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Used car buying etiquette

FagatronFagatron Registered User regular
edited May 2011 in Help / Advice Forum
I'm looking at buying a used car (Craigslist, either private buyer or dealer depending on what I find), and I was wondering what the protocol is as far as taking it to get checked out by a mechanic before buying it, and if there's anything else I should know before buying a used car. I'm in California, for reference. Thanks!

Fagatron on

Posts

  • prfntbtrprfntbtr Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Etiquette? Well, if a seller gets offended at you asking for an expert to check out the mechanical integrity of a car, then that is a bad sign. They should not have an issue with it. You could probably have a mechanic go to the site where the car is at to do check basic things but if you wanted to be super thorough (never a bad idea) then you could always ask the owner to drop it off at your mechanics place for a few hours. That way they would not be worried about you driving off with their vehicle.

    As far as other ideas on what you should consider before buying, get a vehicle history report, such as Carfax. This will show if they vehicle has been in any major accidents, which would make it worth less than a car that never taken a lot of damage. It is not all that expensive and should give you some peace of mind.

    prfntbtr on
  • DhalphirDhalphir don't you open that trapdoor you're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    One thing to note is that you don't want to be getting cars checked out with non-free checks left right and centre. Narrow your search down to 1, 2, or maybe 3 vehicles you're interested in, then run the checks on just those.

    Dhalphir on
  • stormbringerstormbringer Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Ok I restore classic car's and do inspections on the side of my normal job

    A lot of times we call them PPI (Pre Purchase Inspections). So Carfax; first on a car that you are interested in. Come to agreed upon price before you do the inspection, this is important. And always remember that carfax/autocheck are not perfect. I have found cars that have been completely repainted, bent frames, non OEM bodywork replacements all kinds of stuff with a clean checkout.

    No car is perfect even 100K+ full restoration jobs so don't be surprised to see a few items that need to be fixed. Use that against the negotiated price that you already have so that everybody is happy if you really want the car or it is a rare item for sale.

    stormbringer on
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