How to Buy a Used Car: A Comprehensive Guide

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Buying a used car is not easy. But often this is a real way to save money, and for some, the only possible option is to acquire their own wheels. Lifehacker's recommendations will help you to cope with all the difficulties and not miscalculate.

Step 1. Determine the budget

The first step is to clearly define the budget limit so as not to be tempted by more expensive offers. At the same time, it is very important not to buy a car with all the money: be sure to set aside 10-15% of the available amount. Immediately after the purchase, you will have to do maintenance, not to mention fixing the shortcomings that will inevitably be.

Step 2. Selecting several suitable models

When buying, you should already clearly understand what exactly you need from the car: a large trunk, a spacious interior, high power, an automatic transmission, a leather interior or other options. Usually, several models of even one manufacturer are suitable for the given criteria. Choose two or three models that suit you in all respects, and look only for them.

Having decided on the model, study the thematic forums, read the reviews of the owners on the Internet and talk with the workers of the car service centers to find out typical breakdowns, weak points and the cost of maintenance.

This will allow you not to spray attention to other cars and will give more options when choosing than if you were looking for one specific model. You can also study the selected cars in detail, find out which modifications are the most successful and what nuances you need to look at when buying.

Step 3. Finding out the market value of the car

Next, it is necessary to clarify how much they ask for on average for the models you are interested in, in order to have an idea of pricing taking into account age, engine size, type of transmission and other options.

In addition to banal weeding out suspicious offers from scammers, this is useful for comparing cars and bargaining. It is very easy to find the average price using filters on sites with ads and simple calculations on a calculator.

Step 4. Viewing and analyzing ads

We continue to browse ads in search of good options. Our task is to find several potential purchase options and choose the best one.

If you live in a small town, then it makes sense to look in newspapers like Iz Ruk v Ruki and others. In other cases, the popular sites Avto.ru, Avito.ru and Drom.ru are quite popular.

Try to keep track of new offers quickly, as the best cars usually leave within a couple of days, or even a few hours. To make sure you don't miss out on a good car, sign up for notifications about the models you are interested in. Also use mobile apps that will keep your finger on the pulse.

Immediately weed out ads without photos and with dry descriptions: as a rule, they are posted by scammers or resellers. Suspicions should also be caused by the discrepancy between the state of the car in the photo and the declared mileage and the price reduced to the limit in ads with closed comments.

How to recognize a reseller

If possible, try to immediately determine who posted the ad: the real owner or the reseller. The latter will be given the following signs:

1. The license plate hidden in the photo.
2. Pictures at a car service or at a car wash.
3. Tires cleaned to a shine.
4. Refusal to speak on the phone and call for a meeting.
5. An alias instead of a real name in the ad.

Separately, these details may not mean anything, but if they occur together, then most likely you are in front of a truly professional reseller.

Still in doubt? Lifehacker's detailed instructions will help you calculate an ad from a car reseller.

Step 5. We communicate with sellers

Having found several ads with suitable options, we start calling sellers. It is not worth writing messages to the mail and leaving comments under the ad, because every minute counts.

The main thing in communication is to ask specific questions so that the interlocutor cannot evade the answer or answer vaguely. This will help you understand whether it's worth going to watch the car you like. Here's what should interest you in the first place:

1. Who is the owner of the car and to whom it is registered.
2. License plate, VIN-code, vehicle registration number.
3. Is the TCP original and how many people are recorded in it?
4. In what service was the car serviced.
5. Is there a service book.
6. When was the last time the oil was changed.
7. What other units and parts have been replaced.

It is better to write down all the answers in a notebook so that you do not get confused later. If the interlocutor behaves adequately, does not bother and agrees to diagnose in the service, then you can safely make an appointment.

Step 6. Let's go to watch the car

The most crucial moment is coming. It is better to go to the meeting with a partner, it would be nice - who understands cars, and ideally - with a car mechanic whom you trust. Firstly, it's safer this way, and secondly, one head is good, but two is still better. It is advisable to get a thickness gauge somewhere and find out the thickness of the paint in the selected car model in order to check if there were any body tint.

First of all, look at the documents: the vehicle title and the seller's passport. If everything is in order there and the real owner is in front of you, you can proceed to the inspection. Pay attention to obvious damage, uniformity of gaps in body parts, the condition of the passenger compartment and engine compartment, as well as the general condition of the machine, the operation of all devices and options.

If your expectations are not disappointed, then you can proceed to a test drive. Check how the engine starts and idles for suspicious noises and knocks.

It is better to drive farther in order to accelerate well, evaluate the operation of the suspension and brakes, check the absence of jerks when shifting gears and steering wheel beating. Let the seller lead, and you closely follow what is happening. On the way back, ask for the wheel and appreciate everything from the driver's seat.

How to tell if a car is broken

If you are not an expert, then this is quite difficult to do. However, there are several true signs that indicate problems with the geometry of the body and participation in an accident. Here is some of them:

1. Glasses have different markings or year of manufacture.
2. The gaps in the doors and body are different and not parallel.
3. There is not a single scratch or dent on the front bumper that is inevitable from pebbles on the road.
4. One headlamp is cloudy (original) and the other is clear (recently replaced).
5. Paint stripped from door hinge bolts and bonnet.
6. The paint under the door seals differs from the main body color.
7. The crack on the windshield is not in the form of a cobweb (like from a stone), but without a visible center.

How to determine the real mileage

Unscrupulous sellers like not only to hide an accident, but also to twist the mileage in order to sell a car at a higher price. Therefore, you should not blindly believe the odometer readings.

1. Just count. On average, personal vehicles cover 15–20 thousand kilometers per year. In five years, the real mileage will be about 100 thousand.
2. Check the brake discs. If they have an edge of 2-3 mm, then the mileage is about 100 thousand kilometers. If they are new, then they were recently replaced and the car has clearly passed more than 100 thousand.
3. Look at the steering wheel. Traces of wear appear on it by five years of use or when the mileage exceeds 150-200 thousand kilometers.
4. Check the pedal pads. If they are worn down to metal or, conversely, replaced, this indicates a mileage of 300 thousand.
5. Look at the driver's seat. Fabric upholstery without consequences can withstand about 100-130 thousand kilometers, the condition of the skin begins to deteriorate after 200 thousand. In this case, the support roller closest to the door suffers most of all, although the armrest also often gets it.

By the way, the nature of the scuffs on the steering wheel will tell you about the operating conditions: wear at the 9 o'clock position indicates frequent long-distance trips, around 9 and 3 o'clock - about predominant city driving, and scuffs along the entire rim can be a sign of a taxi.

Step 7. Making diagnostics in the service

If, after a careful examination, you still like the car and want to buy it, go to a car service for a diagnosis. Ordinary cars can be driven to any service station you trust. If the car is technically complex, it is better to choose a specialized, specialized service, whose employees will be able to check everything properly.

Usually, only the suspension is looked at, but it will be useful to check all the body elements using a paintwork thickness gauge, as well as remove the protection and plastic elements on the bottom to assess the condition of the sills and side members. In addition, it is worth diagnosing the engine and measuring the compression in each cylinder, as well as checking the electrics. You can also ask the craftsmen to check the engine and body numbers with the documents.

In general, it is better to perform a comprehensive check of all possible problems and get a list of faults, with which you can then bargain. So you will surely recoup the money spent on diagnostics and have an idea of the work that will have to be done during the first maintenance.

Step 8. Executing the deal

All the nuances have been settled, you have agreed with the seller on the final price, and all that remains is to complete the deal. This is done using a conventional handwritten sales contract or on a printed form, where the passport details of the seller and the buyer are entered. Also, the seller must give you the title, the car registration certificate and, of course, the car keys.

After making sure that everything you need is in your hands, you can pay the seller in cash or put the agreed amount on the account and disperse.

Finally, ask to show again how the alarm works, check all the keys and - preferably - immediately replace the batteries in them.

Step 9. We put the car on record

The final touch remains and you will become the rightful owner of your new car. To register a car with the traffic police, you will need the following documents:

1. The sales contract, which contains the passport details of the seller and the buyer (even handwritten is suitable).
2. PTS.
3. Car registration certificate.
4. Insurance policy.

With all this, you need to appear at any traffic police department in the country and re-register the car in your name. Deregistration and other preliminary actions under the new rules are not required. If there is no queue, then the whole procedure will take no more than an hour.