The best way that you can be assured that the used vehicle you are interested in buying is not junk and still runs in good condition, is to approach a car technician for advice that will focus on the vehicles mechanics and engine’s running condition.

Do not concentrate on the new and nice looks of the car because you might make a mistake (it’s a good idea to never fall in love with a vehicle else you will always end up paying too much for it). A car’s appearance might have been redesigned to look flashy or cool and nothing else is changed – it may still be the low rated car it originally was. Most people nowadays buy a car almost solely based on physical attributes like its style, color and the radio.  Some prefer the wheels to everything else.  People have to realize that the economy and the future economic outlook are questionable at best and it is best (unless you are filthy rich) to view a car as a means of transportation and not a museum piece.  Cars (except for a very few that you shouldn’t be driving on the road as your daily driver) lose value and are not an investment.

Now back to having a mechanic look it over.  It’s better and also important for you to be present together with the mechanic during the inspection of the car, to assure you that they showed scrupulous attention in the procedure – besides you may notice something they missed – no one is 100% perfect. Incase the results don’t satisfy you or give you enough confidence, be sure to take it to another mechanic who you know, trust and whom you’ve worked with for a second opinion.  Its much better to spend $50 to $100 and find you truly have a junker rather than buying it and learning the hard way when it breaks down.  Besides, if the car passes with a green light you know you have a cream puff you can count on. 

Restoring worn headlights rather than replacing can easily save you hundreds of dollars!

Together with the technician, test-drive that car unit on all sorts of roads to test how the car functions in different circumstances. It’s a good exercise for the vehicle for you to see how it works and its own functionality and by driving varying types of roads (for example, highway, stop and go traffic, etc…) you will get to see the various mechanical parts, like the brakes, and their effectiveness.

Nowadays, with the ever increasing costs of gas at the pump ($4 or more) you may want to make sure you get a vehicle that is good on gas.  If you travel light and by yourself a small 4 cylinder like a Honda Accord or Toyota Corolla would do fine.  There’s no need for a large SUV or truck if its just you (you could easily save hundreds or even thousands per year with this simple change to a smaller engined car).  Used Corollas and Civics make great, reliable used cars and are worth paying a little more than for their American counterparts.  You may also want to think about a hybrid which can save you even more on gas costs.  The Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and Honda Civic hybrid are all great hybrids with good reliability ratings from Automotive ratings firms like Consumer Reports.

To check if there’s an anomaly in the vehicle history, get the repair records from the old owner if he bought the unit new. Also, be sure to pull a online automotive history check or report.  This will document the vehicles entire past from the moment it was new until now.  This is essential so you don’t buy a wrecked, stolen or flood vehicle (this became a big problem after Hurricane Katrina).  You can also contact the state agencies yourself for these records, but that is too time consuming and it is cheaper to just purchase them online from either CarFax or Autocheck.  These steps are vitally important to make sure you get a good, reliable car or truck and don’t buy someone else’s problem.