What do you do when you find the vehicle you’re interested in?

Now that you’ve found potential vehicles that you are interested in, the next steps are to figure out what to do when looking at these vehicles.

There are steps to this process:

1. Getting a vehicle history report
   • CarFax and Autocheck are reliable source sof information when searching up a vehicle’s history as it reports title information, possible accidents, past owners, and vehicle maintenance.
   • Online listings will usually include access to free vehicle history reports, and if not they are able to be purchased through the listed providers.
2. Contacting the seller
   • There are questions that you should ask when purchasing a vehicle, especially if it is from a private party such as:
     • “Are you the first owner?”
     • “Are the service records available?”
     • “Do you have a title and is it clear/clean?”
       • This is to make sure that there are no pre-existing loans/liens on the vehicle
     • “Is there anything else about the vehicle that you didn’t list in the post?”
     • “Can I get the car inspected by a mechanic?”
3. Test-driving the vehicle
   • Test-driving a vehicle lets you know about any potential problems the vehicle might have, and help decide whether or not it is worth purchasing
     • When you start the car, make sure all the warning lights turn off after a few seconds
     • Check different parts of the car such as the engine, oil pressure, brakes, and airbags.
     • When test-driving the vehicle, try out different parts of the area such as hills, different types of pavement, curves, and a little stretch of highway to see how the car performs
     • Listen for any unusual noises or vibrations that could indicate worn parts within the vehicle’s suspension or it’s tires
4. Getting the car inspected by a mechanic
   • Getting a vehicle inspection costs between $100-$300 depending on the mechanic
     • If the seller says that have already had the vehicle inspected and that you don’t need to, then it is a tall-tale sign that the seller may be hiding a few details about the vehicle
5. Negotiation
   • Make an offer based on the total vehicle price rather than the monthly payments as it can vary based on interest rates
   • Make sure you are talking about an “out-the-door price” which includes tags, taxes, and fees
   • Ask about fees when buying a used vehicle from a dealership, sometimes they are not necessary when buying a used vehicle
   • BE READY to walk away if the negotiation isn’t progressing, you don’t need to buy that exact vehicle as there are many other opportunities to buy others.
6. Making the purchase
   • Add the vehicle onto your insurance policy
   • Make sure you get the title and have the seller sign the title correctly
     • Title transfers must happen within 10,15, or 30 days depending on states
   • If there is still a loan on the vehicle when buying from a private-party, calling the lender to see how to close out the deal is the best way to go about it.
   • If you are buying from a dealership, the finance managers will finalize the paperwork, make sure you check the buyer’s order to make sure you are paying for what you should be paying for as discussed earlier
     • There is also an optional warranty that the dealership may pitch to you, you can make the decision of whether or not you want the dealership to fix your vehicle, but you should check to see if the factory warranty still remains.