4 Most Important Things to Check When Buying a Used Car
There are four things to check when buying a used car that
can save you time and frustration.
There are four things to check when buying a used car that
can save you time and frustration.
Truth be told, there are dozens of things that you could check
when you're looking at used cars, but that would take far more
time than most of us have.
when you're looking at used cars, but that would take far more
time than most of us have.
Looking at the four things to check when buying a used car
listed in this article will take a fraction of the time and
give you a good idea what kind of car you're about to buy.
1. Vehicle History
This is actually one of the easiest things to check when
buying a used car. Services like the constantly advertised,
Carfax, exist to make this as easy as possible, and any decent,
reputable dealer will be able to provide a vehicle history.
If they don't, you should probably walk away, but you can run
your own history with the VIN number. In either case, what you're
looking for is a car that hasn't been in any accidents or needed
major work done.
2. Exhaust Smoke
You need to have the dealer start the car up for you while you
watch the exhaust pipe. What you want to happen is for there to
be maybe a little white steam coming out of the car.
listed in this article will take a fraction of the time and
give you a good idea what kind of car you're about to buy.
1. Vehicle History
This is actually one of the easiest things to check when
buying a used car. Services like the constantly advertised,
Carfax, exist to make this as easy as possible, and any decent,
reputable dealer will be able to provide a vehicle history.
If they don't, you should probably walk away, but you can run
your own history with the VIN number. In either case, what you're
looking for is a car that hasn't been in any accidents or needed
major work done.
2. Exhaust Smoke
You need to have the dealer start the car up for you while you
watch the exhaust pipe. What you want to happen is for there to
be maybe a little white steam coming out of the car.
You shouldn't get smoke out of the exhaust, unless you're looking
at a diesel, in which case a little black smoke initially is acceptable.
White smoke is usually an indicator of engine problems. Blue smoke
means the car is burning oil, which is very bad news. Black smoke
means there is something wrong with the way the car is burning
gasoline. In any event, if the car smokes, you don't want to buy it.
3. Brakes
Another one of the crucial things to check on a used car is the
brakes. You're going to need to take the car on a test drive to
check this one.
at a diesel, in which case a little black smoke initially is acceptable.
White smoke is usually an indicator of engine problems. Blue smoke
means the car is burning oil, which is very bad news. Black smoke
means there is something wrong with the way the car is burning
gasoline. In any event, if the car smokes, you don't want to buy it.
3. Brakes
Another one of the crucial things to check on a used car is the
brakes. You're going to need to take the car on a test drive to
check this one.
What you want to do is to take the car to an area without traffic,
then go around 30 mph and press down hard on the brakes.
You don't want to do this hard enough to slide, but you do want a
quick deceleration. If the brakes vibrate or make any strange noises,
they need replaced.
then go around 30 mph and press down hard on the brakes.
You don't want to do this hard enough to slide, but you do want a
quick deceleration. If the brakes vibrate or make any strange noises,
they need replaced.
If there are any problems with the brakes, you should probably walk
away; although these are easily repaired, they usually indicate a
car that hasn't been properly maintained.
5. Interior
As far as things to check when purchasing a used car go, this one
that doesn't get as much thought as it should. What you are looking
for here is a disparity between the interior of the car and the mileage.
If the car has low mileage and a really beat up interior, this is a
sign of either poor maintenance or odometer fraud. On the other hand,
if it has high miles and a like new interior, this can be a sign the
car was owned by somebody who really took car of it.
These four things to check when buying a used car will give you a
good picture of the quality of car you're buying, and this will
save you big money.
away; although these are easily repaired, they usually indicate a
car that hasn't been properly maintained.
5. Interior
As far as things to check when purchasing a used car go, this one
that doesn't get as much thought as it should. What you are looking
for here is a disparity between the interior of the car and the mileage.
If the car has low mileage and a really beat up interior, this is a
sign of either poor maintenance or odometer fraud. On the other hand,
if it has high miles and a like new interior, this can be a sign the
car was owned by somebody who really took car of it.
These four things to check when buying a used car will give you a
good picture of the quality of car you're buying, and this will
save you big money.
This should only take a few minutes, so make sure you follow the
steps and get a car you can rely on.-------------------------------------------
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To put it plainly, there's just some things you learn from the inside that no other "car experts" can tell you about. Dealerships have their sales process down to an absolute science, and only they know where every little psychological hot-button is.
Talk soon,
John
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