Buying a Preowned Vehicle-Making The Right Choices

Tips on Safely Buying a Used Car Buying a car is a big deal. Not only is a car a large financial commitment, but it's also something you'll need to rely in a number of different ways. While a new car comes with built in reliability, when buying a used car there's always" a question as to how good an investment the vehicle will turn out to be. Fortunately, the used car business has become a lot more buyer friendly over the years. In addition to lemon laws protecting the buyer from ill-intentioned sellers, other safety nets like CARFAX vehicle history reports arc now available to take some of the risk out of buying a used car. Other ways to lessen the risk when buying a used car include the following. * Do your homework: These days, nearly everyone has a car, and most families have two cars. Many families with high school or college-aged children even have a third car. When looking to buy a used car, poll friends about the cars they drive and their opinions. Find someone who drives the vehicle you're considering and find out how the vehicle stacks up. Ask about maintenance, gas mileage, how many miles it has and how well it's still running. This should give an accurate portrayal of what you can expect from the car. It helps to be specific as well. Ask your mechanic about the car you're considering buying, and specifically the cost of parts and maintenance that you can expect with the vehicle. Because it's a used car, you're probably going to need to replace some parts down the road, since buying a car with easily found parts will be far more prudent than one where parts are hard to find and expensive. * Take the vehicle to your mechanic: This is especially important if you're buying the car from a private citizen. Don't simply take the seller on his or her word when buying a used car. Insist on taking the vehicle to your mechanic (even if you're buying from a dealership) to have it inspected. If the seller, dealer or private, is not willing to let you do this, walk away from the vehicle. In the case of a dealership, don't simply assume the car is in perfect condition because they're a dealership. While lemon laws do exist, even dealerships sell cars "as is," and that puts the buyer in a precarious position. The best way to avoid buying a car where the problems have been masked is to lake the vehicle to a mechanic you trust and getting a professional opinion. READ MORE