Pre-owned vehicles are the main option for many car buyers, because not only does purchasing a brand new vehicle immediately mean you lose value when driving it off the lot, but you may be paying for a more premium experience than you actually need or want.
But what should you even look for in a pre-owned car? How can you avoid a bad deal? How can you secure a good deal? And what signs, positive indicators or red flags should you be mindful of before making your decision?
Of course, just because a vehicle is being sold by someone who doesn’t seem super affable, it doesn’t mean you’re about to get scammed. Additionally, just because you’re buying a vehicle from a charming person you met through an online car listing doesn’t mean you’re coming away with the fairest and put-together deal, either.
In this post, we’ll discuss a few measures you can use to identify what car you really need, how to identify its real value, and how to avoid a bad deal.
Mileage
Of course, while mileage isn’t necessarily an indicator of how healthy a car is right now, it does imply just how much use it’s had, and that can help you avoid a bad purchase. Pre-owned vehicles obviously imply that they’ve been used before, so instead of opting for the lowest number possible, look for the most reasonable number, and consider where you’re purchasing the car from.
Picking up a vehicle with plenty of miles in it in a rural area with steep hills and potholes may imply more intensive use than the exact same model in an urban environment with perfectly laid streets. Of course, this is a guesstimate approach, and so this might not totally kill your interest. Yet don’t forget, mileage can be important and worthwhile.
Repairs
Repairs aren’t always a good indicator of just how worthwhile a purchase is, but it can be helpful to know about them so you can keep them in mind if you decide to pick up the vehicle.
Reading the service history of a particular vehicle can be a tremendous help in these circumstances. For instance, the servicing repairs, the maintenance checks, and the full-blown replacements of the drivetrain or suspension may also be big indicators as to what’s been going on with a certain vehicle.
None of this may be a problem to you, provided the owner is totally candid about what’s been going on with their car. At the very least, it can lead to more informed conversations that help influence your purchase one way or another.
Interior Condition
The interior conditions of a vehicle aren’t always easy to assess, but they can suggest if an owner has been taking care of the vehicle or not. Caked-on dirt, a bad smell, and torn carpets might indicate that the owner had a liberal idea of what car maintenance constituted, and that could potentially translate to what’s going on under the hood.
Furthermore, a full replacement and respec of the internal seating and trimmings may indicate that this person either cared about their car, or wanted the best possible price for it before selling it on. At the very least, inspecting this and seeing what you’re getting can be a tremendous idea and use of your time.
Know Why You’re Buying Pre-Owned
Of course, the answers to this question are rather obvious at first glance. But it’s not so much about exactly why you’d want to buy pre-owned in the first place, but what you’re getting out of it, and what you’d like to prioritize. You can click here to see just what kind of value you may get out of a pre-owned vehicle, and why prioritizing this could be a fantastic use of your time.
That kind of insight and intelligence ahead of time can help you moderate your purchasing habits, especially when it comes to letting certain outcomes, like the handling and responsiveness unveiled in the test drive, to define if you’re going to purchase the vehicle or not.
Research The Model
Researching the model of the vehicle can be tremendously insightful ahead of time. In fact, it can potentially help you assess the dealbreakers that might disincentivize a purchase on your part before you even turn up to the meeting.
This way, you can help assess if a model is uniquely flawed or if that’s just a known issue with this brand and this line of cars. That can help you see just how the previous owner may have responded to such issues, and if the repairs made helped counteract that. Furthermore, you might be able to see just what kind of features are important to you, such as heated seating, off-road winches, and more.
Fuel Usage
Of course, as vehicles get older, fuel economy declines. However, it can be good to ask a few simple questions that you can use to help test the owners general knowledge of teh vehicle and what that means. For instance, you might ask about the fuel usage, roughly how many times a week they have to fill up, and what kind of fuel they’ve been putting in the car, van or truck so far.
While it’s hard to independently verify this, it’s pretty easy to see if someone’s being truthful and candid about this by what kind of figure they offer according to the age of the vehicle, and the prior online stats surrounding it. That can not only help you assess if the vehicle is worth buying, but if the owner is worth buying from.
With this advice, we hope you can more readily know what to look for when purchasing a preowned car. Certain metrics, such as the fuel usage, responsiveness, handling, listing honesty and more can help you assess if the vehicle is a good buy, but knowing your purpose, inspecting the repairs and enjoying a test drive can help you may that final decision. Best of luck!
