4 Steps to Purchasing a Used Car
By : Tom Tessin    19 or more times read

Buying a used car can be a challenge if you don’t know what you’re doing. When you step foot either on a used car lot, or maybe you’re just going to go out and buy from a private seller, you’re going to find that many are out there to get what they want, and that’s money. Since many people get ripped off left, and right, it’s essential to know what you should buy, and how you should buy a car without getting ripped off. You can apply these same techniques to your new car purchases as well.

Know the value: Head to the Kelly Blue Book online. You can do this by heading to KBB.com. What you’ll want to do is fill out the car information, and make sure that the car is worth what you’re purchasing it for. My rule of thumb is that you never pay over the Blue Book value, and also, you’ll want to make sure that you pay at least 15-20% below the value, if you want a good deal.

Test it all over: When you go to look at the car, make sure that you send it to a qualified mechanic. If you can, bring one with you to check it out. He/she may be able to spot something that you wouldn’t have been able to point out. Walk around the whole car, and see how it looks cosmetically. You’ll want to make sure that there’s no rust, no dents, or any scratches. If it’s something minor, point it out, and it may be able to know the price down a little. A simple scratch is fairly easy to fix, trust me on this one.

Drive it: You don’t want to purchase a car without testing it first. Take it for a spin, and make sure that you try all of the roads. You’ll want to drive the side streets, a 50 mph street, as well the highway. This will allow you to test all of the roads to ensure that it’s going to have the pickup, and so that it can handle everything as well. You may find out that after you reach 50 mph, it starts to rattle, and has other problems. This is something that you don’t want.

Ask questions: Just like test driving, ask the owner questions about it. If you want, get a carfax report on it as well. This report is going to show you if it’s had any damage such as flooding, and anything else like that. You’re going to want to make sure that you do your homework. The more questions that you ask, the better it’s going to be for you.

These are really the four things that you’re going to want to do when you’re purchasing a used car. Whether you get it on the car lot, or you buy it from someone private, you’ll want to follow these points, and make sure that you’re smart about your purchase. By doing so, you can be assured that you’re getting a great deal. Get more great articles like this all at http://www.findgascards.com/blog.
Get more great articles like this all at http://www.findgascards.com/blog.

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Submitted on: 2010-01-09