If you are like me then you don’t enjoy the process of buying a used car. I enjoy driving it, but the whole process of bargaining and looking at several cars isn’t enjoyable to me. I hate trying to guess whether what the seller is telling me about the car is true or not. Unfortunately we have to drive cars and we all have to buy used cars throughout our lives.

We have all seen the used car ads in the paper for a car that is really cheap. We call the seller to find out that the car has been totaled and has some major problems. Thus the cheap price!

In this case it is quite easy to see that the car is not functioning properly and will cost you a bunch of money in the future. But some cars that are lemons are not that easy to spot. How do you know that you are getting a good deal?

If you suspect that the car you want to buy has been in an accident or has been totaled check the title. It is law in most states for body shops and insurance companies to report it if a car has experienced so much damage that it is totaled or salvaged. If the title is clean and you are still not convinced then keep reading to find out how you can tell if the car is a solid car to buy or not.

Tell tale signs that will show if that particular car has been in a serious accident is quite easy to see. Fist thing to check is all brake lights and any type of accessories that are connected to the car but are not the color of the car. What are you looking for? Paint! That’s right, many times if the car has been in a fender bender when they repaint that part there will be a little bit of over spray on the light covers or mirrors.

Another method to use when trying to figure out if a car has been in an accident is the lines where the pieces of the body come together. If the gap between the parts is perfectly parallel the entire seam then the chances are that it hasn’t been in an accident. If all of these lines are parallel then the car is sitting straight and shouldn’t have any major body, or frame damage.

Don’t forget the obvious by asking the owner. Be smart when you do this and ask more detailed questions if their answer doesn’t satisfy you. For instance if the car has had a harmless fender bender the owner will probably tell you, there is no reason to hide that bit of information. If they try to hide the fact that the car has been in an accident that normally means that the car has been in a serious accident and they don’t want you to know about it.

I was in the market for an SUV last year. I had looked at a few and had started to get tired of the process. As I began looking at another one I noticed that this particular vehicle had a lot of scratches, and it didn’t seem to have been taken good care of. I walked around the car and noticed paint on the taillight. I didn’t tell the seller that I saw it, but I asked if there had been any fender benders that they had to repair. He replied that nothing out of the ordinary accident that we all experience. I didn’t pressure him any further. I didn’t like the car anyway. But if I did, he would have had to have given me a more detailed answer to his occasional accidents.

I hope that you will take these tips with you when you buy your next used car. Buying cars is something that we all have to do, and is most definitely a part of our life. So, be smart and enjoy the process. Do you homework so that you can drive a car that you know is in good condition and that you can be proud of.

Tags: Auto

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