15 Things To Know Before Buying Your Next Car

From Redditor u/Pariahdog119:

Start the car. All lights must come on. If you miss the Check Engine light, someone tampered with it.

From Redditor u/austinmonster:

If the dealer has the car running for a test drive, that signals trouble.

Buy an OBDII unit on Amazon for about $10. Install Torque on your phone. If the unit gives no data, the dealer reset the computer to hide warning lights. The car needs a few miles to gather data for proper display.

From Redditor u/timmeh-eh:

Negotiating an “out the door” price avoids BS. Saying you want an out the door price does two things:

It shows them you know how their business works. You know negotiating the sale price means little when they tack on five thousand dollars in extra nonsense you don't need.

It gives you an exit with the finance guy. You can just say you did not agree to any charge they try to add.

My last four or five car buys used an “out the door” price. No finance guy tried to add anything over that price. They tried selling extended warranties and undercoating, but saying no was simple.

The number one rule for buying from a dealer is always negotiating an out-the-door price.

From a former Redditor:

A dirty, dusty engine looks good when buying a used car. A sparkling clean engine might hide leaks.

Touch the inside of the exhaust pipe with your finger. Clean is fine. Wet is fine. Black dry soot is fine. Wet soot is fine. Greasy "tar" soot is not fine (the car is burning oil). Soot with a strong gas smell is not fine (bad spark plugs, a bad distributor, or even a faulty computer can cause this).

From Redditor u/yeahright17:

Car dealers can likely lower warranty prices. Mercedes offers an unlimited mile warranty for X years past the manufacturer warranty on CPO cars. I drove 120 miles daily then. Five years of warranty sounded good, so I took it. I paid $2800 for the extra two years.

I calculated the exact monthly payment for four years before seeing the finance guy again. I wanted the $1000 warranty, so I told him I had $520 monthly for the car. He responded, "Oh, that's easy; here are all the upgrades we can add." Despite my long talk with the Salesman, who I know told the finance guy, he switched the loan to five years. Everything can be included. After I mentioned four years, he stated $550 is the minimum for everything you want. He said something like, "Just think about it; for the price of a movie with your wife, you get everything." I countered, "Or I could keep going to movies and buy a different car." After twenty more minutes of back and forth, he agreed to $520 by cutting the Warranty. Deal.

From Redditor u/I_AM_LS_SWAPPED:

Feel the hood to check if the engine is warm. Look at the hood mounts for damage; this shows the car had an [impact]. Also, check for leaks and rust.

From Redditor u/howtocleanyourpots:

The interior is brand new in an older car. It might have been flooded.

From Redditor u/Gorf_the_Magnificent:

The finance office trick is this: They give you a card with four extended warranty options, from $20 to $50 a month, and ask which one you want.

Your first thought is, "I’ll take the $20 option." (I just saved $30 a month!)

The right answer is: "None of them."

From Redditor u/[deleted]:

The title shows salvaged or rebuilt. It states this somewhere on the title. This means the car was totaled and put back on the road.

Engine oil looks like chocolate milk or caramel color. This signals water in the oil. That is really bad news.

Check the spare tire area in the trunk. If that area is clean, the car likely wasn't [maltreated] too badly. If the car flooded, you might see water residue there that could turn into rust. Rust is never good.

Any engine knocks? Make sure it shifts all gears well. Accelerate up to about 85mph. Hold speed well at a normal rpm depending on the vehicle.

From Redditor u/KittyPitty:

Slight color changes show on the bodywork. This suggests the car had an [mishap] and might have damaged its structure.

From Redditor u/nofu*kingpeepshow:

Run the engine long enough to heat up well. Then stop and open the hood. Do you smell oil or see faint blue smoke? Walk away.

Drive near buildings to make sound. Roll down the window and apply the brakes. Hear squealing or grinding? New pads appear, but likely new rotors, which costs more.

Turn the car on. Get out and listen for anything wrong. Hear something you don't know the cause of? Be cautious.

From aa former Redditor:

Check both headlamps. If one is foggy and the other isn't, the car had a small fender bender or a big mishap.

Have a mechanic run an OBD scan. If codes show nothing, they reset the computer to clear any codes from a test drive.

Google "water damage in a used car" shows you will see many Florida/Texas cars on sale in the Northern States next year.

From Redditor u/SkelterHelter68:

Employ this advice to avoid F&I BS: tell your salesperson you do not want finance add-ons. If you are not out of finance in 30 minutes, leave the deal.

The salesman wants his commission. I found they usually smooth things over to get the F&I person to be nice and not waste your time. This worked for my last two cars, so maybe it will help you.

From Redditor u/kezzerb:

No spare wheel. My friend bought a used car, got a flat a few weeks later, and found he had no spare. He got very angry.

From Redditor u/hotgator:

Use this tip right here.

I used that tactic on my last two cars; it saved me. I paired it with another trick: I test drive cars, then call them. Once I pick one, I call and negotiate the price. They make you wait 20 minutes while they "ask the manager" when you arrive in person, but no one has put me on hold for 20 minutes so far.