With the car market what it is after COVID (that dreaded word again), now more than ever it is imperative that you get a prepurchase inspection when buying a new to you used vehicle. Cars that had no value 5 years ago are suddenly now worth 3-5000 dollars and the cars that were worth 2500-5000 dollars are now worth 7-10,000 dollars. The legality of buying these cars is the same as when they were worth 5000 dollars and below, as is -where is, but the repairs needed, the run ability and overall health of the car is the same as when they were worth $2500 or below.
People are spending more money on that work-beater car, the first car for your new teenage driver, or for the third car. Just because you are spending more though, doesn’t mean you are getting a better-quality car. From what we have seen right now, if you want to get close to a reliable car that shouldn’t break the bank in the first year you have the car right now plan to spend 9-10,000 dollars after negotiating the price. Anything lower than that right now, we have found that you will end up putting some money into it to make it safe, inspectable, and reliable.
Buying a car and putting some money into it isn’t a bad thing if you know about it. When you don’t and you spend more than you originally thought you would, that’s when the purchase does tend to be a bad one. Many call it a lemon. It’s one thing to buy a car, knowing you are going to put tires and brakes on it. It’s another to put on tires, brakes and perform a $1700.00 valve body replacement. It’s also one thing to spend 5-8000 dollars on a car and be able to drive it for a couple of years and another when the subframe goes up through the floor which won’t pass inspection in three months, and you had no clue.
If you have read up to this point, and are not ready to say, “Screw it, I will bite the bullet and buy new,” keep on reading how to lessen your liability of getting boinked while buying a car. There are a couple of things you can do, not to get a car that just looks good. NEWSFLASH- It isn’t necessarily an aftermarket warranty. Read my blog on that one and what I find wrong with those.
First thing you can do, let your own mechanic know that you are looking for a car, and what you are looking for. If you are looking for a midsize SUV that is less than 150k miles or a little beater sedan that will go down the turnpike that gets over 30 mpg. He might have someone on his clientele list that is looking to sell and if it fits your parameters, be able to hook you up. If he/she is willing to work on it, has worked on it or will work on it, and you are a decent customer, they are not going to intentionally steer you wrong. I will tell my customers if the car is in decent shape, and we haven’t had problems with it, I am okay with “keeping it in the family” so to speak.
If your mechanic knows you are looking for a car, he/she would also be better to direct you where to possibly go to find one, and where to stay away from. Not everyone can find the old person car. Sometimes, you end up at a used car dealer. Not all of them are bad, most actually want to put out a good reliable car, BUT I bet if you ask your mechanic where there is a place to not buy a car, he will have a list of dealers to stay away from and be able to tell you why.
Next, you might tell me that you know your way around cars and know what to look for. That is great! We love it when our customers are knowledgeable. I would caution you to own up the amount of knowledge you have though. Are you just knowledgeable enough to be dangerous? Or knowledgeable enough that you will be able to take apart, and put it back together correctly without stopping and googling it? Your best bet is to know what you don’t know and get help where you lack. I have had a lot of customers that thought they knew what they were looking at and it totally turned out to be something else. You can’t just kick the tires anymore; watch it not fall apart and call it good. Another set of eyes never hurt anyone.
If you tell me that you are looking for another car, the first thing I will tell you is to send me a VIN or Vehicle Identification Number. With that number I can do some research before you go look at it. I will run it through the NHTSA database, and make sure all recalls are up to date. I will also run it through the Carfax service history so that I can get any service history that is reported, and then I will also do a couple more searches through other databases that I have. What I look for when going through the databases is what kind of work was performed? Does the mileage match the posting according to service records? Where was the car in the states and sometimes when (you don’t necessarily want a flood car that may not be reported)? When was it last State Inspected? From there if it passes muster, I will let you know everything I find or didn’t find. Keep in mind sometimes I don’t find anything if it was kept by a DIYer. I will also come up with a list of questions you can ask or answers you want before you waste your time going down to look at it, or things to pay extra attention to if you do go look at it. If a Dealership won’t preform a Recall (which is Free) what other kind of service didn’t they do while “certifying” it? If it was sold 5 times and it’s only 7 years old, why?
If you get to this point and you are going to look at the car, I still caution you to get the prepurchase inspection. The $50-80 or even $100.00 that you spend can put you in the right place going forward. It can also aid in negotiating the price. Just know that a good prepurchase inspection will check over the car, like it was getting a state inspection, oil change, and diagnosis all at once.
The shop that does it should be checking and putting in writing:
By not getting the prepurchase inspection, you play a buyer beware game. You own every single problem that car has. So, if the engine blows on the second day you have it titled in your name, you are solely responsible for the replacement of said blown engine. If the wheel comes off while driving, you are responsible for it. By having an independent third party prepurchase inspection done, some of that blame can be shifted to the prepurchase inspector, if you can prove that they did not inform you of said problem. You have a failsafe of sorts. By having an independent third party do the inspection will give you the most reliable information because they don’t have to make the sale of the car, so they do good service, get their check-over inspection money and for most shops that is the end of it. If a business or private seller does not want you to get a prepurchase inspection, I tell my customers to walk away.
Like I stated, it’s okay to get a good deal on a car, because you are fine with putting some parts on it, to make it inspectable safe and reliable. It’s best to know about it, because you can use it as a bargaining chip, “I have to replace this, it’s going to cost that, how about I pay this?” You can also use the prepurchase inspection to plan the repairs a bit. If the ac doesn’t work, but you bought it in fall, you can plan to fix it in spring, or late winter. If you come here and we can time it right to do the repairs where you would save the most labor dollars, depending on the season the rebates available, and keep the downtime of your vehicle to a minimum. Other garages should be able to do the same, as well.
When you have a prepurchase inspection done, it opens the options when buying a new used car. It helps with the negotiation of price, the plan going forward for future repairs, and should keep you from buying a major garbage heap. By working with your garage to plan your purchase, you can make the best decision for you and your family, to keep them and you off the side of the road and your bank account out of the red. If you need us, we are here and as always ready to help.