How to Avoid Buying a Lemon Used Car

Finding a good used car to buy can be difficult. Should you buy from a private person or a car dealer? Can you trust what they tell you about its history? How can you find out for sure? There are some steps you can take to make sure you get the best used car you can for the money. Here’s how to avoid buying a lemon.

Step 1: Research the Brand and Models You Are Interested In
Before you go shopping, research online vehicle reliability reports for the different models you are interested in. Both Consumer Reports and Edmunds publish owner surveys and reviews and are good sources for finding out about troublesome vehicles. Look online to see what others say is the best brand and model and also what others say is the worst. Before you ever go shopping, on the car lot or online, decide what type of vehicle you want and what models you will look at.

Step 2: Check Recalls and Known Defects Records
If you want to know more about the car you are considering, then check all four of the federal government’s databases (www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov) for any recalls or service bulletins or safety investigations and owner complaints on the model vehicle you are interested in. Service bulletins are notices that the manufacturer sends out to their dealerships to warn them about problems that have been discovered in particular model vehicles and how to try and fix them. The only way to know if your vehicle was repaired for any recalls or service bulletins is to check with your local dealer’s service department and get a vehicle repair history from them.

Step 3: Get an Online Vehicle History Report
If you know the vehicle’s serial number (called a VIN number), you can get a report online that can tell you where the vehicle has been owned, if it has been titled with a salvage or flood title or other checkered past. CarFax and AutoCheck are two web sites that gather data from insurance companies (including accident records) and public title department records and there’s also NMVTIS. For a small fee they will give you a printout that describes most, if not all, of the vehicle’s history for a very low cost. Every vehicle’s VIN number is located either on the door jamb or in the windshield area of the dash on the driver side and every digit means something. To understand what your vehicle’s VIN numbers mean, you can find VIN number decoders on many free internet web sites.

Step 4: What to Ask the Seller
Find out everything you can about their experience with the car. Ask them for any repair records they have, so you can see for yourself. If the owner doesn’t keep repair records, ask them where they had most of the work done on the vehicle and go ask the repair shop. If you aren’t sure, write down the vehicle’s serial number and go to the nearest new car dealer’s service department and ask for the vehicle’s repair history printout from the factory computer. You may have to talk them into doing it but practically every new car dealer has computer access to the factory records that can show most of the repair work done on the car by any factory-authorized dealer. Repair shops do not legally have to voluntarily give you this vehicle information, however.

Step 5: Read the Buyers Guide on the Window
Federal law requires every used car on any dealer’s lot to have posted in the window a one page Buyers Guide that clearly discloses whether the car is being sold “as is” or with a warranty. The car dealer is required to complete both the front and back of the Buyer Guide, and to give a copy of the completed form to the person buying the car. Make sure you understand the guarantees that come with the vehicle and also make sure to get in writing any and all promises or guarantees the dealer makes. These promises or guarantees should be written down on the sales contract and/or on this Buyer Guide form and/or on a “We Owe” form. When a motor vehicle is sold “as is” it could mean that you have no recourse against the selling dealership if problems or defects arise later. Generally, cars with problems are the ones that are often sold “as is” so be careful. You should always try to get the seller to give you some kind of written guarantee, even if it is only good for 30 days. You can see what the form looks like at this web site page: Buyer’s Guide Window Sticker

Step 6: Inspect the Vehicle Thoroughly
Thoroughly check out the vehicle during the light of day and never at night. When examining the outside, look for body paint or panels that don’t match up, which can be a sign of body repairs. Also look at the engine compartment, tires, steering, suspension ride, and look for colored exhaust smoke. In the engine, look for fluid leaks, low fluid levels or unusual colors. Metal particles, tiny lumps, burnt odor or a frothy residue can mean engine damage. Billowing white tailpipe smoke could mean engine repairs. Blue smoke can mean its burning oil and expensive repairs. For tires, a worn spot in the middle of the tire often means an over-inflated tire. Lots of wear on a tire’s outside edge can mean a lot of hard driving and fast cornering. Uneven cupping tire wear can mean suspension or brake problems.

Inside, make sure all the warning lights work (they should light up when you start the car and go out once the car is running) and make sure the warning lights don’t stay on. Check the carpeting everywhere for mildew which can mean water leaks or a flood car.

Step 7: Get a Professional Inspection
Before you buy it, take the vehicle to a local mechanic to have it thoroughly gone over. It’ll probably cost you some but it’s worth it to know for sure what problems you can expect to come up during your ownership. AAA also may recommend a repair shop or you can go to your nearest Firestone or Goodyear dealer or another independent repair shop and ask for an inspection.

If you have purchased a lemon used car or truck, we have the solution.

Additional Resources
If you end up with a lemon anyway, go back to the seller and give them a chance to repair the vehicle. If that doesn’t work, you can complain to the Better Business Bureau online (www.BBB.org) or to your state Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. Some state Lemon Laws do cover vehicles purchased used. To see what your state Lemon Law says, check this 50 State Lemon Law Chart here: Lemon Law Summaries. If all else fails, you may want to consider talking to a Consumer Law attorney about your legal rights. Call your local attorney Bar Association or check this web site for a National List of Lemon Law lawyers for one near you: Locate a Local Attorney

Federal Government Vehicle Problems Online Database
Used Car Buyer Guide Window Sticker Form
National List of Local Lemon Law Lawyers
AutoCheck Vehicle History Reports
CarFax Vehicle History Reports
50 State Lemon Laws Chart
Better Business Bureau
National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, vehicle history reports for a few bucks