Bible Money Matters

Christian personal finance

Menu
    • About
    • Archives
    • Contact
    • Close
  • Making Money
      • Popular Articles

        • 50 Ways To Make Money: Maximizing, Creating And Increasing Your Income
        • 10 Weird And Unconventional Ways To Make Money
        • Making Money With A Blog (e-Book)
        • 10 Places To Sell Or Trade Your Unused (Or Broken) Electronics
        • Ways To Make Extra Money Series: 20 More Income Generating Ideas From Our Readers
        • Making Side Income Can Help Blunt The Impact Of Becoming A One Income Family
        • Earn Cash Back With Discover it® Credit Card
      • Recent Articles – Making Money

        • Best Sites Like Fiverr To Make Money As A Freelancer
        • 13 Of The Best Independent Contractor Jobs
        • 25 Of The Best Gig Economy Jobs
        • How To Make Money Blogging: Turn A Blog Into A Business
      • Categories

        • Making Money
        • Investing
        • Retirement
        • Jobs & Work LIfe
        • Money
        • Income
    • Close
  • Saving Money
      • Popular Articles

        • 50 Easy Ways To Save Money Every Month
        • 10 Weird And Unconventional Ways To Save Money
        • 10 Practical Ways To Save Money And Increase Your Net Worth
        • How To Save Money On Just About All Of Your Regular Monthly Bills
        • Ways To Watch TV Without Paying An Arm And A Leg For Cable TV
        • Save Money On Your Hospital Bill - Just By Asking
      • Recent Articles – Saving Money

        • How To Save $100k In 7 Practical Steps
        • Stairs App Review: Save And Invest To Earn 4-6% Interest
        • Honey Review: Save Money Automatically When You Shop Online
        • 9 Convincing Reasons Why You Need An Emergency Fund
      • Categories

        • Saving Money
        • Frugality
        • Planning
        • Finance
        • Saving For Retirement
        • Savings Accounts
    • Close
  • Banking
      • Best Rates For 2019

        • Best Credit Cards
        • Best Savings Accounts
        • Best Mortgage Rates
        • Best CD Rates
        • Best Brokerages
        • Free Credit Scores
      • Recent Reviews

        • TradeStation Review: Commission Free Stock And ETF Trades
        • Firstrade Review: Commission Free Trades on Stocks, Crypto, And Options
        • Cadre Real Estate Investing Review: Commercial Real Estate Investing
        • Axos Self Directed Trading Review: Invest, Trade Stocks For Free
      • Categories

        • Bank & Software Reviews
        • Investing
        • Credit
        • Banking
        • Mortgage
        • Insurance
        • Family Budget
    • Close
  • Recommended
  • Video
    • Close

8 Things To Consider Before Buying A Used Car

By Tim 4 Comments - The content of this website often contains affiliate links and I may be compensated if you buy through those links (at no cost to you!). Learn more about how we make money. Last edited September 6, 2011.

Share4
Pin1
Tweet14
Share
19 Shares

Peter recently wrote about their search for a used car and car insurance, and gave some great tips for those on the prowl for a new ride.

Once you find ‘the one,’ make sure you take note of these tips and look for the following before handing over your hard earned cash!

car shopping tips

Quick Navigation

  • 1. Paint Chips Revealing Past Color
  • 2. Condition of Tires
  • 3. Ask to See the Carfax
  • 4. Do the Gauges Work?
  • 5. Are there Windshield Cracks?
  • 6. History of Maintenance and Receipts
  • 7. Unusual Sounds or Smells
  • 8. Take it to a Mechanic

1. Paint Chips Revealing Past Color

Paint can tell you a lot about a used car.  As you walk around the outside of the car, look for small chips around the edges of the vehicle.  Does it look like another color is hiding beneath the surface?  If so, the vehicle may have been in an accident in the past and required a replacement part.  It’s not uncommon to simply paint over the replacement part, so keep an eye out for those chips and ask the owner about any accidents or repairs.

