Women are responsible for about 65% of all new car purchases and 53% of previously-owned vehicle purchases according to Road & Travel Magazine. The breakdown is even more amazing because women seem to use a variety of financing options such as 66% of purchases in car loans, 44% through bank loans, 27% through dealer financing, and 15% through credit unions according to a New Vehicle Finance Study conducted by Bank Advertising News and the Gallup Organization. As the economic conditions tighten in the United States, more women may find it difficult to purchase a brand new vehicle, even with the dealer incentives and rebates. In order to make the best purchase of a used vehicle, there are some fundamental requirements that women should consider.
THINGS WOMEN SHOULD LOOK FOR WHEN PURCHASING A USED CAR
1) Do your research on the particular vehicle you seek including safety records, consumer reports, recalls, and check online sources for the same vehicle for sale within your own zip code to see what the average price of the vehicle. ie. If you like a 2005 Chevy Impala for instance, you may choose to find the prices of 10 of them within your zip code, add up all of the prices and divide them by 10 to get an average. By using this average, you can then determine the lowest figure to consider paying for a vehicle.
2) You should never allow yourself to purchase a car online without a visual inspection. This is a common mistake that is made in our point and click culture. I know it sounds silly, but people do this and make mistakes in the process.
3) The first consideration is to know the actual history and mileage of the vehicle. CarFax is a great resource for this purpose because so often cars are shipped across state lines after suffering some damage in others. Visually, check the mileage of the vehicle, because some sellers may try home-spun tricks to re-set it. One definite rule is to never purchase a vehicle if the dash has been tampered with such as not fitting snuggly or coming out all together. No excuse could make this situation right.
4) If the car does not have proper service records, ask for a $200 reduction in price because you then have no idea about what you will face upon buying that car. At least the amount will offset any out of pocket cost that you would have wasted on the initial purchase.
5) Find out early whether or not the vehicle still has a warranty and if so, for how long. Make sure it is a factory warranty and not a dealer-based one, because the rules of it may be too subjective.
6) If the vehicle has less than 50k miles, it still has a pretty good trade-in value if you sell it before it reaches 60k. In this case mileage below 60k works to your advantage. Vehicles with 60k plus miles may only have whole-sale value for the dealer and therefore if you purchase the car, expect to stay in it for a while or take a loss on trade in.
7) Some of the fundamental questions to ask are as follows:
Does the vehicle have a clean title and pink-slip? I recommend taking the seller with me to the Department of Motor Vehicles to ensure that everything is ok before giving him or her the money and discover something totally different.
When was the last service for the vehicle?
If the car is front-wheel drive, "When were the CV boots changed?" If a clacking sound is heard when turns are made int he vehicle, this means that the car needs front axles.
If the car has over 100k miles and is not a Mercedes, BMW or other high end vehicle, be very careful because the build of the vehicle does make a difference. The Mercedes and BMW engines are said to break in at about 150k miles or so. In this case As if the "Rear Main Seal and Front Main Seal and Valve Cover Gaskets have been replaced?" This is very important for high mileage cars in that the leaks can be very expensive to fix.
Other things that should be asked about are by-pass-hoses, thermostat, heater-core, alternator, starter, and expansion plugs. Things such as tune-ups, oil changes etc, are standard. However the main threats have been listed. You may also check tires, brakes, clutch, tie-rods, ball-joints, control-arms, and have bearings checked. A good qualified mechanic will check for these items and make recommendations before you spend your hard earned money on the car.
By all means require that you have your mechanic check the vehicle before you purchase. This is but a few things to assist women during these troubled times.
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