My Students’ Blog

What to Look for When Buying a Used Car

By Paige Houghtelling

Looking for a car, but can’t afford something new? Used cars are a super useful option, and can help you save money. Or can they? As long as you know what you are getting yourself into, used can be the best option!

Used Cars

Cars are very expensive, but a huge necessity in today’s world. While everyone wants to be driving the newest car on the market, being fresh out of high school can make that difficult, almost impossible. That’s why used cars are a great option! While you may not be rolling up in the hottest vehicle, you can be rolling in the money that you saved!

Once you decide on buying your used car, you want to check some things to start out with. If you don’t, you could find yourself stranded with a blown up engine, all because you didn’t do a car inspection, yes it’s that simple! So before you buy, or even think about buying your next used vehicle, really look hard at these few things! You can never be too careful!

Where to Begin?

The first and smallest detail you may not notice is the window sticker. These are required for dealers selling any car, so every car has one. Read it thoroughly and carefully. These will tell you whether the owner is or is not responsible for any cost of repair. If not, that means it is being sold “as is” meaning the owner is not responsible for anything after the car is sold. No matter the damage or cost of repairs, this is where inspections become highly important. 

It’s The Little Things!

We all know oil is important and necessary for cars, along with any vehicles. Check your oil level, color, and be sure to check for metal shavings! Something as simple as the oil can make big issues down the road, if not looked at. Now just like gas, you never want to run too low or out of oil. This will definitely cause you issues, maybe before you even make it home, despite the fact that it is only a 15-minute drive. Now, who wants to be broken down less than 5-minutes from home late at night, all because of oil? I know I don’t! Now, checking the oil color can tell you if you have to pay for an oil change relatively soon. If the oil has metal shavings, you will definitely be needing to get that checked!

All these things add up in cost, and could bring down the value. You may have to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on repairs, starting with the oil. Another thing to check would be the gas tank. While it is a minor thing, you may want to consider if they are giving it to you with a full tank. If not, you better hope a gas station is close, because you are going to have to fill up quickly! While this is more of a courtesy thing, still something to take into consideration. Gas is not cheap, and doesn’t look to be coming down in price anytime soon, sadly. 

Something as simple as odor can tell you a lot about a car. Take a big whiff of the smell from within the car. What do you smell? Is it nice and fresh or does it smell musty, moldy, mildewy? Perhaps a more acrid smell? A musty, moldy, or mildew smell can point to leaks in the vehicle. Check for wet spots on the seats, floorboard, and trunk. If it is an acrid smell, this is from smoking, and can be a tough odor to get out, especially with a long history of it.

Check the tires; they aren’t cheap! How long will it be until you will have to buy new ones? It’s very uncommon to be able to buy just two new tires. You are normally looking at buying a full set (four), which is hard on the wallet. 

Making a List, Checking it Twice!

A checklist is always a good option, because everyone forgets something. It’s never easy to remember everything about everything

Taking it into a local mechanic shop is basically necessary. While doing an inspection yourself before making a purchase is a must, getting a professional to look at it afterwards is ideal. They are experts in this field and can help you assess anything underlying, overlooked, or unseeable to the naked eye. 

From Experience…

Josh Quinn, a fellow high school graduate, who has a lot of experience buying many used vehicles, gave us some advice. He says to hold the car at a solid RPM (Rotations Per Minute), as this can help you identify issues, such as oil leaks. It can identify things based on certain noises it makes. Squeaky belts, slight knocking noises, or squeaking tires are all issues you can identify by this tactic.

While doing an inspection yourself before making a purchase is a must, getting a professional to look at it afterwards is ideal.

For many teens, their fathers are huge role models, especially when it comes to vehicles. My father, Doug Houghtelling, who has bought tons of cars, helps his friends and family to know what to look for when buying. He says that the best way to tell how a car will run is to take it for a test drive. If there are any major issues, a 10-minute drive will show you any major problems you will run into. If everything runs smoothly on that test drive, you can, at the least, make it home or to a mechanic to get it inspected.

To Buy or Not to Buy?

This should help you in your next car purchasing journey, and I hope it is a successful purchase! The last thing you want is to be stranded in the middle of nowhere, because it may not be as easy as changing a tire.