| We are back with part three of the series, | | | | incorrect data. |
| Questions to Ask When Buying a Used Car. In | | | | |
| part two, we covered the questions about the | | | | I like to take a blank sheet of paper and |
| drive train, service history, and accident | | | | begin each entry with the year, make, model, |
| history. In this part we are getting right | | | | price, and phone number from the ad while I |
| down into the finer details of what questions | | | | am dialing. That means I am writing about |
| to ask when you are interviewing used car | | | | that vehicle before I even have the person on |
| sellers over the phone before you travel out | | | | the line. From there I just add the details |
| to see their car for sale. | | | | and then make a line across and call another |
| | | | one. After several calls have been made, it's |
| It's worthwhile to ask the seller how much | | | | easy to look back and see which ones look the |
| rust their car has. Let's talk about rust. | | | | best. Take your notes with you on your actual |
| Even a car that is only a few years old can | | | | visit and compare what the seller has told |
| have a little rusty spot or two. An older | | | | you with your sheet to see if they were being |
| automobile that is for example 10 or 15 years | | | | straight with you over the phone. |
| old can potentially have anywhere between no | | | | |
| rust at all and a serious cancer condition. | | | | Ask the sellers if there are any problems |
| No one likes a rusty car, but it's obvious | | | | that they are aware of with their car? Again |
| that the less there is the better. | | | | make notes on their answers. It's okay to |
| | | | spend a little time on this one. You can |
| It is always interesting to ask about rust | | | | subtly remind them that it's important to be |
| over the phone with a used car because | | | | truthful here by telling them what you want |
| everyone has a different perception about how | | | | the car for and why you are concerned about |
| much rust their car has. It is difficult to | | | | its future reliability. Ask them if this car |
| quantify, and it's all relative. Some people | | | | needs anything in order to be safe to drive |
| have told me that their car is very rusty, | | | | right now, in the near future, and in the |
| and when I went to see it I found that it had | | | | distant future. |
| almost no rust at all by my standards! The | | | | |
| opposite scenario is more typical. | | | | You should always ask them what they have |
| | | | done in terms of maintenance or repairs to |
| The answers to the rust question are often | | | | the car lately, and if they have the receipts |
| misleading, but ask anyway and write down | | | | to prove the work. If they have no receipts, |
| their responses. If you do go out to look at | | | | then be very skeptical of the maintenance |
| the car later, you can learn more about the | | | | history. No service records usually mean |
| seller by referring to your notes. Speaking | | | | incomplete maintenance which spells trouble |
| of notes, it's a really good idea to take | | | | for any used vehicle later in life. |
| careful notes when car shopping over the | | | | |
| phone. It is possible to gather so much | | | | That wraps up part three. In part four, I'll |
| information in a relatively short period of | | | | cover some more specifics including |
| time, that if you don't record what you've | | | | expensive-to-replace critical-car-components! |
| learned in a systematic way, you will end up | | | | Thanks for reading. |
| with confusing, incomplete, or just downright | | | | |