Hello and welcome to NerdWallet Smart Money Podcast, where we answer your money questions in 15 minutes or less.

I'm your host, Sean Piles.

And joining me as my co-host, the one and only Dayana Yocum.

I am the one and only.

This week, we're going to settle a debate that Sean and I have been having.

We're both looking to buy a used car and have

completely different ideas about how to go about it. I'm shopping around for a used mid-sized SUV

and want to buy a car how I bought my last one, which is meeting up with a stranger on Craigslist,

giving them cash, getting my car, driving away. All right, That sounds kind of sketchy and also quite scary to me.

My approach is maybe the more traditional one. So I've been researching used cars ad nauseum, getting

opinions from everyone I know, spending all of my spare hours, scouring used car sites.

Step two will be making a decision, doubting that decision, then going

into a spiral of remorse and regret and probably never actually settling on a car. But I'm

totally on the same page as you, Sean, about paying cash for a car. So we've got that.

Okay, at least we have one thing in common here, but to help us settle our argument so we

can be friends again, we're talking with NerdWallet's own Phil Reed, a lifelong car enthusiast

who's been writing professionally about cars and car buying for over 20 years. Phil has written 10

books and once wore a hidden camera to show how to haggle for a used car. Basically, he's the best guy for the job here. He is. Hey, Phil, welcome to the show.

Thanks. Good to be with you guys. Okay, we really need you to mend Deanna and mine's friendship here.

We're having this really heated debate over car buying. So in your opinion, Phil, where is the

best place to look for a car? Craigslist or CarMax? Well, if you're a bargain hunter, Craigslist is definitely the best.

You know, because you can deal directly. You know, when you're dealing directly with the former owner,

...