buying a used vehicle: questions/advice

[sentence]

ok, my car was recently demolished by a driver who ran a red light so now i have to get a new one (well, new to me). so i'm now shopping for a used vehicle and i'm wondering if anyone can give some advice on questions i should ask when buying a used vehicle and things i should look for since i dont really know much about engines.

one thing i specifically want to know is howi can find out a vehicle's background (ie. has it been in accidents before). how can i find this out? i dont really expect a seller to come righ out and give me this information.

thanks in advance. any/all advice and suggestions are appreciated.

btw, to be more specific, i'm shopping for a 2000/2001/2002-ish vehicle, probably an SUV.


-joel

 

[defazman]

make sure the seller has the used vehicle information package from the MTO. It will have some of the vehicle history in it.
Among other things, ask for service records, check tires (new ones will cost you $4-600) and check the brakes for squeaking or pulsing.

 

[ALEKSANDRA]

yea, take it on some back road, accellerate to 100 .. go in the middle of the road and see how well the break responce is (press hard ) and BE CAREFUL! lol
I did that when shopping around and found some that were shyt or the ABS didn't turn on.

Make sure to ask this question:
How many previous owners has this car had?

That is sort of an indirect method of finding out if it's shyt/been in an accident.
I know a bit about engines and what I was looking for, but I was looking for a small 5spd sporty car, so I will be no help here.

Good Luck!

 

[kodos]

tribe seems to have a very high index of advice/help/question/how.to type topics today...

 

[101 Shoes]

thanks for the info guys. other advice still welcome.

 

[Dirt Dawg]

I would recommend a cert. pre owned for a dealership.

I know they cost more but they have a warr. and have to go thru a extensive process before they will risk cert. for preowned.


If you buy private, full service history will help, and look over the used viehicle package provided.

Used cars are tricky, but if your going so new... a pre owned might be in yer best intrest.