When buying a used car, you are probably aware that the best way to insure yourself against getting a lemon is to give the car a very thorough inspection, and if you aren't much of an expert, get a second opinion from a friend who is, or from a professional mechanic.
However, nowadays there are a couple of tools you can use online that can help you research a specific car, the owner who is selling it to you (if it is a private sale), and the price you should expect to pay for a car of this type and condition. Next time you are shopping for any kind of used vehicle, these tools can help you make sure everything is as it seems and that you have the right information to help you negotiate a fair price.
While you can certainly still buy an actual Kelley Blue Book or find one in a library, the easiest way to research car prices is just to use the online version. This not only has the most up to date listings for all models of car, but also makes it very easy for you to search based on the specifications, age and condition of a vehicle, which could be a little confusing in the hard copies. Kelley Blue Book will tell you the kind of price your given car is worth wholesale and retail, and this gives you a ballpark figure to use in your negotiations.
If you have the VIN number of the specific car (which the seller should be more than happy to give you – if they are not this is a bit of a bad sign that they might be hiding something), you can run a check on a service called Carfax, which is available as a website or an app.
Carfax uses all kinds of records from all over the country to piece together the car's history, and will tell you things like if it has been reported as salvage, flooded or written off out of state. This is a very easy way to avoid scams where cars that have been in major accidents are then reregistered and sold out of state, because although the car might have a new registration, its VIN will be the same.
You can also look up someone's DMV driving record online. So, if you are buying from a private seller and aren't sure that their claims to be a very careful driver who barely ever goes out in their car are true, you can check this out. This may not tell you much about the car itself but can reveal if they are a responsible driver who is likely to have kept up the car's vital maintenance, or someone who has driven it hard and probably had a fairly cavalier attitude to their vehicle.
Of course, this only really works if you are buying from a private seller and know for sure which member of their household was the main user, so it can pay to ask a little – if you find the lady selling the car has a perfect record but it was actually used every day by her son who has multiple speeding offenses, your research will have been for nothing!
However, nowadays there are a couple of tools you can use online that can help you research a specific car, the owner who is selling it to you (if it is a private sale), and the price you should expect to pay for a car of this type and condition. Next time you are shopping for any kind of used vehicle, these tools can help you make sure everything is as it seems and that you have the right information to help you negotiate a fair price.
Kelley Blue Book
While you can certainly still buy an actual Kelley Blue Book or find one in a library, the easiest way to research car prices is just to use the online version. This not only has the most up to date listings for all models of car, but also makes it very easy for you to search based on the specifications, age and condition of a vehicle, which could be a little confusing in the hard copies. Kelley Blue Book will tell you the kind of price your given car is worth wholesale and retail, and this gives you a ballpark figure to use in your negotiations.
Carfax
If you have the VIN number of the specific car (which the seller should be more than happy to give you – if they are not this is a bit of a bad sign that they might be hiding something), you can run a check on a service called Carfax, which is available as a website or an app.
Carfax uses all kinds of records from all over the country to piece together the car's history, and will tell you things like if it has been reported as salvage, flooded or written off out of state. This is a very easy way to avoid scams where cars that have been in major accidents are then reregistered and sold out of state, because although the car might have a new registration, its VIN will be the same.
Online Driver Records
You can also look up someone's DMV driving record online. So, if you are buying from a private seller and aren't sure that their claims to be a very careful driver who barely ever goes out in their car are true, you can check this out. This may not tell you much about the car itself but can reveal if they are a responsible driver who is likely to have kept up the car's vital maintenance, or someone who has driven it hard and probably had a fairly cavalier attitude to their vehicle.
Of course, this only really works if you are buying from a private seller and know for sure which member of their household was the main user, so it can pay to ask a little – if you find the lady selling the car has a perfect record but it was actually used every day by her son who has multiple speeding offenses, your research will have been for nothing!
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