Inspection Checklist for Buying a New Car
- You should have an inspection checklist ready any time you visit an automobile dealership.
You want to know all you can about a car before you take possession of it. A vehicle may look nice on the outside, but you may come across a lemon underneath the attractive exterior (or vice versa).
If you fall in love with a car at the dealership, check out its exterior promptly. If you see any major dents, scratches or other problems, bring them to the dealer's attention to see if he can do anything about it. You also want to inspect the interior; make sure that the doors, locks, radio and window function to your satisfaction. If you find anything that you fear will bring you future trouble, inform the dealer. If it's a problem he cannot (or will not) fix, that could work to your advantage during price bargaining.
After inspecting the exterior and interior, make sure you take the car for a test drive, to get a feel of how the car operates and runs. If the seller is honest and upfront, he should have no issue with you also taking the vehicle to a mechanic of your choice for an inspection. Your mechanic also can check to ensure that all the car's important parts are in good working condition.
Depending on what your trusted mechanic finds during her inspection, you either can bring the car back and tell the dealer no thanks, or continue to bargain (if there's a minor mechanical issue). - If the car you want to buy has many miles on it, don't necessarily be put off by that. Mileage does not automatically indicate a vehicle's condition. A car may have low mileage, but could have went through intense and rough traveling with its prior owner; or, maybe a car has higher mileage on it, but, for the most part, went through smooth travels. If possible, find out who the previous owner was, as that may give you an idea of its present condition.
Also find out if the car recently acquired any new parts--a 100,000-mile car with a new engine or transmission would not be the same kind of "old car" as a 100,000-mile car that houses older parts.
You can take your investigation a step further by going to autocheck.com and entering the car's vehicle identification number (VIN). This vehicle history report service will give you various details about the car's history, including maintenance reports, involvement in any major accidents or whether it ever functioned as a commercial vehicle. You can get a single report for $14.99, or, if more than one car interests you, you may want to go with 60-day unlimited history reports for $24.99. - If you're pleased with everything you need to know about the car, you want to make sure you're getting a fair financial deal. Before signing on the dotted line at the dealership, you can go to the Kelley Blue Book website, enter the vehicle information and compare the price to what the dealer wants from you. This way, you know if the dealer is trying to pull a very fast one on you (whether you go into the dealership aware of the Blue Book value or you research the information after).
Aside from price, you also want to know if the vehicle you're about to purchase comes with a warranty. Some cars will have some of the original warranty, some may have an extended warranty and some won't even come with a warranty. Make sure you know the terms of the car's warranty (if it should have one), so you're not in for any surprises down the road if your car needs a repair.
