Tips

How to Buy a Used Car

Used car purchasing tips:

Using this information will save you money and frustration. First, by eliminating a problem car before taking it to a shop and paying someone to check it. Second, by not ending up with a vehicle that needs more than the one you are replacing. These tips are here to help guide you, the final choice is always yours. Using these suggestions and opinions from my 35+ years of experience may be of great benefit. Yes, I have made many expensive mistakes myself, maybe we can both learn from them.

But I want it! Try not to look for a particular color or make, it’s hard enough to find a nice used car without narrowing the playing field even more. Remember if you have say $2,500.00 to spend, and you want the most for your money, pass on the sporty cars. You will get more car for your money buying a more conservative car and you'll save on your insurance too.

What is it worth? To start with, know what the vehicle you are going to look at is worth in good condition so you can make a fair offer. Everything must be deducted from the blue book value, even if you don’t plan on repairing the little dent, it IS a deduction from the value of the car. Check with your bank for the blue book value. Check the local newspapers to see what the particular vehicle is selling for in your area, which may be two different amounts.

Dealer or privite party? If you're going to a car lot, the advantage is, they are licensed and by law can’t sell unsafe vehicles (some will break the law). They are supposed to be safety checked prior to being sold. Now the negative side, you won't be able to ask questions about the car's maintenance history and other important information that you can get from a private party sale. The private party sale has little legal protection so you must be sure before you hand over the money!

High mileage vehicles (over 100,000 miles). These cars should be avoided. Be cautious about a "NEW ENGINE" or "REBUILT ENGINE" in a high mileage vehicle. Most of these claims are not true and even if the engine is low mileage the rest of the vehicle is not ... the engine is not the only thing that wears out.

Bring a friend. It’s always a good idea to bring someone along so they will spot the bad things that you don’t really "want" to find. If you "fall in love" with a car you're not going look at it's problems objectively, this is why bringing other person along for a reality check is a good idea.

Does everything work? While you’re checking out things make sure everything works, even if you don’t care whether the A/C is not working or not, the person YOU sell it to later may, and they will give YOU less money for it.

How about the engine? Start it, does it knock, run rough, or smoke? Check the transmission, does it shift smoothly, or slip? These problems are most likely expensive! How do the brakes feel? Does the steering pull to one side on a flat road if you take your hands of the wheel? Prices on repairing these items may not be much, but cost is unknown until your mechanic checks it out.

Has the car been mistreated? Ask to see the service records. If they have none, ask why, if they say they do their own work, they should still have records if the work was done. Beware of amateur repair/maintenance work. I can not emphasize enough how important regular maintenance is, it makes the difference between an engine wearing out in 25,000 miles or possibly lasting 300,000+ !! Oil and filter should be replaced every 3,000 to 4,000 or every 4 to 6 months which ever comes first.

Who owns the car? Ask to see the ownership papers. Make sure it is not a SALVAGED title (salvaged title defined later). Is registration up to date, are you dealing with the OWNER of the car? ONLY the owner can legally sell the vehicle. If there is money owed on the vehicle then a bank or loan company is the LEGAL owner. You will have to go to the bank or loan campany WITH the owner to pay off the loan before you can take ownership. DON’T give money to someone to do it for you! Ask why they are selling the car and if it has been in any accidents. Was it driven by an adult or did it have a teenager driver (not good). The fewer the driver/owners the better.

“SALVAGED TITLE”. This means the vehicle was supposed to go to the junk yard because the cost to repair damage correctly was more than the vehicle was worth. This is the worst vehicle to buy, don’t be fooled by a low price or mileage. The only way it can be repaired and sold for a profit is by cutting corners and not replacing all of the damaged parts. Sometimes it’s cosmetic, but most are structurally unsafe to operate on the highway. After a car has been "salvaged", the State of California requires a smog, brake, and light inspection!! But there is no inspection of the chassis, steering, or suspension!!! People bring me these cars to inspect (sometimes after they bought it!!) so I have seen my fair share. The worst one was a car that had been cut in half, and was made up of two cars badly welded together. Salvaged cars are hard to insure, rarely can be financed and are worth 1/2 or less than blue book. There are lots of these cars out there, so BEWARE!

It’s just a "little" rust!. A rusty car is trouble, they get that way from salt on snow covered roads (usually mid west and east coast) or salt air along the coast. They don’t stop rusting once they start. Even brake lines can rust through, the suspension/frame also may be rusted through. The rusted car has a short life and it may shorten YOURS. Look for bubbles under the paint, these are like icebergs, what you see is about 10% of the rust in the car. The rusty car can also be more expensive to perform general maintenance on because of extra time involved dealing with rusty bolts and nuts, that often break.

Smog certificate. Vehicles that are not smog legal can cause much unexpected expense. It could cost thousands of dollars to get a vehicle to pass smog. Always be sure it passes legally, if the seller gets it’s smog illegally, you won’t know for up to 2 years. Then when it comes due again.....SURPRISE. By that time, they are long gone. It’s the sellers responsibility to smog the vehicle, but it wouldn’t hurt to be there when it gets tested. And if it has already been tested, make sure it isn’t too old. The DMV has a limit on the age of a certificate to be valid.

Money time... Before you give them the money, go to the DMV and make sure there are no liens or penalties on it. Be sure I.D. number on paper work matches the numbers on the vehicle.

Remember the warning signs:

Salvaged titled vehicles
Rusty vehicles
Very high mileage
Amateur maintained
Amateur body work
Vehicles that don't smog
Vehicles with noisy or smoking engines
Questionable titles
Vehicles owned by abusive drivers
Someone pressuring you to buy
Always have the car checked out by a professional!