{"id":10810,"date":"2022-03-04T10:35:58","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T10:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/?p=10810"},"modified":"2022-03-04T10:35:58","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T10:35:58","slug":"4-areas-to-look-at-before-purchasing-a-pre-owned-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/110810\/4-areas-to-look-at-before-purchasing-a-pre-owned-vehicle","title":{"rendered":"4 Areas to Look at before Purchasing a Pre-Owned Vehicle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Since the COVID-19 pandemic brought all of our lives to a halt, the used car market has <a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/cars\/2021\/06\/kind-of-crazy-how-the-booming-us-used-car-market-is-driving-inflation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">absolutely boomed<\/a>, meaning it&#8217;s more important than ever to make sure you&#8217;re getting the best deal possible when looking at pre-owned vehicles for sale.<\/p>\n<p>The days of kicking the tires and making sure it starts are long gone, especially when it comes to shelling out more money than you might have expected.<\/p>\n<p>But what should you be looking for when\u00a0buying a pre-owned vehicle? Stick with us as we take a look at some of the\u00a0areas to be aware of.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Use the Information Available To You<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The internet has changed the way we buy and sell, even when it comes to cars. Information that would have previously been tucked in a filing cabinet in a government office is now available to us online.<\/p>\n<p>That means that a car&#8217;s history doesn&#8217;t have to be a secret. You can use the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) to find out about any historical issues, such as;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>if the model has ever been recalled<\/li>\n<li>if the car has ever been in an accident<\/li>\n<li>if the car has even been written off by an insurer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Knowledge is power, and could be a bargaining chip when it comes to negotiating a price.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong> Pop That Hood<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>You might have looked under a car hood before and not even known what everything is, let alone if it&#8217;s working or not.<\/p>\n<p>But it&#8217;s actually easier\u00a0to spot issues than you might think, so don&#8217;t be afraid to ask the owner to lift up the hood. Here&#8217;s what to look out for;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>excessive rust (could be a sign that the car has been sitting unused for a long time)<\/li>\n<li>signs of fluid leaks, especially around the power steering and transmission fluids<\/li>\n<li>dry, cracked, or rotting belts<\/li>\n<li>check the oil dipstick &#8211; the oil shouldn&#8217;t be too dirty, and should be in the middle of the guide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There&#8217;s an awful lot more you could look for, but these are some immediate red flags.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong> Understand That Low Mileage Isn&#8217;t Everything<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>You come across a 10-year-old car, and notice that it only has 5,000 miles&#8230; great, right? Well, not necessarily.<\/p>\n<p>10 years is 3650 days, so this car has done a little more than 1 mile a day. But in reality, it&#8217;s probably done long stretches of time sitting in a driveway. This could be bad news for many of the components of the engine, which benefit from being used regularly.<\/p>\n<p>Ask the owner to be upfront about how much they used the car, and how they have driven it.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong> Always Test Drive a Car<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>A car could look pristine inside and out (especially if you&#8217;re buying it from a dealership with certified pre-owned vehicles like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.serrabartlett.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">serrabarlett.com<\/a>), and even under the hood. But the moment you turn on the engine and take it for a spin should be the real decider.<\/p>\n<p>Listen out for knocks and other strange noises, and check that the car goes in a straight line when you let go of the steering wheel.<\/p>\n<p>Test the brakes, test the power output&#8230; all of these things are pointers towards the overall health of a car.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Be Confident When Buying a Pre-Owned Vehicle<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Buying a pre-owned vehicle doesn&#8217;t have to be a stressful exercise. You can find great quality pre-owned vehicles all over the country, and all it takes is a keen eye for some of the more obvious issues.<\/p>\n<p>If you enjoyed this article, check out more like it on our blog!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since the COVID-19 pandemic brought all of our lives to a halt, the used car market has absolutely boomed, meaning it&#8217;s more important than ever to make sure you&#8217;re getting the best deal possible when looking at pre-owned vehicles for sale. The days of kicking the tires and making sure it starts are long gone, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10810"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10810"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10811,"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10810\/revisions\/10811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techfeatured.com\/automotive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}