What to Look for When Buying a Used Car

What to Look for When Buying a Used Car

We are choosy while we buy motors. We like to shop for the old but in a proper situation. (See my publish Ways to Save Money: Owning Old Cars for the low-down on why we love to do it that manner and some hints we use to make it work for us.) The Man, who became an aircraft mechanic for almost 20 years and is now a pilot, has evolved an in-depth list of what to look for when shopping for a used automobile.  It will give you the confidence you need next time you make a used automobile purchase.

This listing has served us very well.  So nicely, in reality, that I become recently able to purchase a vehicle at the same time as he becomes out of metropolis — all by myself, y’all!! — all because I knew the telltale signs and symptoms that show whether an automobile has been abused or looked after, whether it is going to be a bargain or a lemon.  So read on, after which pin this for destiny reference. 🙂

What to Look For whilst Buying a Used Car

First and essential:  AVOID BUYING FROM A DEALER.  Try with all of your might to shop for from a personal character as an alternative.  This way Craigslist turns into your great friend.  It also approaches it’s high-quality NOT to be underneath a few kinds of time constraints.  Sometimes you're just stuck in a hard place and gotta make a buy NOW, but even then, there have to be plenty of motors available with no need to go to a provider.

The motives for this warning are manifold, however, right here some to consider:  1) Dealers are professionals at covering an automobile’s issues and making its appearance exact.  2) Dealers are salesmen — they do this for a living — so that they realize a way to answer any query with a half-reality and make it appear like they're as sincere because the day is long.  Three) At a dealer you may be paying an inflated price because they need to make a profit and cowl whatever costs they incurred getting the auto ready for sale.  All of this indicates you gained’t shop as a lot of money as buying from a man or woman, and the car you get might also have problems that received’t show up till it’s too overdue.

Age of car – don’t even fear about it.  Sounds funny, I recognize, but it’s surely a case of the older the higher, with a purpose to find a low price.  We normally get them everywhere from 15 – 25 years vintage.  Anything older than that, though, specifically if it’s in desirable circumstance, might be a collector’s object or someone’s “infant”; and then you definitely’ll be paying pinnacle greenback in place of backside dollar.  So yea.

Mileage – Under 150K is fine, and lower nonetheless is even higher. This range can depend on the make/version of the auto.  But if you may find the mixture of a fairly old automobile with low mileage, that’s the form of the issue to jump on. These are usually the vehicles that have been owned by way of a gramma or grampa, saved in a garage somewhere, and used very little.  That manner low put on at the engine AND the indoors of the car.

The manner to affirm how difficult the auto has been driven is to name and talk to the proprietor. Find out in which and after they sold the auto. If they're the primary proprietor, that is a superb issue. If they're the second one proprietor, that is also desirable – especially if they can tell you approximately the primary proprietor, or if they have positioned most people of the miles on the car.  If they have paper statistics of once they serviced the automobile, this is a very neat aspect!

EXTERIOR

Start with a great walk-around of the car.  Start at one factor and slowly look at it in a single route.  Need I say this ought to all be executed in DAYLIGHT?  Never study a car after the sun has long past down.  Not even in lighted storage — there are too many shadows wherein troubles can cover.

Is the paint brilliant or oxidized? Shiny paint means a garaged automobile. Oxidized paint means a vehicle that has been kept outside within the hot solar and other weather.  Are there dings or dents? Ask in which they came from. If the auto has been in a coincidence, you may want to stroll far from the deal. You can often see proof of a repainting process with the aid of searching on the inside edges of the engine compartment or at the internal rim of the door, where the latch is.  Or there can be components that don’t require a paint that show overspray on them.  Another manner to identify a repaint is that if one panel or door is a slightly exceptional color or texture than the relaxation of the automobile.

Check the rubber seals across the doors. Are they gentle and supple or dry and cracked?

Look for rust.  Up north you can infrequently keep away from the stuff, but get down and appearance UNDERNEATH the auto to look how bad it's far.

Try closing the doors from the outdoor. Don’t push them, just allow them to fall closed. Do they close completely? Do the door lines and the car strains match up? Sometimes a door will be out of alignment, which is an indication of a probable twist of fate within the vehicle’s past. This method you’ll probably have air noise in the vehicle, which I individually locate simply demanding…

Check the tires.  How new are they?  Are they evenly worn?  Has the spare tire been used?  You can tell by feeling for the rubber nibs that must be sticking out if it has now not been used.  If it's been used, that’s an indication that the proprietor had a flat, which may additionally imply he drove the car with tires that had been overly worn.  This indicates that if he changed into now not taking care of his tires, he might not have been looking after the rest of the car, both.

While you are outside, have someone check all the headlights, turn indicators, and brake lighting to make sure you can see them.

