12 Essential Questions to Ask When Buying a Used Car
Blog Highlights:
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Get Peace of Mind by Asking the Right Questions: The detailed answers will help reveal the car's condition and help you avoid costly surprises.
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Evaluate the Car Inside and Out: Inspect the car’s exterior and interior for signs of wear, damage, or neglect. Test drive the vehicle to assess its performance on various road types, ensuring it meets your standards.
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Prepare for Ownership Costs: Understand the car's impact on your budget by considering its insurance premiums, taxes, and registration fees. Discuss financing options and get pre-approved to streamline the buying process.
When considering the purchase of a used car, numerous factors come into play that can significantly impact the overall buying experience. While the excitement of finding the right vehicle can be overwhelming, it's crucial to remain focused and ask the right questions to ensure you make an informed decision.
Questions to Ask When You Buy a Used Car from a Dealership or Private Seller
It’s easy to fall head over heels for a vehicle that matches your wish list and budget requirements, but it’s important to gather pertinent information before making a final decision. These rank among the dozen questions to ask when buying a used car that can help you select the car, truck, or SUV that is right for you.
1: Can I have a vehicle history report?
The salesperson at a dealership cannot be expected to know the entire history of a particular vehicle. But it’s becoming something of an industry standard to provide vehicle reports. Reputable used car dealerships sometimes offer CarFax reports to demonstrate their trustworthiness. You may be able to review a CarFax report online or broker a deal with a private seller to roll the cost of the report into the sale. Be sure to review the report for things like odometer readings, accidents, and whether the vehicle was ever reported stolen.
2: Are any service and maintenance records included?
Buying a vehicle from the person who bought it new has some advantages. If the seller was meticulous about their record keeping, you may gain access to the service and maintenance slips. Of course, not everyone holds on to their automotive service information. Dealerships are less likely to possess used car records because they often take vehicles as trade-ins. If you are fortunate enough to review the documents, check for oil change consistency and whether any major repairs occurred.
3: Is there a factory, certified pre-owned or dealership warranty?
Warranties are a big plus in the pre-owned vehicle world. While private sellers are unlikely to give you any sort of guarantee, consider a dealer’s warranty as money saved. Should something go wrong, you might not have to pay out of pocket for the repair.
4: Can I return the car if I don’t like it?
This depends on the seller, dealership, and contract you have signed. Be sure to know how much car you can afford before signing on the dotted line so you aren’t shocked when the monthly payments start coming out of your account. Also, be sure to research some larger online used car outlets which may offer a return window of seven to thirty days. While these timeframes sound reassuring, there are milage, return policy, and restocking fees that must be met.
5: What is the car worth?
Asking what the car, truck, or SUV is worth is an essential question. Once the salesperson or private party gives you an answer, consider a caveat to this question. Ask whether that estimate is based on its condition. You may not necessarily agree that a vehicle is in excellent condition just because a dealer or private seller sees it that way. The good news is that you can access the Kelley Blue Book platform from any laptop, desktop, or handheld device. Kelley Blue Book will provide an objective estimate.
6: How old is the car?
The year of any vehicle is important in terms of value and mechanical issues. Some years are fraught with problems. Consider double-checking the year of the vehicle by looking at the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). A VIN displays the car's unique features, specifications and manufacturer. It can be used to track recalls, registrations, warranty claims, thefts and insurance coverage.
7: What is the car’s mileage?
The mileage of a vehicle has a direct impact on its value and the owner’s wallet due to potential repairs. If you thought odometer rollbacks were a thing of the past, think again. The NHTSA estimates that more than 450,000 vehicles are sold with false odometer readings each year. To prevent fraud, ask to see the title and compare the mileage. Compare the mileage on the odometer to inspection records. Look at the overall wear and tear on the vehicle and review the vehicle history reports.
8: Are there any mechanical problems?
This is a critical issue when buying a car, unless you’re an automotive mechanic who can make repairs for the cost of parts alone. Repairs to things like transmissions, timing belts, blown head gaskets, and electrical issues are considered telltale signs to take a pass. These and other mechanical problems may be indicators the vehicle wasn’t well maintained.
9: Can you take the car for a test drive?
Taking a vehicle out for a test drive is a relatively standard part of the car-buying process. If it makes sense, drive the vehicle on a suburban road that requires relatively frequent stops and starts. It’s also essential to take it out on the highway, if possible, to see how it handles at a higher rate of speed. When a dealer or private seller shows reluctance, they are either worried about an accident or the vehicle’s condition.
10: What exterior issues are there?
The exterior of a car, truck, or SUV is like a trail of breadcrumbs. Every dent, rust spot, crack in the windshield, defective headlight, or foggy mirror tells a story about what the vehicle has experienced. A car that doesn’t show signs of bodywork and excessive wear probably wasn’t driven off-road. But those with significant dings and stress signs may have been ridden like a rental car.
11: What does the interior look like?
Start with the upholstery. Ask yourself whether this was owned by a smoker. Does it have cigarette burns? Are the seats soiled? Does the carpet appear stained or worn? What about the dashboard? Has it been cleaned? If you pull the trigger on this sale, ask yourself whether you would be comfortable sitting in the car for the next few years.
12: How would this car impact my insurance premiums?
Purchasing a used car doesn’t happen in a financial vacuum. You will be required to pay sales taxes, registration fees, and it will impact your insurance premiums for better or worse. Consider speaking with your insurance agent about an insurance estimate.
3 Extra Questions to Ask a Private Seller:
The differences between dealerships and private sellers are worth exploring. You know that dealerships are solely interested in turning a profit on car sales. Private parties usually have other reasons. Don’t be shy to ask the following questions early in the deal-making process.
1: Why are you selling the car?
People usually have a good reason to sell their vehicles. These include buying a new one or someone passed away, and it’s not being used. If they don’t have an answer, it could be there are mechanical problems they don’t want to deal with.
2: Do you have the title you can hand over?
It’s generally not wise to purchase a vehicle from someone who doesn’t have the title in hand. Although they may have a plausible reason it isn’t available, it isn’t really worth the potential hassle that could cause in the future.
3: How long have you owned the car?
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with buying a car that has multiple owners. But one-time ownership is generally the best scenario when purchasing a used car. That’s largely because the private seller can speak to the vehicle’s history and, hopefully, provide the maintenance and service records.
How to Finance Your Used Car
At Allegiance, our experienced lending team is ready to help you with your upcoming car buying experience. Our qualified Oklahoma members can count on us for new car loans or pre-owned car financing that features competitive rates, flexible terms, and fast local decisions.
Start your car buying journey today by getting pre-approved for your car loan, or if you are ready to finance your car, apply online with Allegiance today!