Buying An Available Car

Finding a good available car is not always easy when you need something to drive and then when you do find one you have to try to get the best price. These steps will help you to get the best deal you can. If you are looking for an available (used) car then you really need to follow these tips.

Going to a car lot is not always the best way to find a car to buy. In fact, car lots have both good points and bad points. If you want to buy from a lot I would deal with an available car section of a total dealer. These people tend to care more about how good an auto is and if the buyer will have problems with it or not. These people sell hundreds, often times, thousands of cars a year and they do not need bad publicity. Therefore, a car from these dealers usually has gone through their repair shop and been checked out by a mechanic. You can often times get the inspection report on an auto you plan to purchase from one of these total dealers.

At the other end of the dealer spectrum are the lots which only sell used cars and have no repair facility. I would be very leery of buying a car from one of these places. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, I just mean be very careful. Before purchasing from a straight used automobile dealer be sure to have your mechanic check the care out. This is the same sort of inspection that a total dealer will do in their shop. The cost is usually around$50 but it is well worth it because a repair bill for a major item like an engine or transmission will easily run from several hundred to a few thousand dollars. The money you invest now can save you big dollars in the years ahead.

A third option, and I think the best, is to purchase from a private seller.  You still want to have a mechanic look the car over but you can usually get the same car for much less from a private person than from a lot.  The car lot has a lot of overhead to cover and the way the do this is by charging a higher price for the car.

When you are having an inspection done you want to be sure the mechanic or technician at least does the following check.

• Engine.  How is the oil pressure and are there any oil leaks.  Compression check, this will tell you how good the cylinder and rings are.  Idling, is it smooth or does the engine tend to buck around.  This can signal ignition problems or fuel system irregularities.
• Transmission.  The big thing here is to check for slipping.  If it is a standard transmission (has a clutch) then let the clutch out and see if the car starts right away or if the engine revs up before the car moves.  This could indicate a worn clutch will cost $500 to $800 to repair.  For an automatic transmission, kick it into passing gear and see if the response is good or again if the engine races.  Rebuilding an automatic will run about $1500 to $2000.  Also, check for leaks and check to see the drive line does not have movement.
• Steering.  When you are slowly going down a straight road with no crown if you lightly loosen your grip on the wheel does it the steering wheel try to pull one way or another?  You should have a very slight drift to the right, to guard against head-ons if you fall asleep, but it should not pull.  Also, when driving over a bump does the front of the car only move up and down one time or is there a longer oscillation?  If it is bouncy this can be an indication of bad struts, around $500 to fix this.
• Rear End.  When you go around corners do you hear a growling noise?  This can indicate you have bad wheel bearings.  For a front wheel drive car, like most cars now a days, this is not a large problem but still will set you back a few hundred dollars.

Doing this inspection can save you thousands of dollars in repair bills.