One of the best things that you can do to protect yourself when buying a used car weather from a dealer or private party is have an outside shop do an inspection. Most shops would charge 50.00-90.00 to do a good inspection of car or truck and this is good in two ways If you like the car and it checks out but needs minor repairs then you can negociate the cost of repairs into the purchase price or ask the seller to do repairs as part of the sale.
Now a few tips if you are looking at used cars. Always test drive the car good. I mean drive the car on highway at 55 mph and listen for noises and vibrations this is where you will find future problems. Any noises like clunk or squeal tell you that you need to look deeper if you like the car. Now is the time to negotiate or it will cost you money after the sale. Most dealers will pay for brakes to be replaced, if it means they will sell the car so this is something that you need to look at as after the sale it could cost you 300.00-500.00 six months down the road.
Things you can look at on the car. Take a good close look at the tires if the inside or outside edges of the front tires are wore ,this is a good sign of worn steering parts and could cost you a few hundred dollars after the sale. If the tires are choppy this is a sign of worn shocks or struts another few hundred after the sale. The best advise I can give my friends when they ask me these kind of questions is to be cautious and through when looking at cars and ask as many questions to feel out dealer or seller as this is a way too see if they are above board and honest.
Take your time in buying a car and test drive at lease a few cars. If you find a model you like, drive at lease two alike cars to see if they feel the same and are priced about the same. Something I have seen happen many times is that two alike cars will be price the same and one will have more options then other, so the better you look the more you can get for your money.
