Navigating through a sea of second hand cars can be a daunting and complex activity. When a car has a previous owner, you don’t always know everything you’d like about its history. But you can hedge your bets by relying on some of the criteria that made cars top choices for new buyers the first time around, including the car’s history of reliability, fuel economy and safety.

Cars that are popular when new are often equally popular as used cars, especially if they perform as expected in the reliability, fuel economy and safety categories. So the list below starts with the 10 most popular cars sold in 2009, and shows ratings for these same cars from earlier years. With this criteria in mind, here is a list of the ten best second hand cars of 2009.

If you purchased one of these cars in 2009, congratulations! If you are in the market for a used car, this could be a good place to start your search. The data for these models was compiled from several different publicly accessible consumer rating sites, including edmunds.com, msn.com and consumerreports.org. Ratings shown below are taken from model years 2003 – 2007.

What the numbers mean:
–Units Sold – Number of units sold in the US in 2009, indicating the relative popularity of each model
–Reliability rating – Average reliability scores published for 2003 – 2007 models
–MPG – Published city/highway miles-per-gallon for 2007
–NHTSA – Average rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash tests performed on 2007 models
–Overall – Combined and equally-weighted score for reliability, fuel economy and safety

Ten best second hand cars of 2009

Model Units Sold Reliability MPG NHTSA Overall
1 Toyota Corolla 252,414 5.0 31/40 4.4 13.5
2 Honda Civic 244,603 4.8 30/38 4.6 13.2
3 Honda Accord 287,491 5.0 26/34 4.6 12.6
4 Nissan Altima 194,211 4.8 26/35 4.6 12.5
5 Toyota Camry 333,937 4.8 24/34 4.8 12.4
6 Honda CR-V 191,214 5.0 22/28 4.8 11.8
7 Ford Fusion 165,117 5.0 23/31 4.2 11.6
8 Chevrolet Impala 165,565 4.4 21/30 4.6 11.1
9 Ford F-150 283,613 4.2 15/19 4.7 9.3
10 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 245,306 3.8 16/20 4.7 9.0

Okay, so we got to 2009, economically worse than previously, but not to our dismay. Although we all have less financial abilities, there are more opportunities that are getting tuned to our troubles. We consumers are not the only ones suffering here; in fact large businesses and credit agencies are also feeling the slump. This is only natural as we make up their profits, so if we don’t have anything to spend on their products and services, they, we, don’t make any profit.

In 2009, we entered the largest bad credit borrowing period ever. Used auto loans became very hot as there weren’t a lot of us that could actually get in on the new car trend, which was not too hot. Yeah, we saw the cheaper new cars come out, those even offering great savings in the fuel department, but where are we going to get the financing to afford to save gas—a bit redundant, huh?

As more of us were part of the used auto trend, more lenders had to accommodate the trend in order to have any real business. Big secret here: even if there are a few big spenders, businesses follow the flock, not the few! Used auto loans even prevailed through the Cash for Clunkers phase that went through, but for some of us really didn’t make much sense-I mean we are having difficulty with our finances so you propose we help businesses out by getting further in debt? Many of us just couldn’t afford to get into another car payment in return for our paid off cars.
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Getting a used auto loan is an excellent way to purchase a car. It may require that you have a good credit standing and also be able to make some kind of down payment to get the loan approved. You are going to need some personal information in order to get the loan, so you may want to get that gathered before taking with a financing company. You are going to need things such as, your pay stubs for employment validation, current utility bills for residence proof, your SSN, and you may also need some banking information.

There are many different ways that a person can obtain a used auto loan. Auto dealers are the obvious choice for many people. They are going to be working with many different lenders, so they are going to be able to provide financing for people even if they have some kind of credit problem. Read the rest of this entry »

When looking for a cheap car sale it does not mean that an old clunker is the actual goal. Usually for the shopper the thought behind seeking a used auto is not that they are looking for any ‘cheap car’, they are looking for the rare opportunity that would supply a car worth more than it is being sold for. There are many car owners that will decide to replace their current car only because they want something else and will sell the vehicle being replaced for a good price because they no longer need it and wish to rid of it.

