Daylon Lopez
Stowell
College 101
5 May 2016
How to Buy a Used Car Have you ever thought about buying a used car but weren’t sure what to look for? Look no further!! In this guide you will find out what to look for when buying a used car. Buying a used car isn’t easy and takes time and can be stressful. First off you’re going to need to do some research on what you’re looking for and find a price range that works for you. Once that is done and you have found something that has your interest we will need to contact the seller and arrange a time and place to meet also its good to ask ahead of time about the title status. Just about always look for a clean title. Usually at home or a local place around town works great for meeting up and always bring a friend with you who can point out something that you might have over looked and they can give a second opinion on just about anything that could be wrong with the vehicle and they can also help you negotiate the price towards the end of finalizing the deal. Meeting the seller, introduce yourself and try to relate to something, ask anything that comes to mind about the car. This is important, ask about the history of the vehicle, how long they have owned it for and what maintenance they have done to the vehicle since they have owned the vehicle before you and you really want to know that the vehicle was taken care of and not abused and beat to crap. Don’t take their word about any parts they have replaced, make sure they have all paperwork/receipts for anything that has been done to the vehicle, this is to show proof and to show that the new parts were installed at a shop. Now then let’s check over the body for ANYTHING and make note of it. Mainly look for dents, rust spots, and cracks in the body. Once you have inspected the body of the vehicle for damage, ask the seller what might have caused the damages to the body and ask what it might cost to get it fixed, this is good because you can lower the overall price of the vehicle. If the damage is a little more severe you also have the option to go to a body shop and get an estimate for the damage. If what the seller say seems sketchy and doesn’t make any sense you should back away from the sell and keep looking for something else because usually there are only two main reasons why people sell their cars and that’s if they don’t need it/want it or there is a problem with the vehicle and A LOT of times, it’s because the vehicle has a huge problem with it. Check the tread on the tires, tires aren’t cheap so you want to make sure there’s a good amount on there until you’re ready to get new tires for the vehicle. Bringing a jack might come in handy to get a good look under the car. You always want to make sure there is no oil leaking from anywhere under the vehicle, if there is bring it to the seller’s attention immediately. You really don’t want an oil leak, sometimes it can be serious like the rear main seal which is not cheap to fix or it could be some other random gasket. Once you have evaluated the undercarriage of the vehicle and everything checks out, move on to the interior of the vehicle. Once you’re inside of the vehicle start in up and pop the hood open. Listen very carefully to anything that doesn’t sound right. If everything sounds normal, then let’s move on to checking if the dash lights work. Start with the blinkers and move towards the wipers. Check if the a/c works, many times the a/c doesn’t work at all or it may just need to be recharged. Get a good look at the interior, look for rips tears, and stains in the fabric and in the carpet of the vehicle. This is going to sound weird but smell around for the scent of either cigarettes or the scent of animals, keep in mind smoking or having your animals in the car lowers the value of a vehicle. Have you friend that you brought with you stand outside of the car to ensure the brake lights, reverse lights, and headlights work properly. Walk back out of the car and inspect the engine bay for oil or anything that stands out to you. Remember to ask questions about anything. Ask the seller when’s the last time he changed the spark plugs, cap and rotor, oil, and oil filter to ensure that the car has been maintained. Now for the best part, driving. get into the vehicle and either put the car in drive or if you’re driving a standard transmission, first gear. Pay really close attention to how the motor sounds. If something sounds out of the ordinary, ask the seller if he might know what the problem could be. Listen and feel when the transmission shifts, is it smooth? or rough? If you’re in a standard does the clutch slip or grab very quick and smooth. Also if you’re in a standard pay attention to the gearbox and make sure it doesn’t grind or pop out of gear when you’re driving. when driving roll the windows down a bit and make sure you don’t smell oil burning. If so that’s a red flag and you should say something to the seller. Take the car on your test drive through some curvy roads to ensure it handles well. Soon after take the vehicle on the freeway. Pin it to ensure that the vehicle can go up to speed with no hesitation. Again drive for a bit to ensure the vehicle drives straight and handles fine. After your test drive ask the seller for the title of the vehicle and make sure that it has a clean title and is in their name. If it doesn’t have a clean title that might mean that it could have been in an accident and not fixed properly and if the title is not in their name that usually means they haven’t owned the vehicle for very long. You could also run the vin number through Carfax to see maintenance and accident reports on the vehicle. If everything checks out ok, then you’re in the clear. Now come up a price that sounds fair for the vehicles condition, drivability, comfort, and for the work that might need to be done to the vehicle. Then negotiate with the seller and finalize the deal with a handshake. Lastly you’ll need to write out a bill of sale with a description of the vehicle, the names of the buyer/seller, and the price that the vehicle was bought for because in Washington state we have to pay taxes. Now it’s time to enjoy your new car!