Price: New Car prices are usually fixed by a car company. Second hand cars vary drastically in their price. So it would be better if you ask yourself how much you want to spend and work within that budget.

Utility Value: Buy a car based on your requirement. If you want a mid-sized family car don’t buy a small car. Wait till you find the right car.

Driver Category: Are you a new driver looking to buy an entry level car (like Maruti Suzuki 800 or Santro) or are you a seasoned driver who would like to update the car you drive to something bigger? Determine this first.

Where To Look

Classifieds: It’s a shot in dark most of the time. You don’t know the seller or the history of the car and you have to believe the person selling it to you. Beware of everything – from balding tyres, expired insurance papers, false registration certificates and erroneous mileage on wound back speedometers.

Used car companies or your local garage: This is one of the safest bets in this business these days. Car manufacturing companies have their own used car outlets that offer exchanges for new cars. Used car dealers check the background of a car and take responsibility for the warranty and service of the car purchased from them, depending on the car itself. Most cars are rejected by good dealers and only car ‘worth’ their warranty are sold.

Brokers: Be warry. A broker makes his livelihood buying and selling cards. He me be your best friend, but he will still sell you a lemon when you think you are buying and orange! And he usually looks the other way once it’s sold.

Know the seller: Insurance, the authenticity of the car papers, numbers of the past owners of the car (note: re-sale value of the car decreases when there are many owners to a single car), the history and overall maintenance of the car is all easier to determine when you know the seller personally. True, that doesn’t always happen, but it’s safer that way.

 
Inspection Checklist

Fine, you’ve established where you want the car from, who the seller ism and you’ve even read up on the market rates. Which takes you to the next step-actually going to inspect the car? Ideally, take a mechanic with you. Here’s a checklist to get it right.

Mileage: Has it really don’t the number of miles it shows?

Body: Check for corrosion not just dents and scratches. Dents can be repaired. Corrosion will need major investments.

Mechanics: Look at the engine and transmission. No smoke should spew from the exhaust. It should have enough power when you drive it, and it should not make too much obvious mechanical noise when it runs.

Interiors: Clean car interiors usually give you an idea of the owner’s attitude to the car. If the interiors are cared for, the rest of the car will usually be so as well.

Age: Don’t buy a car that’s too old as it lessens its re-sale value. A two year old second hand car is what is usually worth buying, if you are thinking of re-sale.

Tyres: Look for any balding, scruff or uneven wear on the tyres. Abad set of tyres could force you to buy a new set worth good bucks and is a major investment.

Sounds: Any humming from a compressor, whining from the gearbox or groaning is usually a sign of high wear and tear.

Battery: Check the warranty card of the battery for its age. A good battery could get faulty at short notice, but fortunately it’s not a huge deal to replace it.

Air-conditioning: There is no real foolproof way to check this, except by its cooling efficiency when you turn it on.

RC Book: Check the Registration Certificate (RC) Book of the car to see the engine and chassis number and verify it with the actual numbers embossed on the car engine and chassis. They must match perfectly. They must match perfectly. The RC book also tells you about the number of previous owners. The fewer is prefer to be the best.

Insurance: Usually the no-claim bonus doesn’t get passed to a new buyer. The seller retains this with him or her. If you are getting a car with insurance, eight months more before its renewal date, it’s quite a good deal, so look the validity of the car’s insurance papers.

Be prepared for the worst: A second hand car is always a gamble. Avoid driver driven cars that are roughly handled most of the time. Owner driven second hand cars are usually better cared for and are the better buy.

Just try to follow these tips; it can be beneficial to you while buying a second hand car.

 
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