Owning a car is most common man’s dream and desire. But let’s accept it; automobiles are costly and thus always not affordable with the not-so-generous incomes.
That’s why we resort to buying of used automobiles, whatever might be the purpose. Thus its better we know what to look for and be sure about before we go ahead and buy a used car. It might be cheaper, but being hoodwinked is surely not cheap.
- Ownership: Enquire with sellers about previous owners of the vehicle before them, if anyone. Enquire about the number of people who had contributed their different maintenance and driving regimes to the ageing of the vehicle. If you are able to, contact previous owners, it will help you in getting done your work of full disclosure.
- Mileage: Never trust others with checking the odometer, see it for yourself. Ask the seller the number of miles they have themselves driven with the vehicle. The average is between ten to fifteen thousand miles annually. Calculate the miles the car has driven annually. You can derive this when you divide the odometer’s mileage reading by the car’s age.
- Reason behind selling: Ensure that you are at your intuitive best when asking these questions. If the seller claims that they are shifting but you can’t spot any packing boxes lying around, don’t buy that story. All the seller wants is to sell, and will leave out crucial information, such as the fact that the car had been in a bad accident. Don’t buy the car if your gut says it is not being represented truthfully.
- Special features or add-ons: If the car smells like new, don’t forget to ask whether the seller uses banana oil. Don’t be shy to ask anything that you might notice. Check whether the AC in the car is working? Will he retain the CD player while selling? Most importantly, check whether all the accessories are in a working condition?
- Damages: Find out whether the vehicle has suffered any major damage? Use the free online car services checking tools to verify the seller’s answer. Take a sharp look for paint mismatches on the body and the edges. Mismatches are a sure fire give away that repairing was done and thus there might have been some accidents the seller is trying to conceal.
- Service records: Does the vehicle have the entire records of all the maintenance and repairs? These service records, not only give you an insight about the maintenance and problems regarding the vehicle, it also allows you to take care of the vehicle properly in the future.
- Test drive: Never buy a used car without taking it out for a ride. You need to feel at peace with the car while driving which is of prime importance above the already mentioned six points. Otherwise buying the car will be just wastage of some good money for you.
There is nothing wrong in buying a used car unless you end up getting cheated in the process. By following the guidelines and tips in this article, you will be ensuring that you make an informed and aware decision when you decide to buy a used car.
