Buying a Used Car in Arizona: What to Know
Photo by Christoph von Gellhorn on Unsplash
If you’re planning on buying a used car any time soon, consider yourself lucky to live in Arizona. The process is thankfully straightforward, so whether you just moved out to the Grand Canyon State to appreciate the warm weather and stunning landscape or you’ve spent your whole life among the saguaros, buying a used car in Arizona should be a piece of cake, as long as you follow these simple steps.
Buying a Used Car From a Dealership
Before you make it to the dealership, you need to do your research. The fact that you’re reading this article means that you probably understand that. You need to find a make and model that fits your driving needs, and you should get one that is known for its reliability.
Once you know what kind of cars you’re looking for, you should search local inventory for used cars with the features you need and an appropriate list price for the car’s age, mileage, features, and overall condition. You could check the websites of all your local dealerships and plug the info you get into some other website to tell you if the price is good, or you could use the free CoPilot App that uses the same software dealerships use to list their inventory so you can look at all the cars up for sale in your area and see if its a good value all in the same place.
Once you know the car you want and how much you should be paying for it, you can set your price and know that you won’t budge. From there, you can reach out to local lenders to inquire about financing options available to you. When making a big financial commitment like this, it’s important to shop around and find the best interest rate and the most trustworthy creditor.
THE BEST USED MINIVANS ON THE MARKET
When it comes to hauling a lot of people and cargo, the minivan is hard to beat. We’ve factored in reliability, affordability, and functionality to create this curated list of the 8 best used minivans on the market today.
While dealerships often advertise low interest rates from their “buy here pay here” financing or associated lenders, those often come with significant caveats which might not come up until well into the buying process. The best course of action is to secure financing before you get to the dealership so you know how much car you can afford and how much you’ll be paying for it.
Once you get to the dealership, it’s important to make sure there is nothing visibly wrong with the car, as that can be the first sign that something worse is lurking below the surface. Assuming all seems fine on that front, and the car sounds and feels fine on a test drive, one of the last things you should do is get an independent mechanic to inspect the car for you.
Even if the car has passed an inspection (possibly as part of a certified pre-owned car program, you should still get an inspection done. A safety inspection performed by a dealership likely just makes sure that the car is safe to leave the lot, while a mechanic can let you know if there are any underlying issues that might rear their ugly heads later down the line.
THE BEST USED SUVS UNDER $10,000
We looked into price, reliability, features, and more to create this list of the best used SUVs under $10k on the market today. Take a look - some of the best used SUVs have gone mostly overlooked or forgotten.
The dealership should also provide you with a car history report, letting you know if the car has ever been stolen, totalled, salvaged, or faced any other significant issues as reported by the state or mechanic or insurance agency.
If the dealership does not provide this for you, you can find the report using the car’s unique VIN number on sources such as Carfax or the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System. Once you have your financing sorted and the car checks out upon inspection from you, a mechanic, and nothing fishy comes up in the vehicle history report, you are good to go!
From there, the dealership will get the title transferred over to you with the proper information to prove that the car is really yours. From there, you will need liability insurance to drive the car off the lot, and you have 15 days to get the car registered. To do that, you’ll need:
- The Bill of Sale
- Title and Registration Application Form 96-0236
- The completed title document from the dealership
- Proof that the car has passed a Level I inspection
- Payment for necessary fees (under $15 total)
And just like that, you have your new car!
GET THE SAME INSIDER INFO THAT DEALERSHIPS USE
The CoPilot app is the smartest way to buy a car. Built using the same technology that dealerships use, we’ll show you everything you want to know about each listing - like how long it’s been on the lot, or if there are similar vehicles at a better price nearby.
Buying a Used Car From a Private Seller
Little changes when buying from a private seller, but a little more responsibility does fall on the buyer when they choose not to purchase their used car from a dealership. If you are buying a used car in Arizona, you still have to do your research, get financing secured ahead of time (or gather enough cash to buy the car outright if you can), get the car checked out behind the wheel and under the hood.
While a dealership may well provide you with a vehicle history report, it is very unlikely that a private seller would have one for you, so you will almost definitely have to procure one yourself using the VIN. As long as the seller’s information on the title (such as date of previous transfer, mileage, previous issues) matches the information provided by the history report, you can begin to go ahead with the purchase.
For this, you will need to get two things from the seller: the title, and the bill of sale. On the title, you must have filled out the price you purchased the car for, the mileage it had at the time of purchase, and notarized signatures from you and the seller in the transfer section.
From there, the process goes back to the same one you know from the dealership experience. You head to your local MVD Office, provide them with your bill of sale, title, Form 96-0236, proof of inspection, and the fee ($13.50 all told) and, as long as all the documents check out, the car is now yours. Buying a used car in Arizona doesn’t have to be a stressful experience, and it can be a great way to gain new independence and travel to all corners of this beautiful state.
Get a Curated List of the Best Used Cars Near You
The CoPilot car shopping app is the easiest way to buy a car. Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll search the inventories of every dealership in your area to make you a personalized list of the best car listings in your area.
Only looking for newer models? CoPilot Compare is the search engine for nearly-new cars. Only see cars five years or newer with low mileage — CoPilot Compare is the best way to find off-lease, early trade-in, and CPO cars.
The best part? CoPilot is built using the same technology that dealerships use to buy and sell their inventories, so we have more info on each vehicle than competitors. CoPilot doesn’t work with dealerships, so there are no sponsored posts or other shady practices — just the most info on the best cars. Check out our About Us page to see how CoPilot works.
