Used Car Dealership in Frederick, Maryland

We’ll be honest, finding a used car dealership near Frederick, Maryland isn’t that hard, however, finding a great used car dealership that you want to go back to and actually look forward to working with is a bit more difficult.

At the moment, finding a used car dealership for your next car or truck can be slightly more challenging than normal because supplies are more limited for used cars, and prices have become higher than normal. The right dealership near Frederick, Maryland has the right mix of used cars for the right price. We are going to go into detail about what kinds of dealerships are available near Frederick, how they are different, and which dealers are best for serving poor credit customers.

While there are a number of factors that have caused your local dealer to have less inventory, we’ll explain the basics of a few reasons

Factories for major manufacturers like Toyota, Ford, and Honda were shut down for long periods in 2020 and 2021. Without making more new cars, they were unable to add to what is usually a number of vehicles available for a new purchase. Some new car buyers waited, others had a stronger need and started buying used vehicles instead.

The demand for computer chips in modern cars added a layer of difficulty to building new cars. Without going into too much detail, chipmakers had the option to sell their electronics to other consumer products makers with auto production shut down – and they aren’t easy to make. When factories came back to life, they didn’t have enough of the electronics needed to make cars fast enough.

Given the lack of inventory, finding a used car dealer that you can trust is more important. Car dealers could raise prices more, and you wouldn’t have much of a choice to travel further or pay extra. Prices are a bit unstable in the used car market, so finding a dealer who is committed to low pricing is important.

You can find a few different kinds of dealers in the area, from franchise dealers to independent dealers and online dealers. Here are some details about each:

A franchise dealer is the big kind of dealer you might see most often – whether they carry Ford, Toyota, Honda, or whatever, they are licensed by a manufacturer to carry new vehicles and offer certified cars.

Dealerships tend to have an auto body shop and service department attached to them, which makes them convenient for all stages of vehicle issues.

Dealerships tend to be in big, nice-looking buildings, as mandated by the manufacturers. Most are centrally located and pleasant to walk into.

Dealerships tend to ask for more money for their used cars. They have to keep the lights on in their big building somehow. New cars also often lose money, so used cars need to profit.

Many dealers advertise a big selection. Dealerships like your local Toyota or Kia dealer also tend to carry used cars that reflect their manufacturer inventory, which might not necessarily fit your wants.

While dealerships do offer finance, they also have select vendors they finance through. Most dealers don’t work well with bad credit.

CarMax has become more and more known nationally, with dealerships dedicated to just used cars. They claim to have an easy process for buying cars.

Without being held to a particular manufacturer, CarMax can have a big variety of preowned vehicles.

CarMax doesn’t work with that many lenders, and they tend to serve customers who have better credit and are ready to pony up for a big payment.

CarMax says they are competitive in price, but you’ve probably seen one of their national commercials, and the large ad campaign run by a big company tends to reflect itself in their pricing.

An independent dealer is similar to a franchise dealer, without new cars. Independent dealers tend to be independently owned without connection to a manufacturer.

Good selection. Independent dealers have used cars only, and carry popular vehicles for the area.

Independent dealers tend to be most flexible on finance and can pick which lenders to work with. They serve a range from a poor credit to great credit

Vehicles are priced to move! While independent dealers still have costs, they aren’t as harshly reflected in the price of their vehicles.

Most independent dealers are actually, really locally owned. They live in the area and are in the business for the love of cars. You won’t find many independent dealer chains at a local level. These same owners also offer better support to the local community and frequently donate or offer support to city organizations. Dealers like Trust Auto are considered independent dealers.

Some might consider the lack of new cars to be a disadvantage, in the chance they were balancing new or used.

These dealers have a lot… somewhere? We are talking about Vroom and Carvana here, who have a presence online and tow trucks to deliver cars you bought online.

Dealers like Carvana and Vroom have access to a vast network of cars and can help find just the right car, for the right price.

Want a tow truck to drop a car off in your driveway? Shopping online gets you that. Online car buying is pretty convenient, especially if you have your own place.

There are built-in costs to shipping, and you won’t find many if any cheap cars are available.

While they kind of help you, most online dealers don’t work with many finance companies, and a bad credit borrower might have a hard time.

Not everyone wants to buy a car through photos. The inability to tell the engine condition from photos can lead to early problems.

Most online car companies don’t have a person nearby who can help if you have a problem. In-store car dealerships can be more responsive.

Buying a used car can be a bigger challenge when your credit is not good. Past problems have the potential to limit your vehicle selection or require a higher APR which costs more in the long run – or a bigger down payment. One of the biggest potential rejected feelings is finding a car you like and learning you can’t quality – or getting a high APR loan and trying to pay it down fast to avoid paying considerably more.

For a person with poor credit, one of the best avenues to take is to start saving a down payment while you are looking for a car. If you end up saving more than you need for the required down payment, you could still use the money toward a down payment – or you could save it, pay off debt, or whatever suits you. It’s just good to have a down payment available to even lower your monthly payment if you’d like.

Buying a car with poor credit does give you the opportunity to build credit while finding a working vehicle that lets you get to work and school. Consider the potential trials of getting qualified for a car to be one step in the right direction.

You probably read this thinking we are talking bout Carvana or Vroom. Some independent dealers like Trust Auto are getting into the game of delivering vehicles too, and that only works out for benefit of the customer.

The best part about buying locally from a dealer online is that you’ll have less of a hassle if something goes wrong. You can also still go test drive the car, hear the engine run, and test the brakes before buying and having it sent home.

Trust Auto’s process takes the best of all worlds: Better selection in the financing, human salespeople who have helped present cars remotely, and the option to go into the dealer if you want. Trust Auto’s online shopping is even good for people with poor credit who might have a hard time finding transportation to the dealership.

How can you as a customer tell if a used car dealership will be both helpful at finding you a car, and make you feel good about the purchase? Reviews say a lot, and so does the selection.

We ask you to take a look at how Trust Auto works, and how they’ve won a few awards. Without a manufacturer handing out plaques, Trust Auto has to actually work to receive a CarFax award or the harder-to-reach DealerRater Consumer Satisfaction Award. For an industry that can readily receive bad reviews, Trust Auto is rising to the top.

Another way you can tell a dealer cares is by looking at how they respond to reviews. Trust Auto actively responds to both negative and positive reviews in an effort to show they care about how customers feel and have a willingness to correct problems for customers.

Dealers like Trust Auto also love to hear that their customers learned about their dealership from another customer. Word of mouth is highly trusted and they are always interested in hearing the positive feedback that comes from a customer’s family, friend, or colleague stopping in too.

If you need a used car near Frederick, Maryland – Trust Auto is your trusted used car dealer.