| In a perfect world, all car sellers would be 100% honest, | | | | may be plaguing entire models? Look at a customer |
| but this isn't a perfect world. After all, do you really | | | | reviews and see what current or former owners have |
| expect car sellers to be all "what you are looking at is | | | | to say. Then, look at recall information. If you find a car |
| a piece of junk and in addition to my $5,000 price tag | | | | that had been recalled due to a part malfunction, ask |
| you need to spend a few thousand dollars each year | | | | the seller if that issue was fixed. |
| on repairs?" This isn't going to happen. For that reason | | | | As stated above, there are benefits to searching for |
| you need to protect yourself from sellers who outright | | | | cars online first because you can gather information |
| lie or slightly stretch the truth. How can you do this? | | | | and do this research ahead of time. If you ever find |
| Remember That Some People Lie: You don't need to | | | | yourself at a dealership lot on impulse, never agree to |
| outright accuse all vehicle sellers of lying because | | | | buy a car right away. Gather information on the vehicle |
| some might have a great quality vehicle that needs no | | | | make, model, and year and then return home to do a |
| repairs or has had no issues in prior years. With that | | | | check online for recall information, customer reviews, |
| said, it doesn't matter how "nice" someone seems | | | | and more. |
| because if they have a car that they can't sell without | | | | Know You Have a Choice: So lets say that you agree |
| stretching the truth a bit, they are going to stretch. | | | | to meet a vehicle seller to test drive their car. You get |
| While you don't want to be over-the-top paranoid, it is | | | | there and are basically looking at a car that isn't nearly |
| important to know that this practice does take place. | | | | as good as it was made to sound online. What should |
| Gather Information About the Car Beforehand: If you | | | | you do? You have a choice. In fact, you have many |
| do your research online and do a search on a vehicle | | | | choices. First, you can walk away. Second, you can |
| site or use a desktop car finder, you are likely to get a | | | | buy the car at the price the seller is asking. Third, you |
| lot of good information ahead of time. You should see | | | | can negotiate and get a lower price because the |
| some detailed pictures, get the vehicle's make, model, | | | | vehicle wasn't so great after all. |
| year, and mileage. This information can and should be | | | | Check Estimated Values: As stated above, you can |
| used for a small amount of research. | | | | negotiate a better price (if you want) if you ever catch |
| Test Drive the Vehicle: Unless you know the risks of | | | | the vehicle seller in a lie. But what type of price should |
| buying a long distance car, you are encouraged to set | | | | you go down to? Instead of just pulling a figure out of |
| your sights on local vehicles. This is because you can | | | | midair, do your homework first. Visit the Kelley Blue |
| test drive and inspect the car ahead of time. Test | | | | Book website and plug in the make, model, year, and |
| driving can alert you to any problems with that specific | | | | mileage. What you want to do though is three |
| car, such as the need for a new headlight, new tires, or | | | | separate value checks on one car - all the different |
| new brakes. | | | | conditions. So say you are faced with a poor car |
| Research the Car in Question: Before you go and test | | | | instead of an excellent car, you have a good value to |
| drive a vehicle, it is important to do research on the | | | | toss back at the seller who lied. |
| vehicle itself. Testing driving is important for specific | | | | Now that you know how to handle sellers who |
| vehicle issues, but what about any know problems that | | | | misrepresent their cars are you ready to start buying? |