Cheap used cars are the staple of many car lots. After all, if it were not for the lure of an inexpensive car that might still offer a few years worth of driving enjoyment, many new car owners would not have set foot on a car lot to begin with! Yet if the only experience you have had with buying cheap used cars is akin to the movie depiction in “Used Cars,” then you may be a bit hesitant to once again try your hand at finding a great deal. Yet there is a new way of finding cheap used cars for sale and quite a few car owners now report having found cheap used cars online.

The online market place for cheap second hand cars is vast. EBay is of course the premier address for cheap used car for sale and the bidding process works for both the sellers as well as the buyers. Yet when looking for used cars on the Internet, you will need to follow some simple tips to ensure that you get what you are looking for:

Used cars need to have a title. Ask the person who is having the car for sale if there is a clean title, meaning that there are no outstanding leans. Additionally, you will want to make sure that the car does not have a salvage title, since this will make insuring it virtually impossible.

Cheap secondhand cars are not always drivable. Sometimes they are advertised as needing a little “TLC.” Make sure that the tender, loving care associated with the used cars you are looking at is only cosmetic and not in any way related to the drivability.

Ask the seller for the VIN numbers of the used cars you are considering and research the cars before you place a bid. An online service named Carfax will research the car for you to give you detailed information about accidents the vehicle might have been involved in.

Set your bottom line price. Auctions are easy venues in which to get caught up in the process, and suddenly you might find that you have bid more on a car than you were willing or able to spend.

When making that online purchase final, make sure you do not simply mail in a certified check or money order, but instead use a credit card or a third party trustee to hold the money until you take delivery of the vehicle if it is to be delivered to you. Conversely, do not pay the full amount due before you go to look at the car and pick it up.