Well here it is finally some tips on getting a car. These are some practical tips on how to get the most for your money.

After college,  I was able to buy a car from my parents on the cheap, and then get a car of my own after working for a year.  For those of you who do not have that option, here are some tips well worth considering as you make the purchase.

• Your best buy is a 2-3 year old used car in the $10,000 - $16,000 range. A new cars’ value plunges as soon as you drive it off the lot.  And the first 1-2 years is where most of the depreciation in price occurs.  After that, it becomes pretty steady as to how the price will decline each year.  By purchasing a car of this age, you are letting someone else pay for the depreciation and you can get a good car for a good price. Typically these cars have 24,000 to 36,000 miles on them.
  
• Go to a good used car dealership.  Popular places are automax and autousa.  These used cars might be slightly higher in price than you would find in the paper, but the added price is worth the warranty and risk that the dealer is making to back the car up.  You can find some good deals from individuals, but make sure you get a mechanic to take a look at it and that it has a reliable written down service record. There are also some great Internet sites to do your research as well.
  
• Get a car loan for 3-5 years.  The best bet is the shorter the better.  Many people don’t realize how much fun it is to live without car payments.  They are always paying off a vehicle.  Pay off the car in 3 years or less and then drive it for 7 or more and have some financial freedom.
  
• Maintenance Expenses do increase, but they level out.  Initially, you will not have major maintenance expenses in your first couple of years.  Once a car get 6-7 years old you can begin to expect $600-$700 in maintenance expenses.  However, this does not just keep increasing.  It really levels off at this amount.  If you invest in the maintaining of your car you can drive it for 15-20 years and be banking all the money that you would be paying out to buy a new car every 5 years.  $600 a year is a lot less than $2500 year in car payments.
  
• Check out some of the other free services that you can use to find and check out your potential purchase.  On the web you can search for used cars in your area.  You can check out the history of the car by getting the vehicle number off the dashboard and going to www carfax.com.

Hope these tips help.  Happy car hunting.