2. Condition of Tires

A vehicle’s tires won’t make or break a deal for me, but I’ll often point out when the tires need some attention.  New tires aren’t cheap and can cost you $400 or more depending on your vehicle.  If you’re looking at a $4,000 car, you’ve just added 10% to the cost if you need to go out and buy new tires.

Try to negotiate a better deal and ask if they’re willing to split the cost of new tires by dropping the price of the car by $200 or so.  That’s, of course, after you’ve already extinguished all other negotiations.

3. Ask to See the Carfax

If you’re buying from a dealer, they’ll probably have the Carfax already printed and ready to view.  If not, politely ask if you can see the Carfax.  A reputable used car dealer will be ready to print one off and shouldn’t give you any slack for the extra ‘cost’ of printing one.

If you’re buying a car from someone on Craigslist or another private seller, let them know that you like to run the Carfax before purchasing used vehicles and see if they’d be willing to print one?  If they don’t want to (that should be a red flag..) and you are still interested in the vehicle, spend the $20 to run a Carfax.  You’ll be glad you did.

4. Do the Gauges Work?

It may be difficult to test certain gauges on older cars like the gas, temperature, or oil gauge, so ask if the owner has ever had issues with the gauges.  I made the rookie mistake of not asking before purchasing a small truck once.  The owner forgot to mention that the gas gauge was stuck on ½ full.  When it ran out of gas two days later, I was baffled at why it had died…but soon realized that it needed gas.

5. Are there Windshield Cracks?

Depending on the size of the crack, you might not have any problems passing inspection, but they may say that you need to fix the chip before it passes.  Check with your insurance to see how much it would cost to repair – just be aware that submitting claims to your insurance for every small thing might not be in your best interest.  You do, however, want to take care of that crack soon because it can grow into something even bigger and cost you even more to repair later.

6. History of Maintenance and Receipts

I keep good records of my vehicle repairs and maintenance and will present them to an interested buyer at the time of a sale.  Not only does it boost my credibility, it shows the buyer that I took care of my vehicle.  Isn’t that what you want – someone who took great care of their car?  It’s also helpful to have these records so that you don’t duplicate maintenance items unnecessarily.

7. Unusual Sounds or Smells

You don’t need to be a mechanic to know when a car sounds or smells funny.  Listen carefully to the car while driving it and testing out the features.  Turn on the air conditioner and heater to check for sounds and smells that are unusual.  Also, don’t take the stereo for granted; turn it on and test out the speakers to make sure they’re functioning properly.

8. Take it to a Mechanic

Ask the buyer if you can have your mechanic look at the car before you buy it.  A simple look under the chassis can save you thousands of dollars; so don’t pass up this step.  If a seller doesn’t let you take it to be inspected, it might be a sign that you should look for a different car.

Have you ever made a mistake when buying a used car?  Any other tips to someone who is thinking about making a used car purchase?

Related Posts

  • Buying A New Or Used Car? Negotiating Tips To Use With Car Dealers

    Shopping for a car can be stressful.  If you do your research, however, and understand how the sales process works, you'll end up paying a…

  • Does It Ever Make Sense To Lease A Car?

    It can make sense to lease a car, depending on your situation, your financial goals, and your priorities.

  • Costs To Sell A House
    10 Things To Consider When Buying Or Building A New Home

    There are a lot of important things you need to think about before you buy or build a home. Here are some of the ones…

Share4
Pin1
Tweet14
Share
19 Shares
Last Edited: 6th September 2011 The content of biblemoneymatters.com is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Visitors to biblemoneymatters.com should not act upon the content or information without first seeking appropriate professional advice. In accordance with the latest FTC guidelines, we declare that we have a financial relationship with every company mentioned on this site.

This article is about: Automobiles, Frugality

About Tim

Tim is a personal finance writer at Faith and Finance a Christian financial help blog that provides financial insights for individuals, businesses, and churches. Outside of finance, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife, playing the saxophone, reading economics books, and a good game of RISK or Catan. Find him on Twitter and Facebook.

