The Used Car Buying Guide

Take The Guesswork Out of Buying Used.

Sand Mountain Toyota’s Used Car Buying Guide

Can’t seem to justify a new car in today’s market?

We hear you — thankfully, while we love our new Toyota models, our used inventory is also a hard lineup to beat. Many customers that visit Sand Mountain Toyota become huge fans of our pre-owned vehicles, thanks to their quality and reliability. Our expert technicians conduct a thorough inspection on each used model that rolls onto our lot, then the car receives an attractive price tag and gets added to our inventory. Not sure how you can grab a great deal on a used vehicle? Keep reading our Used Car Buying Guide for tips and tricks!

Calculate the Value

While picking out your dream model is the fun part, you also want to conduct thorough research into the fluctuating car market. This will equip you with current pricing information on the vehicle you’re eyeing. These numbers change month over month, so utilize reputable resources such as Kelley Blue Book® and Edmunds to gather accurate estimates. In addition to those tools, you can take advantage of our handy trade-in estimator to get a quote for your current ride. Once you visit us with your car to receive your final offer, you can put that value toward your next vehicle purchase.

Determine the Vehicle’s History

No matter what, you’ll want to review the CARFAX® Vehicle History Report™ of the used vehicle you’re considering. This information gives you a comprehensive overview of the car’s maintenance history, number of previous owners and mileage discrepancies (if there are any). Here at Sand Mountain Toyota, we make this part easy — simply click on the CARFAX® logo underneath the car you’re eyeing in our online used inventory and you’ll gain access to the in-depth report on it.

Look Under the Hood

Don’t be shy — take a look at the car in person! You’ve dug deep into researching the model, and now is the time to see it past the computer screen. You’ll gain extra peace of mind by taking a look under the hood. In fact, one of our technicians can walk you through the inspection process they performed on the particular vehicle in addition to what they noticed along the way. Typically, our team keeps an eye out for any abnormalities when it comes to sounds, smells and visual appearance. We value transparency and want to ensure that we’re providing our guests with quality vehicles.

Take a Long Test Drive

Now for the fun part: Take the model you’ve done all the research on for a test drive! Don’t rush this part of the process — this is your chance to get a feel for how the car looks and feels in person. Don’t sign the dotted line until you are 100 percent confident that it drives and looks the way you want. One of our team members will accompany you when you take the vehicle for a spin, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to ask any questions you may have along the way.

If you have any questions about the used car-buying process or would like to test drive our used vehicles, stop by Sand Mountain Toyota at 9167 US Highway 431, Albertville, AL 35950 or give us a call to set up your appointment. We look forward to serving customers from Boaz, Guntersville, Scottsboro, Rainbow City and Gadsden.