How to Buy a Used Car?

While buying a car, you must have been advised by your companions to go for a new one since there are least chances of getting duped. However, venturing into ‘Used car’ can also make a good deal. Used car market in India is very wide. Not only auto giants but dealers from unorganized sectors also provide you fair negotiations with impressive offers and discounts. Furthermore, they avail you certified cars with complete warranty and documents. Maruti, General Motors and Tata Motors are the names of a few major market leaders who offer their own used cars besides providing pre-owned cars of other manufacturers too. Prior to this, the car has to undergo various testing stages. Let us know the factors to be considered while finalizing a used car deal.

Making a research on the basis of your budget and other requirements

Before making your mind towards buying a used car, you must set your budget for it. Once, you know how much amount you can spend, the main aspects to consider should be utility and fuel economy. Depending on the need of highway travels and city maneuvers, a suitable diesel or petrol engine can be chosen that gives you the best mileage according to your needs.  The next step is to do research for the Make and Model of the vehicle that you are looking for better reliability. User feedback, automotive journalist reviews, car portals and auto magazines can be useful in the same context. An OEM dealer can be contacted to see for any faults or mechanical issues. Also, value data like availability, trim, features and price range can be gathered for the same.

Approaching reliable networks for a well maintained vehicle

A well treated car is the one that has been well maintained. Paying time and efforts with patience could help you find one luckily but going through established service networks and authorized dealers can make your hunt simple and convenient. You would be assured about models gone out of production and not to get into the problem of lack of availability of their spare parts and maintenance issues of the older cars. After-sales service is also a beneficial characteristic of this reliable system.

Taking the Test Drive

Test Drive is an easy approach for an experienced driver to know actual driving conditions of the vehicle. This not only includes the handling, brakes and gears but also the suspension, engine & its noises besides the ease of driving. Moreover, all the electrical parts like air-conditioner, power windows,  windshield wiper motor, parking sensors, auto key locks, etc can be checked for their working efficiency. A seller is never going to reveal all the discrepancies that will cost you more for service, maintenance and renewal after locking the deal. 

Thorough Inspection

A used car can be expected to be perfect but excessive deficiencies should not be overlooked. Scratches, interior wear & tear, dents and rusts should be checked properly. Engine power, oil leakage, brakes, airbags, light beams and other safety aspects should also be analyzed. Even if everything is checked by you, it is good to get everything checked one more time by a professional mechanic as well. Thorough inspection by the mechanic would make the used car deal more reliable. It will also help your vehicle pass the safety checks and matchup to the specified standards. Though certificate cost should be endured by the seller but can be negotiated between both the parties.

Warranty, Service History and Other Documentations

The warranty of the vehicle based on time or kms driven can be transferred to the new owner and can also be extended by dealers. The periodic servicing of a car is equally important. It alerts you about major mechanical faults, accidents in which the vehicle has been involved and about the damage and maintenance history. So, warranty documents, service documents and other documents for registration, ownership transfers, pollution/drive clean emission tests, insurance and tax tokens should also be retrieved from the seller before making any payment.

Negotiation

Buying a used car is a long term investment. Once you are satisfied with current condition and documents of the car, you can negotiate hard by being confident on the price and can bargain for the discount and other offers as well. On the contrary, if the dealer offers a really good discount on the used vehicle purchase, it is advised to check the vehicle and all the documents once again. In case of any doubt, the withdrawal of the deal is the safest way to opt for.