One of the perils of the quick-and-easy access to information we enjoy as part of living in the Information Era is that the information can often appear to be very generic and general, going down more as common sense than anything else. So I mean sure, you can quickly type the phrase “used car buying tips” into Google’s search engine and delight in all manner of lists that come up, but even if you do indeed come across what appears to be some really useful info, the mandatory pinch of salt is required.
In fact, you’ll probably need to be equipped with some complementary research skills or some experience of how things work practically in the real world, such as how one such useful tip might be that the car you buy should be at least a certain age old, but in reality what does that translate to in terms of the actual age-band to consider? Does that still apply in the case of a certain car brand, make and model which is known to be of better quality and pedigree than others, or in fact one which is known to be less durable in some respects?
So basically the message is that it’s not as easy as just reading those infamous “X tips for buying a new car list” published as what can easily be revealed to be some filler content on the blogs or websites of people who are just looking to jump on the going trends. You need to be practical about the research cues you effect, starting with which sources of such information relating to the purchase of the used car to trust.
Trustworthy sources
A blogger who is active in the automotive field might perhaps be an affiliate marketer, in which case their advice and information, which could very well be useful to a certain degree, is likely geared more towards ultimately luring you into making a purchase via their affiliate links or other referral channels. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, except their main motivation is to maximise their commission, which means that they’d be trying to get you to buy those products or services which come with the biggest commission for them and not necessarily those which are the absolute best the market has to offer.On the other hand, an infographic detailing tips for buying a used car, published by a short-term auto insurer is more likely to be authentic in the accuracy and value of the discussion pointers covered, simply because an entity such as a short term car insurer perhaps knows about car value better than anybody else. After all, they’re the ones who come up with the premiums to be paid in accordance with all manner of vehicles consumers are seeking to get insurance for. So they know exactly what they’re talking about when they explore a pointer such as the value of a car which is of a certain age, a certain size, a certain make, a specific model, etc.
