Some Tricks to Purchasing a Used Car

Did you know that once you drive off a brand new car off of the dealer lot, the car loses value? You do! Crazy. Huh?

Purchasing a used car can be very financially wise. In addition, you can research the reliability of the make/model you are interested in.

But, if not carefully examined, a used cars can equally be a huge financial commitment, especially if an issue isn’t noticed at time of purchase that requires a repair costing greater than the car's value.

So, in an effort to help with this process, I’ll share a list of steps that I usually follow and a checklist that I use to verify the condition of a used car. The goal of all of this upfront work is to tremendously decrease the probability of purchasing a lemon.

I suggest the following process. I understand it is work, actually a fair amount, but if you don't do the work, you are gambling at success. So, it up to you; do you want to the work ahead of time, which is cheap, or do the work after the purchase, which is expensive? You make the call. If you would like to prepare for your purchase, please use the following list to assist with the process of purchasing a used car:

• Determine how you will use the car, e.g. high mileage driving, short trips, hauling, modification, racing, ...
• Determine your budget. I suggest not using all of your money on the purchase. For example, if you have 10k in savings, I suggest purchasing a car for 8k. This will leave you with 2k for insurance and follow up expenses, e.g. necessary maintenance, new tires, ...
• Determine year/make/model of cars that will fulfill your needs and budget
• For each year/make/model determine average price and upper mileage
• For each year/make/model, determine reliability rate and common issues
• Find cars in your area
• For each car dealer, research their reputation.

The following list of resources is what I have used in the past to accomplish my above recommendations:

Resource	Category	Description
Auto Trader Car Max Kelly Blue Book Etc..	Price/ Mileage/ Availability	These resources are used to determine what the year/make/model is going for in your area. In addition, note the mileage these cars usually have. I also research on average how many miles this make/model could have? How you ask? Move your search year to the oldest year that your make/model is still being sold and note the mileage these cars have. This probably indicates a high mileage peak or right before the high mileage peak.
Test Drive Check List	Reliablity	This resource highlights several areas to look at during your visual inspection and test drive of the vehicle you might purchase. You need to quickly determine if there are any showstoppers and identify items you can use to lower the price.
Car Complaints	Reliablity	This resource allows you to determine if the year/make/model you're looking at is reliable. Be sure to look if complaints are relevant to you. For example, if the year/make/model vehicle being research is having major issues with automatic transmission but you looking to purchase a manual transmission, these set of complaints aren't relevant to you. You can also find Recalls and TSBs, for free, on this site.
Mitchell1 DIY ALLDATAdiy	Reliability	These purchased resources are used to research known Technical Service Bulletins(TSBs) and Recalls for the year/make/model you are interested in purchasing. I suggest using the information to ensure all recalls have been applied and to know what areas, via the TSBs, to focus your vehicle inspection on. These resources are for the intermediate and higher DIYer since technical information and technical resolutions about known issues are discussed.
Yelp	Car Dealer	This resource allows you to determine the dealer's professional reputation.

Best of luck with your purchase. From my experience, it takes me of upwards of 6 months to iron out all issues with a used car purchase.