So, do you ever have one of those ideas that start out like: “Hey, you know what we should do…?” Well, this is the result of following through on one such idea. You see, my good friend and I are what you might call car guys. But when we’re not discussing the NEW model year diesel wagon that’s not coming to the US, we’re actually buying, working on, and talking about USED cars. Which got us thinking: Why doesn’t anybody write about buying used cars on the internet? So I did a little research, and then made up the following statistic: 80 percent of first time vehicle registrations in the US are used vehicles.

With all these used cars getting purchased, who are these buyers going to for advice if not the internet? I propose that the research goes something like this: Steve wants to buy a used car. He mentions this casually to coworkers and family, who all give him advice based on the cars they current or previously owned. Some examples of advice might be: “Don’t buy a Ford, I had a 1991 Taurus and I HATED it” or “Get a Toyota (beige), cuz those things last forever”. Steve probably also is within two degrees of friendship of a true car guy, so his second step will be to seek out this person for advice. Let’s call Steve’s car guy buddy Brad. Brad drives a late 90′s BMW 328i and obsesses over pictures of iPad 3′s (that crap’s not even OUT yet). Brad is awesome at talking about cars, but not really great about listening to a buyer’s needs and making thoughtful suggestions. Now, if Steve is REALLY committed to trying to making an informed choice, he might also purchase the most recent publication of Consumer Reports : Annual Auto Issue. Eventually, he pulls the trigger and buys something… but maybe not the something he would have bought if he could have read the Used Auto Blog first.

That story was longer than I expected, but my point is this: It’s tough to buy a car. It’s even tougher to buy a used car. We’re here to help.