Comments

    Share Your Thoughts: Cancel reply

  1. Peter Anderson says

    A couple of the big things we checked recently when car shopping – as mentioned above – were the vehicle history reports for the individual vehicles, as well as actually test driving and smelling the interior – and seeing the shape of the interior of the cars before going forward.

    We found that the history reports were an easy way to weed out the accident and problem vehicles in our search, which typically also ended up being the most affordable. If they dealer won’t give you the report, run for the hills.

    We found a bunch of cars that were nice deals and looked nice online, but when we actually drove in them they smelled awful (smelled like animal or cigarette smoke), or had obvious signs of being a smoker’s vehicle – which the dealerships tried to cover up with their odor killing bombs – but which aren’t completely effective. One car smelled of cleaner when we drove it, and it was so overpowering i got a headache from a 5 mile test drive. We also realized by smelling the upholstery that it was there to try and cover up smoke smells..

    So be careful and make sure to check out all the things above!

    Reply
  2. JasonS says

    Ditto on the Carfax. Other reports aren’t necessarily as good. I got another sort of report on a car a year or so ago. It didn’t record the mileage correctly.
    You got it, I got one with the instrument panel replaced. Instead of 100k, it had 200k miles on it.
    It’s a long, twisted story, but be sure that you know what you’re signing as you sign all of the papers. I would almost NEVER buy a car TMU (True Mileage Unknown).
    In the end I lost about $2,500 when I traded.

    Reply
    • Peter Anderson says

      I’ve heard from some reputable folks that Autocheck reports are actually very good as well.. Carfax and Autocheck are good ones to use from my experience.

      Reply
  3. Jenna, Adaptu Community Manager says

    Buy from people you trust. Go with your gut instinct on that one. I bought my car used from my parents. Definitely lucked out there.

    Reply
Previous Post: 7 Tips For A Frugal Wedding
Next Post: Fitting Through The Eye Of A Needle: How To Be Wealthy And God-Fearing At The Same Time
Discover Investment Platforms

Popular Posts

  • 21 Easy Ways To Earn Free Amazon Gift Cards
  • 10 Best Free Tax Filing Services And Software Online
  • 21 Apps That Pay You Real Money Fast
  • 17 TV Apps And Live TV Streaming Services To Watch TV Free
  • 30 Legit Online Jobs That Pay Well
  • 37 Easy Ways To Get Free Gift Cards
  • How To Get Free Stock
  • 40 Easy Ways To Get Free Money Fast
  • 21 Places To Read Free Books Online
  • 24 Legit Online Jobs
  • 17 Best Work From Home Jobs: A List Of Legit Online Jobs That Pay Well

Recent Posts

  • How To Save $100k In 7 Practical Steps
  • How to Save Money When Remodeling A Home
  • How To Hire A Contractor For Your Remodeling Project
  • Remembering 9/11 Years Later: Where Were You On That Fateful Day?
  • TradeStation Review: Commission Free Stock And ETF Trades
  • Firstrade Review: Commission Free Trades on Stocks, Crypto, And Options
  • Cadre Real Estate Investing Review: Commercial Real Estate Investing
  • Best Sites Like Fiverr To Make Money As A Freelancer
  • Axos Self Directed Trading Review: Invest, Trade Stocks For Free
  • 30 Quotes About Easter And Resurrection: He Is Risen!

Disclaimer

The information contained in BibleMoneyMatters.com is for general information or entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional financial advice. Please contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your specific situation.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, we state that we have a financial relationship with some of the companies mentioned in this website. This may include receiving access to free products and services for product and service reviews and giveaways.

Any references to third party products, rates, or websites are subject to change without notice. We do our best to maintain current information, but due to the rapidly changing environment, some information may have changed since it was published. Please do the appropriate research before participating in any third party offers.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

We respect your privacy: Privacy Policy.

Thanks for visiting!

Bible Money Matters - Seen On These Sites and more..
Bible Money Matters is a personal finance, entrepreneurship and investing community. Give more, save more and live more.

Copyright © 2023 · Bible Money Matters | Sitemap | Advertise | Privacy Policy