The prices for new cars have increased considerably to the level where many people are buying used cars instead. The cost savings for getting an used car instead of a new one can be thousands of dollars. Along with a savings like that it is amazing that anybody buys new cars anymore. In this posting we are going to give you a few tips so you can be positive that you are getting a good quality used car when shopping.
First of all you will need to look for is any rust on the car that you are thinking about. Ensure that you check out rust that could be hidden below the paint job. A way to tell if there may be rust hidden beneath the paint is how the car's finish looks. If you discover spots of the paint that happen to be bubbled up, there is a great chance that rust is underneath and ready to push its way through. If you find any rust around the vehicle keep looking as a little rust now could be a lot of rust in a year or two.
An additional area to look at for rust is in the trunk of the car. It is one region of the car that many people forget to look at. However when you have rust in the trunk of the car it will eventually spread. Not only will the rust spread, but it can make holes in your car causing potential water damage to anything in your trunk.
Now check out the interior of the car or truck. In case the car is clean internally, you know that the prior owner took care of the car very well. If you will discover stains and serious wear and tear, you no doubt know that the prior owner did not properly maintain the car.
Now if you are inside the automobile check each of the controls, this includes windows, door locks, heater and everything else the car has. The hardest situation you want to have happen is to buy a car during the winter only to find out the A/C doesn't operate as the summer heat rolls around.
The next thing to consider is the wear over the tire treads. If the tires on one side of the car has significantly less tread than the other, then there may be some alignment issues or worse. It's possible that all you need is to align the tires or it could be something worse and may cost you thousands of dollars. Consequently if there is any unequal wear move on and find another car.
And lastly it is the time to take the vehicle for a test drive. Once you test drive the car make sure that you take hard turns both right and left turns and check out the brakes to be sure there are no issues. If you take the car for a drive, ensure that you don't have whatever weird noises or other issues.