Not many shopping situations strike terror in the hearts of shoppers like buying Utah used cars-or used cars from other states. Certainly not for those of us who are incapable of discovering information about a car’s lemon-likeness by our amazing skill for staring blankly under its hood, who have never actually turned a Kelley-Blue-Book page our entire lives, and who definitely, positively would rather not assert ourselves with potentially dishonest or pushy salespeople. But once every half a decade or so, even if we don’t like it, we have to quiet our fears and grab some courage because we want a newer vehicle, we’ve outgrown the old one we have, or our current one gets sick and looks like it’s going to die on us. We all have to get plucky and see our Utah car dealership every so often.

The problem isn’t with Utah car dealerships, though-I’m totally serious. We are the problem! If we needed or could afford to buy a newer used auto about every half a year, we’d likely get so comfortable with the whole process that we’d get really good at it. We’d probably remember every little goof we made the previous time, and we’d work hard at not repeating our embarrassing mistakes. In fact, we’d most likely each own our own Kelley Blue Book! And, who knows, we might even get to the point of befriending a few likeable and trustworthy salespeople.

Fears of dealing with Utah dealerships can seem positively primal. In eons past they could have had us chanting, dancing, or drumming under full moons, with spells, war paint, or masks. They feel real, but unrealistic; compelling, but incompatible. However, they can’t control us if we don’t let them, can they? I believe we can conquer our Utah car-buying fears. How?

By starting out with a simple technique called self-talk-which means talking to ourselves about how simple it is to get educated about used-car buying. Just keep telling ourselves, until we finally get around to doing it, to go online and get the information we need. It’s all out there, free for the searching-every car-buying topic we could possibly think of needing to research, and even some we couldn’t. There’s every bit of data we could ever hope to remember in the face of a salesperson. There are step-by-step instructions for every aspect of our looking for the ideal Utah cars for sale. And it’s all accessible in the utmost privacy of our car-buying confidence-building lives.

There’s no reason we shouldn’t all become confident and prepared, like other Utah car buyers, negotiating ourselves into functional, vibrant, and healthy new cars that will deliver long-term satisfaction and enjoyment. Buying Utah cars at Utah dealerships does not need to be scary. Especially not with certified used cars that have warrantees, which negate the need for intuitive lemon discernment skills-something many of us will never acquire, no matter what online car-buying awareness we develop.