Getting The Best Used Car
What is a "private party" purchase?
A private party used car purchase is one that is basically purchased from somebody's driveway. You see a private party car listed in the classifieds in the newspaper or online. You go to that person's home or meet at a neutral location and negotiate the private party purchase of the vehicle, person-to-person.
What are some concerns when buying a used car from a private party?
Buying a used car from a private party has it's disadvantages. In that while you are getting probably the lowest price because you're able to personally negotiate with the person, you're not negotiating with a dealership or a company. You are taking on additional risk in exchange for that lower price. You're buying the vehicle as is. You're not going to be able to go back and knock on the person's door six months later and say, "Hey, you didn't tell me that the stereo didn't work." It's too late. So you are taking on additional risk there. You're not sure how the person has maintained the vehicle. You're not sure how the person has driven the vehicle. Have they driven it like a race car driver. So you need to make sure that you're setting some money aside in your budget for purchasing the vehicle for things that could go wrong in the very near future. There's often many people who are selling a used car, they know that they're going to sell it maybe six months before they actually put it for sale. They've already started to disassociate themselves from that vehicle. And so they might start letting oil changes slip or "I'm not going to replace the tires now or the brakes. I'll just shine it up, make sure it looks good so the person who buys it after me, I'll give them a good price, but then they're going to have to deal with it." So while buying used has some good points, you do need to make sure you set additional budget aside because there could be some things that come out after you've already purchased the car.
What should I know about a used car before purchase?
Every state and every different area of the country has varying levels of protection with regard to buying used cars. You want to make sure that the used car dealer is offering you the warranty that represents what's available in your part of the country. Make sure you see that warranty well in advance, because once you sign onto that, that's what you have to contend with. Make sure that it's going to give you the peace of mind that will allow you to move forward with the purchasing process. You also want to ask for the maintenance record on the used car, and any sort of written promises. Maybe something they'll say, "Bring it back in a week and we'll make sure that door fits right for you," or "We'll fix the stereo." Be very cautious of that because, again, depending on your state and your area there are going to be varying levels of protection for those used car issues. Even if something is written that looks very official, you want to make sure that it's actually going to be something you can lean on if anything goes wrong with your used car. Be very wary of anything of that nature. The best move is to not take delivery of the used car or sign on the dotted line until you see that the problem you have with the vehicle has been solved.
What are red flags to watch for when buying a used car?
The first red flag when buying a used car is if the vehicle is not responding the way you think it should from research you've done beforehand. If it has a turbocharged engine, but it doesn't feel very responsive, if it had great braking system or handles very well, but the brakes don't give you that level of confidence or you feel that it doesn't handle exceptionally well. These are all warning signs with used cars, that maybe something has been modified or is in dire need of repair. This is why it's so important to test drive many vehicles and make sure you test drive them in ways that match up with your actual driving experience. Always ask for maintenance history on the used vehicle. Sometimes that's hard to get if a person who is selling the used car or the dealership has purchased that vehicle from an auction, and it's maybe passed from many hands from the person who originally owned it to where it sits today. That can be a hard thing to collect, but ask for it as much as possible. If nothing else, you're calling out to the salesperson that you're serious about this purchase, that you're not going to waste your money, and that you want to be armed with as much information as you can be before you make the purchase decision.
What should I look out for at a used car dealership?
The most important thing to look out for at a used car dealership is probably just the experience itself. If you are working with a salesperson that you feel is too pushy, putting a lot of pressure on to guide you towards a vehicle that isn't what you came in to see - or is actually a different color than you expected - it's a good time to probably rethink and step away. A used car dealer, a used car salesperson, is often a person who is probably a little more desperate, because they don't get the same sort of traffic through their lots the way a new car dealership would. If you stroll up to that car dealership lot, they're seeing you as somebody who is going to leave with a new car - or I should say a used car - and will make sure they don't let you escape. If you don't like the process, get out of it. Secondly, if the used car salesperson's okay, and the vehicle's okay, and you're going forward with the process, make sure you get as much as you can in writing. Every state has different levels of buyer protection - or lemon laws - associated with them, so it's well worth while making sure you have everything in writing, and know what your particular area's buyer protection laws are. Bad things sometimes happen at used car dealerships.
What should I look or listen for during a test drive?
When you're on a test drive, in some respects that's probably one of the most important parts of buying a vehicle, whether it's new or used. First and foremost, you want to make sure you are driving the vehicle in the test in ways that you would be doing in your own personal life. If you live in a hilly terrain, you want to make sure you drive it on the hills; make sure that it stops and starts correctly. If you drive it on highways, as most of your time as a commuter, you want to take it on the highway. Make sure it meets your needs there. As well as I think something that people often don't consider is how you feel in the car. Do the gages and the buttons and all the controls fall to hand just as you want them to be? You are going to have a very intimate relationship with that part of the vehicle, even much more so than the outside of the car or the way the car performs. So you want to make sure that you feel comfortable with it, that it makes sense to you, it's easy to use, the visibility is good, you're going to be comfortable in there and you're going to feel good in that vehicle. And quite often, in a test drive, they're kind of designated how they are going to be by the sales person. They may have a certain collection of roads that they often go take test drives on, quite often they will be quiet city streets. So you want to make sure, you know that you don't need to follow that sales person's guide. They can suggest roads, but you're in charge of the process, so if you want to take it anywhere else, within reason of course, you can't, if you live at the beach, don't drive up to the mountains, but if you want to take the vehicle in a condition that you will be using the vehicle, by all means, do so. When you are test driving a vehicle, you want to make sure you are in tune with all your different senses and you will want to take the vehicle on a variety of roads. Don't just be on a smooth boulevard. Make sure you go over a few railroad track crossings. Or if you're on the freeway, make sure you find some of the roads that have maybe expansion joints so that shakes the car a little bit. You want to be looking for rattles and noises and creaks that you would expect that should not be there, especially ones coming from under the dash or in the seats themselves. You will want to be testing the suspension and that means not only corning, but also the noise it makes going around corners. A lot of suspensions and wheels these days have been upgraded, people putting larger wheels on the vehicle, and sometimes that puts additional wear and tear on the suspension itself. So you want to make sure that it responds properly. Brakes are another big consideration. That's quite often the most important thing to keep you out of trouble as you are driving the vehicle down the road. So you want to make sure the brakes respond consistently and strongly each and every time you apply them. And then secondly, people often will test the radio when they are test driving a car and kind of imagine themselves cruising and how great it's going to be to have this great sound system, but turn off that stereo system and make sure you are listening to the engine. Make sure you are listening to the exhaust. Make sure you are listening to the breaks if they're are squealing. You want to get a real multi-level sense of how the vehicle is responding and performing before you consider that test drive to be finished.
What questions should I ask the used car seller?
The questions to ask the person who's selling the vehicle to you include, "Are you the original owner of the vehicle?" If not, find out what sort of history that person can provide on the vehicle itself. Was the vehicle in any sort of accident or any sort of damage that's been repaired? It might look perfect but you want to know how it's been handled underneath the metal as well. Also, you want to ask for any and all service records available on the used car. If the seller has kept the service records, they've probably followed the good maintenance routine, and that's very important. You want to make sure that they've done the oil changes through the 3,000 mile services with equal importance. Lastly, you might want to ask them why they're selling the car. Is it that their family's changed, they need a bigger car, a smaller car, fuel economy and fuel prices? These are all things that you're probably going to have your own considerations on after you drive the vehicle, so you might as well take advantage of that person's experience and find out if it's been a negative or a positive experience to own that vehicle.
