Buying a Used Car - Four Important Things to Check On
If you want to save time and frustration when buying a used car then then read on. There are dozens of things that you could check when you're looking at used cars, but that would take far more time than most of us have. in this article there are four things listed that you must check when buying a used car, vehicle history, exhaust smoke, brakes and interior. This will only take a small amount of time and give you a good idea as to what kind of car you're about to buy.
1. Vehicle History
This is actually one of the easiest things to check when buying a used car. Services like the constantly advertised, Carfax, exist to make this as easy as possible. Any decent, reputable dealer will be able to provide a vehicle history. Ask for service books and owners manuals as well. If they don't give you the information, then you should probably walk away. You can run your own history check with the VIN number. In either case, what you're looking for is a car that hasn't been in any accidents or needed major work done.
2. Exhaust Smoke
You need to have the dealer start the car up for you while you watch the exhaust pipe. What you want to happen is for there to be maybe a little white steam coming out of the car. You shouldn't get smoke out of the exhaust, unless you're looking at a diesel, in which case a little black smoke initially is acceptable. White smoke is usually an indicator of engine problems. Blue smoke means the car is burning oil, which is very bad news. Black smoke means there is something wrong with the way the car is burning gasoline. In any event, if the car smokes, you don't want to buy it.
3. Brakes
Another one of the crucial things to check on a used car is the brakes. You're going to need to take the car on a test drive to check this one. What you want to do is to take the car to an area without traffic, then go around 30 mph and press down hard on the brakes. You don't want to do this hard enough to slide, but you do want a quick deceleration. If the brakes vibrate or make any strange noises, they need replaced. If there are any problems with the brakes, you should probably walk away; although these are easily repaired, they usually indicate a car that hasn't been properly maintained.
4. Interior
As far as things to check when purchasing a used car go, this one that doesn't get as much thought as it should. What you are looking for here is a disparity between the interior of the car and the mileage. If the car has low mileage and a really beat up interior, this is a sign of either poor maintenance or odometer fraud. On the other hand, if it has high miles and a like new interior, this can be a sign the car was owned by somebody who really took care of it.
Check these four things, vehicle history, exhaust smoke, brakes and interior, when buying a used ca. It will give you a good picture of the quality of the car you're buying, and this will save you big money.
1. Vehicle History
This is actually one of the easiest things to check when buying a used car. Services like the constantly advertised, Carfax, exist to make this as easy as possible. Any decent, reputable dealer will be able to provide a vehicle history. Ask for service books and owners manuals as well. If they don't give you the information, then you should probably walk away. You can run your own history check with the VIN number. In either case, what you're looking for is a car that hasn't been in any accidents or needed major work done.
2. Exhaust Smoke
You need to have the dealer start the car up for you while you watch the exhaust pipe. What you want to happen is for there to be maybe a little white steam coming out of the car. You shouldn't get smoke out of the exhaust, unless you're looking at a diesel, in which case a little black smoke initially is acceptable. White smoke is usually an indicator of engine problems. Blue smoke means the car is burning oil, which is very bad news. Black smoke means there is something wrong with the way the car is burning gasoline. In any event, if the car smokes, you don't want to buy it.
3. Brakes
Another one of the crucial things to check on a used car is the brakes. You're going to need to take the car on a test drive to check this one. What you want to do is to take the car to an area without traffic, then go around 30 mph and press down hard on the brakes. You don't want to do this hard enough to slide, but you do want a quick deceleration. If the brakes vibrate or make any strange noises, they need replaced. If there are any problems with the brakes, you should probably walk away; although these are easily repaired, they usually indicate a car that hasn't been properly maintained.
4. Interior
As far as things to check when purchasing a used car go, this one that doesn't get as much thought as it should. What you are looking for here is a disparity between the interior of the car and the mileage. If the car has low mileage and a really beat up interior, this is a sign of either poor maintenance or odometer fraud. On the other hand, if it has high miles and a like new interior, this can be a sign the car was owned by somebody who really took care of it.
Check these four things, vehicle history, exhaust smoke, brakes and interior, when buying a used ca. It will give you a good picture of the quality of the car you're buying, and this will save you big money.