Keys to buying a used car with confidence

Is your car a rolling embarrassment? Or maybe it won’t even roll anymore. If a fresh set of wheels is on your shopping list but your wallet’s feeling wafer-thin, take heart. There may be no better time to buy a used vehicle.

With automobile reliability better than ever, inflation on the rise and consumers feeling pinched, Americans are flocking to used cars. In 2007, we bought 41.4 million of them -- compared with just 16.1 million new vehicles, according to CNW Marketing Research Inc.

This year that gap is only expected to grow. New-car sales are slumping, so dealers are putting greater emphasis on their used-car inventories, offering wider selection and, in many cases, lower prices. At the same time, used cars are lasting longer. Last year the average passenger vehicle in the U.S. was 9.2 years old, a record, according to industry analysis group R.L. Polk.

And considering the options consumers now have in the used-car market -- from “certified pre-owned” cars to no-haggle superstores -- not to mention the wealth of safety, reliability and pricing information online, 2008 offers an unrivaled opportunity to get a great deal on secondhand wheels.

Still, used-car dealers didn’t earn their place in the pantheon of villainy for nothing, and decades of rip-offs and other bad experiences have led several generations of Americans to develop a steadfast aversion to even thinking about going used.

It doesn’t have to be that way, says George Parker, a National Automobile Dealers Assn. instructor who trains professional used-car sellers. “The process has changed,” he says. “Transparency is now the key.”

Even if that’s the case, you need to be prepared to get the best deal.