Deciding to buy a used vehicle for your next car can be a smart financial decision. But unless you know the right questions to ask before stepping foot onto the lot or speaking with an individual seller, you could get taken for a ride.
Last month, used car prices nudged up by around two percent. According to data from eBay Motors Group, this marks the fourth consecutive month average prices rose, despite signs of declining seasonal demand for the vehicles.
While negotiating a lower price on a new car may feel like a win, the cost of a used car is just one of many factors indicative of a good deal. To avoid leaving with a lemon or acquiring a clunker, jot down these seven questions to ask and note the answers you'll want to hear before cutting a check.
Seven Questions to Ask Before Buying a Pre-Owned Car
1. How many owners has the car been through, how long have you owned it, and why are you selling it?
This question is irrelevant if the car is on a used-car lot. However, if you're buying a car from a private party, the details could be revealing. Ideally, you want to hear that the seller was the original owner, has owned the car for years, and is selling to upgrade to a newer car. Or perhaps the seller has recently retired and no longer needs the car for weekday commuting.
Even if the seller bought the car used, that's not a deal breaker if the person they bought it from was the original owner. However, if the seller bought the car only a few months ago, that's usually a red flag that it may have many problems.
Unfortunately, not all sellers will be forthcoming and honest. Pay attention to non-verbal cues to assess if you're being deceived.
2. Has the car been in a major accident or storm? If so, how was it damaged, and how was it repaired?
If a car was flooded in a major storm or hurricane, don't touch it with the proverbial 10-foot pole. It will almost certainly have big corrosion and electrical problems.
If the car went through a bad accident that affected its chassis, that's another headache you'll want to avoid.
3. How many miles are on the odometer, and is it the original odometer?
Driving about 12,000 miles a year is standard, though many people rack up 15,000 miles yearly or more. If the car has many more than that, at the very least, the price should drop accordingly. Extremely low mileage means there is less wear and tear on many of the car's systems.
Note that some cars have their odometer switched out. When done by a reputable shop, they'll put a sticker stating the original mileage, often on the side of the driver's door. If this happened to a car you're considering, add the old odometer's reading to the new one's to know the correct number of miles.
4. Where was the car usually driven, and where was it parked?
Generally, it's better if the prior owner drove longer distances. rather than short distances for the same number of miles. Also, used cars purchased from sellers in northern states where there's a lot of snow each year will tend to have more corrosion problems than cars bought from people living in Texas where roads are rarely salted.
Cars that were garaged most of the time will likely be better preserved than those parked mostly on streets and outdoor parking lots.
5. Was the car regularly maintained, and can I see the service records if so?
It's possible the car was maintained by someone the owner knows or by the owner personally. That doesn't automatically make it a bad purchase, but it's riskier than if you get a complete set of maintenance records from a shop specializing in that make.
Listening to how the seller answers may give you a sense of whether everything is on the up and up. Is the seller hemming and hawing about those records? If yes, the car may not have been regularly maintained, which means it may have many issues.
6. Is anything not functioning correctly, and can I take the car for inspection by my mechanic?
Ideally, you want to hear that all the major systems are working well. If anything isn't working, ensure it's inexpensive to fix or that you negotiate a lower price to offset it.
If the seller hesitates about permitting a mechanic's inspection, that's a major red flag. However, in some states, a used car being sold has to go through a state inspection – paid by the seller – before it can be sold, in which case the state inspection should catch most problems.
7. If you had to drive the car today to another city a few hundred miles away, would you do it?
If you're buying a real clunker that you'll never drive farther than the next town over, skip this question. However, if you need to be able to drive it long distances, you want to make sure it's reliable enough to go the distance.
Again, pay attention not just to what the seller says but also to how they say it. If you sense any shiftiness, or if they answer “No,” skip this car.
Drive Home Happy With Your Decision
If you decide that buying a used car is the path for you, the answers to these seven questions can mean the difference between a rocking ride and a ticking timebomb.
Pay close attention to the answers and the non-verbal cues you pick up when the seller answers. The last and most obvious point is that you want to ensure that the price you're asked to pay makes sense for the car, its age, its mileage, and its condition. Edmunds is a great free resource that can help you determine that.
This article was produced by Wealthtender and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
source https://wealthofgeeks.com/used-car/
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