4 Things To Check When Buying Any Used Vehicle

by Johnny Harbour Marketing Manager

Did you find a great deal by a used auto dealer in Souderton? If yes, then you’d probably wonder if it came at a cost!

It really surprised me when I saw the chart ratio for sales of used vehicle to new vehicle in the U.S.

Source: statista.com

I bought my first car when I was 21 years old. It was a used Volkswagen Golf. It meant the world to me!

It wasn’t a hard task to find one either because as we see in the above report, there’s a huge market for used cars!

With a huge market comes the risk of fraud, and illegal imports! So you have to be extra careful while buying a used car.

4 Things To Check When Buying Used Cars

Learning the Vehicle’s History

All you have to do is visit the National Motor Vehicle Title Information Service website to receive a brief report with name, insurance, and salvage information of any used car.

Enter the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) (you’ll find VIN pasted on the front of the Buyer’s Guide) and pay a small provider’s fee to learn everything about the given car.

Such history reports are provided to car dealers, customers, and bank financial institutions. You may find limited information about cars on NMVTIS, but it’s a genuine source of information!

Pricing

How much are you willing to spend on your used car? Also, which payment method will you undertake, as your transaction should be accountable for legal purposes.

It’s better to have a third party interference during such transactions such as a car dealership, loan, and union among others.

Also check if the price includes incidentals such as spare parts, if possible.

Ownership

When your other party is an individual, it becomes mandatory for you to check the authenticity of the vehicle and the person themselves.

Meet the real owner of the vehicle and ask him about the number of years he/she has used the vehicle, if any part is due maintenance or requires immediate attention. Get yourself acquainted with the owner!

Pre-Purchase Inspection

It’s a very good practice to call someone you trust as a mechanic who checks the vehicle throughout.

It definitely doesn’t throw the impression that the seller is selling through unfair means but the seller himself might not know about any uncalled problems in the vehicle!