Question to Ask When Buying a Used Car – Check
When buying a used car, it is worth following the principle of limited trust. Mileage, technical condition of the car, hidden defects – advertisements are full of misrepresentations, incomplete information, and even plain lies. Contrary to popular belief, the first question to ask when buying a used car does not concern the technical condition of the car. Check the question to ask when buying a used car.
The questions you need to ask when buying a used car TOP 20
Questions to ask when buying a used car should relate to the vehicle history of the car, its current technical condition and legal status. It is worth asking the car seller thoroughly, and paying special attention to any inaccuracies between the declarations and the description in the advertisement and the actual condition of the car after inspection. The best way is to check the car at your chosen workshop or diagnostic station. A test drive is mandatory, but the technical condition of the car is not everything – documents are also important. When buying a car, it is not enough to know. Here you need to be absolutely sure, because otherwise the additional costs associated with restoring the car to the state of usability may exceed the cost of its purchase. We suggest what you should ask when buying a car.
Do you have a Vehicle History Report?
The condition of a used car is determined, in addition to age, by the number of owners and the way the vehicle was used. Cars used as taxis or company cars will certainly be more worn out than those used occasionally with low mileage. Of course, a car used with a lot of mileage can still be in good condition if it has been serviced regularly. A lot of information about the vehicle can be found in the vehicle history report. The document can be obtained if you have the VIN of the car in question. Is there a vehicle history report for the car? – That’s an important question. The report can replace the need to browse through many documents from various sources.
Has the car been serviced regularly?
Some people confuse aspects of cars being failure-free with being maintenance-free – you need to take care of your car regularly so that it serves you well for many years. Unfortunately, many used cars put up for sale have not been serviced. Noisy timing, an old V-belt or even oil that has not been changed for a long time – all this speaks poorly of the current owner and the technical condition of the car. If the seller is not able to tell when the car had the last repairs and an inspection – this is a sign that the car may be in poor technical condition. Has the car been serviced regularly? – it is a good question to ask when buying a used car.
Can I check the interior and exterior?
It is better not to buy a used car in a hurry. Even a phone call can be the basis for checking the car, but nothing can replace a visual inspection. Therefore, when buying a used car, it is necessary to inspect the car inside and outside. The seller should not see any problem in you wanting to check the car. A minimum of several minutes must be spent on visual inspection, or even longer, if you want to check whether, for example, the engine is heating up properly and whether it does not make disturbing noises. Any unprofessionally made repairs will come out during such a thorough visual inspection.
Has the car been involved in a crash?
This simple question is also a test of the seller’s honesty. An honest seller has nothing to hide – used cars have often been involved in minor collisions and even more serious road incidents. When selling a car, owners often conceal the post-accident past of the vehicle. In this situation, a paint gauge is useful, which will indicate the repainted elements – their thickness is going to be different from, for example, the roof, which you take as a reference value (assuming, of course, that the car has not rolled over). When in doubt, you can always check the car using the VIN number and search for information about possible collisions in the vehicle history report. When buying a car, ask for the VIN number. If it’s not in the advertisement, you can get this number over a phone call.
Does the car require any additional financial contribution/repair?
In a car put up for sale, there are going to be some repairs that you’ll need to have done. This is especially the case when the previous owner did not care much about the service. It is worth finding out in advance whether the car has been regularly serviced. You can ask about it already during a phone call with the seller. The conversation conducted earlier should give you an answer whether you need to do a larger inspection of the car after the purchase. If the owner has recently replaced the oil and all filters, there may still be, for example, faulty air conditioning in the car. Service costs will depend on what elements you find in the car’s equipment – the more complicated it is, e.g. it consists of hydraulic suspension, turbocharger or automatic transmission, the higher the possible repair costs associated with it.
Can I take a test drive?
Carrying out a test drive is a must if you want to make a fully informed decision about buying a used car. The seller should easily make the car available for a test drive.
How old is the car and what is its mileage?
Used cars start to break down more and more with age. Some are heavily exploited and cover 50.000-60.000 km or more per year. Therefore, it is necessary to ask about the age of the car and its mileage. It is worth assuming that each year of use is at least 10.000-15.000 km of mileage.
If the car is 10 years old, it should have not less than 100.000 km of mileage.
Previous owners of the vehicle – how many so far?