If the seller of the ‘cheap car’ is not selling it for the sole necessity of the money there is a good chance the car will be sold for less than it is worth. Doing this completes the purchase and provides closure to the one selling the vehicle. This would be considered the rare opportunity mentioned earlier. Many times the ‘cheap car sale’ is completed by the owner and is sold through a private sale between the seller and the buyer. The sale price will not include a profit margin like it would if sold through a used auto dealer. Read the rest of this entry »

One thing to know about a used auto car loans is that you must be well prepared. Many people go to a dealer, sit on the desk, get served with some old black coffee and the dealer tells them what a sweet a deal he has gotten for them. And the next moment not only have you bought a car from him/her, you are also financing the car from the same institution. This is a big “no-no.” You should always get financing through another independent lender before you step into a car dealer’s office. You can save a considerable amount by going elsewhere.

Financing a car through the dealer is always more expensive than getting a car loan from a bank. The majority of auto car dealers make a lot of money from these financial loans rather than from the actual sale of the car. So once you have seen the car you want and know the price, go elsewhere for the loan. Read the rest of this entry »

Getting an auto loan nowadays is relatively difficult. The current economic crises have all lenders evaluating each potential customer as a default. However, that does not mean one can’t get a used car auto loan. You can improve your chances of getting the loan by being well prepared. All lenders are looking for customers who are low risk and will pay off the loan. While some lenders will not ask you for a lot of documents, the majority will ask you for many details. Before you walk into a lenders office you should have the following: Read the rest of this entry »

So you’re in the market for a used car huh? 
Well you’re probably going to need to get a used car loan and do some investigative research as well. Before heading over to the used car lot you should have an idea of what kind of car you want. 
Research, research, research before you buy. Use websites to find an accurate price for the car you want. 
If you have bad credit and you want a used car you really need to be careful. Dealers will try and scam you and hit you with a deadly high interest rate that could have that twenty-thousand dollar car turned into a thirty-thousand dollar car in a few years.

If you have very bad credit try and work out the car loan first with your bank before going to the lot. This will save you a lot of headaches and you can make an informed decision without a salesman breathing down your neck. Here are some things you should have done before heading to the dealer.
Doing this research ahead of time will save you trouble down the road. There’s nothing worse than figuring out you can’t afford a car when you’ve already signed the contract so if you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail. 
And always remember the 3 golden rules:

Find local used auto loan rates

Research you car to find a median price

Avoid financing extended warranties into the loan.

If you are thinking of getting an auto loan, the last thing you should ever do is simply walk into a financial office/bank or ask a lender for money. This comes much later.

Today, one can get the best rates for an auto loan by doing some finger walking. Go to your computer and search for used car auto loans. But make sure you have a copy of your credit score and the Vehicle identification number (VIN) with you. This number is etched on the right hand side of your car or any of your car’s legal paper work should have it. If you have already looked at a car and you want to buy, make sure you have the model, year and VIN of that car too.

If you have never applied for a credit report, you will need to get one. No institution will lend you money without this report. Each individual in the US is entitled to one free copy of their credit report each year. Read the rest of this entry »

There are many sites on the Internet that offer used car auto loans. The majority of them offer an online quotation service which only takes a few minutes to complete. To get a quote, you will need you car make, VIN and model. In general, the majority of lenders have similar interest rates and loan duration. But some of the lenders also offer other benefits which you may not be aware of- so one has to ask.

Some lenders do require a down payment and others do not. 100% financing is available from a number of lenders. Depending of course on your credit rating.

Some of the lenders also ask you to provide them with your bank account, so the monthly payments are deducted automatically. For this convenience and less paper work, some lenders will give you a small discount. So do not forget to ask for this option of payment. And in any case, you really do not want to go to the institution at the end of every month and stand in a line. Read the rest of this entry »