Buying Used Cars By Owner

There comes a time in our life that we all want to buy a new car, until we get to the dealers lot and see the prices that is. Some new cars today are costing as much as a house did just a few years ago and I don’t know about you but my wages have not gone up that much. It is times like these that there can be wisdom in purchasing a used car. Unlike a new car, however some things are different when buying a used car.

There are two places you can purchase these used cars: On the lot of a new dealership or trying to find used cars by owner. When you find them on the dealers lot most of the time they are trade-ins of someone wanting to upgrade. A trained mechanic should have inspected these cars at the lot; they may even come with a small limited warranty.

Used cars for sale by owner, however, have been checked out by no one but you. This is not necessarily a bad thing. All you need is a little knowledge before hand and you should have no problem buying the used car for sale by owner.

Mechanic

The question is should you have a used car checked by a mechanic before you buy it? Well that depends on your expertise, if you have no idea of where to put the gas in your car then you might want to find a mechanic you can trust to do it for you. The downside to this is mechanics are very busy many times and may not be able to check out your little gem within a reasonable amount of time. On the other hand, the owner may not want you taking it to another mechanic; people can be funny some times. In the last case I would walk away from a deal like that, it leads you to believe that there are things wrong with the car that the owner does not want you to know.

Used cars by owner can be a great deal or a great lemon just like a car lot the thing is knowing how to tell the difference.

Homework

When you are considering purchasing a used car by owner, you should get all the pertinent facts on the vehicle and then do your homework. There are sites like Kelley bluebook that will give you a good idea of the going rate for a used vehicle in your area. The thing to remember is this if you are buying a car for sale by owner in another state, be sure and use their state as a basis when searching approximate value.

Mileage

If you have done your homework from above you will have a good approximation of the vehicles worth and part of that will be based on the mileage that you used in the search. Be sure that you double-check this data when you get to the car.

Final

A few final things to watch for are strange knocking sounds or weird odors coming from the vehicle. If you have driven a car very long, you will know that a sickly sweet smell coming from the vents is an indication something is wrong. In addition check every function on the vehicle, heat, air, defrost, wipers ECT…. Finally take it for a test drive, do not check out the stereo on your test drive you will want to be able to hear any odd noises or vibrations the car may be making. Once you are through and have discussed with the owner any potential problems with the vehicle make an offer or if you are still concerned about the running of the car ask if you can have your mechanic check it out. These tips are a few ground rules to get you started. Most of my cars have been purchased from a for-sale-by-owner ad and I have been extremely happy with each one, it is not a process to be feared but one you need to be knowledgeable about.