Whether you are looking to buy or sell a used car, it's important to be sure you know the most important questions buyers should have about the car they are looking at--as well as the things they should be paying the most attention to. As a buyer, this helps you to know what you need to pay attention to, and as a seller, it helps you to know what things you should be taking care of before you show your car. Here are some of the questions one should ask when looking at a used car:
When is the last time the car was serviced? It's important for a buyer to know when the car was last serviced. This auto service includes having a tune-up and oil change. This will let the buyer know how long they will have before they need to have the car serviced themselves. It can also indicate how well the car has been taken care of by the current owner. If the car is well past the suggested date and mileage for having these things done, it can indicate that the car has been neglected throughout the years. A car up to date on everything can indicate that the owners took excellent care of it--which can mean the new owners should expect to have less issues with it in the future.
What has been replaced already on the car? A buyer wants to have information on what's already been replaced on the car and when. They should also try to get all of the receipts for this work with the rest of the paperwork for the car. This lets them know (if there are problems in the future) what things have already been taken care of. This can help a mechanic to pinpoint where the real problem is. Also, the newly replaced parts may still be under warranty and the buyer will want to know this in case the part goes out again.
What idiosyncrasies does the car have? Most used cars have some type of idiosyncrasies that the buyer should be aware of. These things may not be enough to bring the car down in price or cost the seller the sale, but they can be a pain for the new owner when they can't figure out what's going on. An example would be if a car needed to have the steering wheel pulled to the side first before the keys would release from the ignition or if you needed to lift a door handle for the door to open easily.
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