UNDER THE HOOD

Is the engine smooth or dirty? This is an indication of where it has been driven and whether or no longer it's been maintained properly. Can you spot any moisture everywhere? Visible leaks are a large purple flag.  Examine the bolt heads.  Is there evidence that a wrench has been on them?  Cars with low mileage have to not have wished any foremost engine repair.  (We sold our 1994 Suburban with ninety-four,000 miles on it back in 2010.  My husband becomes amazed to see that NOTHING was modified on that engine.  It IS viable to discover them like that!) Also look for corrosion on any metallic components.  This is any other indication of where the auto has been dwelling.

Turn the engine on and watch it from outside the car. Does it shimmy and shake, or does it run easily? How noisy/quiet is it? Does it start right away or does the important thing want to be held and the starter cranked for a while earlier than it catches?

Pull the transmission fluid dipstick. Swipe a touch of the fluid on the returned of your hand or for your wrist. It should be clear and fairly brilliant pink. Smell it – it must NOT scent burnt. If the tranny fluid is brown or smells burnt, that is a signal that the transmission isn't always operating well and will fail in the near destiny.

INTERIOR

Look beneath the ground mats for stains. Check the headliner for sagging or rips/tears. Flip the visors to search for dirt or rips. The upholstery needs to be inaccurate form. The motive force’s seat will show the maximum put on, obviously, however if it’s in poor shape, meaning the auto has probably been used most customarily for around-metropolis errands. A smooth/unripped driver’s seat approach the automobile has had extra highway miles, which is less carrying for the entire car.

Check all of the buttons including seat controls, radio/cd, windows, a/c, etc.  This is one of the amusing parts!

Check for put on at the pedals.  The brake pedal especially can tell you whether a vehicle has been abused or no longer.  Heavy put on way LOTS of stopping and beginning and heavy breaking.  You may want to stroll away from a vehicle that has been dealt with like that.

Look at the dashboard. This is a big indicator of whether the car has been stored in storage. An automobile that has been kept outdoor could have a discolored or dry/cracking dashboard. An internal vehicle may have a dashboard this is nonetheless intact and quite supple-searching.

TEST DRIVE

NEVER EVER EVER buy a car without driving it.  Do no longer play with the radio right away, lol.  Listen to the car itself — is the engine noisy or rattling?  Can you hear a whine whilst you turn corners (an indication of an energy guidance trouble)?  Does the car shift smoothly?

Drive beneath begin-prevent situations, like across the block, but additionally, get out on a throughway so you can get the car going faster.  Listen to wind noise from the doorways/Home windows.  Watch the auto’s tachometer (if it has one) to see how excessive it revs at quicker speeds — this can come up with a clue approximately the automobile’s gas mileage and whether or now not the transmission is slipping.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Should you purchase it?  Honestly, most used vehicles are not going to bypass ALL of these assessments.  So then it’s a judgment call for you, to determine if the issues it has are ones you could live with and/or repair effortlessly and cheaply.  Avoid transmission troubles just like the plague.  A/C fixes can get pricey, however, they don’t affect the life of the automobile — so that’s for you to weigh.  Interior and outdoors cosmetic damage may be used as a bargaining chip; so if the engine and frame are sound, you'll be inclined to simply accept having to replace a headliner or do some reupholstering, as an example, as a way to get a higher fee.

Get a observe the identity BEFORE you hand over your money.  Make sure it isn't a salvage identify.  Make sure there is no lien indexed.  If there's, make certain the owner has the lien launch additionally in hand.  Different states require one of a kind paperwork, so be sure you have got the whole thing you need earlier than you stroll away.  I cannot stress this enough!!

Don’t spend ALL your cash.  Keep some in reserve in case there is a short fix that you'll want to do right away.  And don’t forget that it'll fee you to get insurance and tags…

So, now you are armed with what to look for whilst shopping for a used car. Make your self a cheat-sheet to take with you whilst you go to see one.  You’ll experience more in control of the whole transaction and feature extra confidence in which you are in reality making an amazing selection. 🙂

You are probably wondering exactly what form of a deal I turned into able to negotiate all. Using. Myself! 🙂  Well, I am quite enthusiastic about it, if I do say so myself — so right here it's miles:  It’s a 1998 Buick Riviera with 116,000 miles on it.  A gentleman in his 70’s had owned it because of 2001 and 24,000 miles.  This was the TOP OF THE LINE Buick in its day, and it has lots neat bells and whistles.  Who doesn’t love those?  And we bought it for $2000, which is set 60% of its Blue Book price.  (As an apart, a Blue Book value is NOT the be-all and cease-all, but it could provide you with an area to begin.)  This approach we have been able to pay CASH.  ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA.