How to Buy an Used Car

Buying a used car is not an easy decision. There are many places to buy a used vehicle today. A few examples would be a reputable car dealership, a certified pre-owned lot, an online ad, or a private individual like craigslist. You have many options to choose from, but some options are better than others. There are many vehicles that have been in accidents, are not regularly maintained, or have a rolled back mileage gauge. Three things that you can do to avoid choosing the wrong car are finding out about a car’s history, examining a car’s body, and inspecting a car’s mechanical problems. First of all, when you find a car that you are interested in, you can ask a dealer or an owner about the VIN to learn more about it. The VIN, vehicle identification number, is a unique serial number for every modern car. Basically, it includes a car’s brand, model, years of car, engine type, and many other things. The first digit of the VIN shows the country number and the tenth digit is the year of the car. For example, if the tenth digit is 9, that car is made in 2009. You can also check the vehicle history report with the VIN. This shows how many people have owned a certain vehicle, accident records, and how many times that car has been maintained. This could be the most important for your decision making process, giving you complete peace of mind about the vehicle you are buying or saving you thousands of dollars in unexpected repair costs down the road. It is a good idea to look for another car if those cars have been transferred to others too many times or have been involved in major accidents. KBB (Kelley Blue Book) or CarFax are online companies that offer the most reliable information in the U.S. for checking the VIN.
Another thing that you might look at before you buy a used car is the car’s body. It is wise to check out both the interior and exterior in detail. For instance, you can examine the windshield wipers, if the body panel colors match, if there are any