It is worth asking how many owners the car for sale had in total. It is best if the car previously had a maximum of 2-3 owners. The more people used it, the worse the vehicle could be treated – this is especially true for cars obtained from rental companies, where there were many drivers using it. It will be difficult to reach every previous owner, so the more there are, the less you will know about the car’s past.
Is there any damage on the car’s exterior?
The longer the car is used, the greater the likelihood that it already has some damage – minor abrasions in the parking lot or body dirt from stones on the road is basically a symptom of a normal usage. Sometimes even such minor damage can initiate corrosion.
Does the car have a warranty?
When buying a car, you can get a kind of warranty – for 6 or more months. Usually, such an option is offered by sales outlets of several-year-old used cars. However, note that the warranty on a used car usually has numerous exclusions, so it will not cover every breakdown after its purchase.
What is the reason for selling this car?
When selling a car, it is worth asking about the reason for getting rid of it. Does the seller want to get rid of it, because, for example, they bought a new one? Or maybe the real reason is the rising cost of maintaining the car? Remember that the cars which get sold are the ones that are not in the best technical condition.
Well-maintained vehicles are most often sent by acquaintances to the next owner and are not officially put up for sale.
What is the condition of the vehicle’s tyres, fluids and brakes?
The seller, at the moment of making the decision to get rid of the car, usually stops investing in its maintenance. Worn out tires and brakes, unchanged fluids – this is very often a reality of a car on sale.
It is worth checking exactly what condition the tires and brakes are in, because replacing them is a substantial cost.
Are there any parts that have been replaced in the vehicle?
It is worth checking what has been done in the car and what needs to be repaired after purchase. Many service activities after buying a used car can drain your wallet.
Can I take my car to my mechanic for an independent inspection?
The seller of the car should not see any problems with you having a visual inspection of the car done by an independent mechanic. You can also take a test drive then.
What was the vehicle mainly used for?
Most of the cars from the ads are used privately, but it happens that the car serves as a business car. This means that it may have a high mileage.
Another category are vehicles used for transporting people, i.e. popular taxis – such an annotation should be in the vehicle history report, so you can verify the seller’s claim that a taxi driver did not drive the car.
Was the car kept in a garage?
Cars kept outside are more exposed to weather conditions – like snow and rain. This means that they may start to corrode faster. Garaged cars are usually better maintained.
Is the price negotiable?
Listed prices are often the request of the owner or seller. It is worth bargaining, and present prices of other similar cars as an argument.
Car title – do you own it?
A car title is a document valid in the United States. This certificate of vehicle title (also known as car title) is a legal form that establishes a person or company as the legal owner of the vehicle. When the vehicle is financed, for example, by a bank, the title is usually held by the lender who must issue it to the buyer after the balance has been repaid completely. In some states, such as New York and Maryland, the title after the transfer is sent directly to the borrower, but the name of the lender or pledgor also appears on the title.
Were cigarettes smoked in the car?
Contrary to appearances, this is a fairly important question. If the driver is a smoker, you may need to wash the upholstery. The smell of tobacco will be difficult to get rid of completely from the car.
Is the car sold by a company or a private person?
This is an important question from a financial point of view, but also when it comes to the technical condition of the car. Cars sold by companies are usually subject to an additional tax, and those from a private seller are not. In addition, cars previously used as business cars may be less well-maintained than those from a private seller.
Is it worth asking so many questions when buying a used car?
When buying a used car, it is worth being inquisitive and not letting go. There is no such thing as too many questions. Any additional question can help you make an informed decision to buy a used car.
At autoDNA.com, the market-leading VIN decoding tool, you can free VIN lookup on a given vehicle. All you need for this is the VIN number. In the reports, on used cars, you can find information that will allow you to check whether the seller is telling the truth or not. In the report, you can find data on various topics. One of them is the vehicle history or stolen vehicle bases. You can do a VIN check for free 24/7 throughout the year.
What questions should you ask during the initial phone call?
It is worth checking whether the price is negotiable and asking about the general technical condition of the car, including when it last had a periodic inspection along with an oil change.
How to get prepared for a conversation with a car seller?
Carefully analyze the sale advertisement in terms of things that need to be clarified - e.g. "recently replaced oil and filters" - what does "recently" mean?
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