Under the Hood – You and Your Car

When buying a used vehicle, there are many things that you can do to prevent yourself from purchasing a lemon. If you do the research, know all the tricks, and play the game, you will almost always come out on top. It is always best to have a car inspected before purchasing, but not always possible. So, here are some tips to help:

Know the vehicle: More important than other any clever tip or trick that I can share, is to know the vehicle that you want to buy. Look around for a while and decide what that special year, make, and model is. Once you decide what you want, go out and test drive several of them to make sure you definitely enjoy driving it. There are plenty of people out there that have bought “the car of their dreams,” before realizing that it is not at all what they wanted. At this point they are stuck with their unwanted “dream car” because they can’t get back what they paid for it, and don’t want to lose money on it.

Research: Do some research online to find out all the common problems of that year, make, and model, along with its suggested maintenance intervals. All vehicles have their own common problems; no make or model is perfect. If you are looking at a vehicle that just happens to be a few miles shy of a major maintenance interval (timing belt, transmission service, brakes), be sure to account for that in the cost of the vehicle. Those services can get very costly, and will undoubtedly be passed on to the new buyer. If the services have already been done, ask the vehicle’s seller if the receipts are available to show it.

Carfax: Carfax reports are a great idea, and they will help assure you that you don’t end up with another person’s problems. Used car dealers will typically give Carfax reports for free if you want one for a vehicle on their lot. If the used car dealer cannot provide one, or if it is a private sale, just ask the seller if they mind that you write down the VIN number to get a Carfax report for yourself. At that point the seller may be more likely to give you the real history, if any, before you find it out on your own. Carfax reports will (in most cases) show you if the car was ever in an accident, fire, flood, or if it was a rental (fleet) vehicle.

More important than any of the physical aspects of the car, be sure that it has a clean title, not a salvaged one. Salvage title cars are obviously worth far less than cars with clean titles, for good reason. If the title is clean, that is the first sign that it is a clean vehicle.

See next issue of the Pulse for information on viewing the vehicle. Covered in the following issue will be tips on test driving and negotiating a price.

Fred Young is the President of Young Automotive, Inc., Sturgeon Bay. A 1982 graduate of Motech Automotive Educational School of Livonia Mi. and an ASE Master Certified Technician for over 25 years and now an ASE Certified Automobile Advanced Engine Performance Specialist.