There are many tips and cautions you can take when buying a used car. First off, make sure you are getting what you pay for, you should check on websites like Kelley’s Blue Book. On sites like this you can check the suggested retail price for the used vehicle by simply putting in the cars information into the sites and you will get the price, make sure you are not paying over the price they give you. After you have done that you need to check the cars past, to see if it has been in any accidents, or any other bad experiences. One site you can check the car’s history is on is CarFax. Another thing you can do is check if the car is being sold by a dealer, or a person; If a person is selling the car you are probably getting a better a better deal then if a dealer is selling it because a dealer bought it from a person and is selling it for a higher price.
Since the car you are buying is used its different. You should always buy a car that is known to have high quality, that way the car will last longer. Another thing you should do when buying a car is to test drive it first to check for any driving problems. A caution you should take when buying a car is making sure that the seller does not owe any money on the car, or you can get yourself into a hassle.
Once you think the car has passed this criteria then you are almost ready to buy your used car.
Here are some other tips on buying a used car:
- Don’t buy a car that you have not seen yourself
- Always ask how many owners have owned the car before
- Always check with the owner before you buy to see what the car has been through
- See if the owner will let you see if a mechanic can check the car for any further problems
- Check the interior of the car before you buy
- Look around for a variety of cars to ensure your getting the best deal
- Check for leaks, and listen for any weird sounds while driving
- Always go with you instinct
These tips should help when buying a used car, hopefully it will prevent anyone from getting ripped of when buying a used car.
2 Comments
Nick
May 24, 2008 at 23:26Those are some great tips. Another thing when checking on the price though, is to not only see what the book value is, but what other similar vehicles are selling for in your area and through other places such as Ebay. In some cases, the book value may be considerably higher or lower than the actual value. I do like carfax though, last time I was seriously shopping for a different vehicle I got the 1 month unlimited access plan and checked not only vehicles I was considering purchasing, but also my current vehicle as well as my parents’ vehicles. It was quite interesting.
Zak
February 21, 2016 at 17:15Hi,
Yes, true. Thanks for the tip Nick!