Tips on Buying a used car:

It is always a hard decision to make when you are purchasing a used car. There are many things that you need to lookout for, the worst thing that can happen to you is buying a new car and having to take it to the shop the next day. 

1. Try to avoid non-franchised dealers: Non-franchised dealers are dealerships that are not part of a name brand dealership. For example if you go to a Ford store and they have used cars that is a franchised dealer, if you see a used car lot on the side of a busy road such as Joe’s Motors, then Joe’s Motors is not a franchised dealer. Non-franchised dealerships obtain their inventory from larger Dealership auctions. There are some good cars that you can buy at auctions, like government auctions. The auctions these small time dealers are buying are basically bottom of the barrow autos, for good auction resources see the bottom of this page.

What is wrong with buying a car from a non-franchise dealer who purchased a car at an auction?

Buying a car from a certified Government auction is ok, but buying a car from these small dealers could cost you big money in repairs.

Let us look at an example: I go to a Lincoln store and buy a brand new Navigator, and I will be trading in my 1999 Ford Pick-up.  My Pick-up has 120,000 miles; odds are the dealership is not going to want to keep that vehicle in their lot. Why? The car has too many miles and considered booked-out. Booked-out means, that a major auto loan lender can no longer finance the value of that truck. The loan is considered a high-risk loan, since in the event that you cannot pay your loan, if the vehicle is repossessed they cannot recoup their invested dollars. My pick-up now becomes a cash only purchase, and makes it difficult to sell on the lot.  A franchised dealer is also less willing to get a bad reputation for selling a high mileage auto that caused serious problems to their customers. So what happens to my pick-up? Almost all franchised dealers have silent auctions on which wholesalers bid on their inventory. Where I use to work, they would take all the high mileage trade-ins and set them up in an empty lot where they would host an auction every Wednesday and Friday. These wholesalers then buy the cars and make minor repairs to them. When the cars have been “touched-up”, they are ready to be sold at Joe’s Motors, on the side of a buy intersection.

These trade-ins do not go through any kind of certification or point inspections. They are sold as-is with no warranty and no guarantees. This is why it is a bad idea to buy cars from these places.

Another tactic that wholesalers use is to by cars from insurance company auctions, the cars that were totaled and have been issued salvage titles. They often have body shops where they fix-up the car just enough to make it look desirable to a potential customer. These cars often have bent frames, airbags do not work, bad suspension, etc. Do they tell their customers the history of the car? Of course, not they tell their customers the car had been sitting in some garage, or that it was a one-owner car.

2. Inspect the car from top to bottom:

Not be afraid to ask the salesman if the car had ever been in a wreck or if the owner reported any damage repairs. As you ask him, run your fingers through the small crevasse of fender and hood, if you feel the paint to be rough or bumpy this indicates that the car has been repainted. Open the doors and run your fingers through the inside of the door, again, your looking for any paint the feels rough or bumpy. Check the hood the trunk and all doors.  When the car is built at the factory they have robots that paint the car, then they “bake” the paint to prevent any rough spots, discolorations, or bubbles in the paint. When a body shop repaints the car, they are not as talented or have the sophisticated equipment that the manufactures use. This is how you can tell if there is a flaw in the paint job.

3. Ask them to change the oil before you take delivery of the car. There are many tricks, which skilled mechanics use to prevent an engine from passing oil through the exhaust. Often times if you change the oil it, you will be able to see or smell smoke from the exhaust that might have not been there before.
4. Turn the car on, and hover your had over the exhaust pipe, [be careful not to place it on the pipe its self, it will be hot] then smell your hand, if you smell burnt oil, the piston rings on the car might be going bad. Replacing the piston rings is major engine work.
5. Always ask before you finalize your deal if the title is clear. This means that there are no leans on the title. Also, ask them if the title is clean, this means that it is not a salvaged title.
6. Before you agree to drive off, if there was something you wanted changed, painted, or a dent taken out, make sure they do the work first. Often times they tell the customer what they want to hear but never really do what it takes to keep a customer happy. If they cant do it at that particular time ask them to speak with the manager and have the manager give you something in writing that the company will perform the promised repairs at a later date.

There are several websites that can offer you Auction Information. You can subscribe to them for a month and just drop them after you buy a car. Just remember that auctions both Government and Private are a good source of buying a cheap car, but you have to make sure you get a good car, and you inspect it before the auction. Here is a list of websites that can provide you with more information about Auto Auctions.

Car Auction Site 1

Seized Cars

State Auctions

Seized Cars Good site

Choose Cars Auction Very popular site

Government Auctions

Use your common sense before you purchase a car at auction, make sure that you do your homework, because remember no one but you is going to be driving that car. 

I hope this information is useful for you and you can make out with the best possible deal. If you have any questions please feel free to send us an email or post your questions on our Discussion Board. Best of Luck!