Buying a second hand car is a great way to save a bit of money, but if you're not careful you may find that you've bought a dud – or…
Buying a second hand car is a great way to save a bit of money, but if you're not careful you may find that you've bought a dud – or that a salesman has been less than honest with his promises – and you have a huge repair bill on your hands. Knowing a few common problem areas can help you avoid running into the same sort of problems yourself, or help you haggle a better deal.
Find out your car's history
Knowing the full history of your car can help steer you away from buying a lemon. Searching 'car history report' will lead you to a number of sites that offer free basic reports (generic information about the car and whether it's been reported stolen) and paid options for things like outstanding charges, whether the car was imported with damage, and if it's ever had water or fire damage.
Look at the wheels closely
The wheels of a car can tell you a lot. If the tyres are bald or approaching a worn state, that's a decent expense that you're going to have to pay for quite soon. Another thing to be wary of is how even the wear is on the tyre – if it looks uneven, that may mean the suspension or wheel alignment needs to be repaired.
Key requirements
Having a second key can be extremely useful, especially if you're not great at remembering where you've put things. If your car only comes with one key, you can get a second one made – but for modern keys this can cost a couple of hundred dollars.
Have it checked over
Even though you or a friend might know about cars, it's always a good idea to have a mechanic check it over for you. A lot of data is stored in the car's electronics which can only be read with the right kind of hardware. Your mechanic will be able to go through this information to see the history of the car, check its diagnostics and see if there have been any part failures in the past.
Know what you want
While it's a good idea to look around a few car yards to see what's available, knowing a rough budget and the sort of car you want (in terms of size, performance and possibly make) will stop you getting too distracted by the bigger, shinier cars that the salesmen will likely push you towards. You may find that after visiting a few places that your budget doesn't stretch to what you really need, but by getting a car loan before you go to the car yard you get the ability to negotiate a cash price and get a car that will see you through the next few years.
For a larger checklist of things to look for in a second hand car, check the NZTA website.
