle chain store.