Don't Make These Mistakes When Buying a Used Car!

so you're going out to buy a used car in the market and you're not sure am I buying a good car what do I do what is the dos and don'ts when you go buy a used car in today's video I will share with you my experience as first I was a Toyota Master diagnostic technician in a leadership then currently I own an automotive repair shop these are the mistakes that I I see people make all the time when they buy used car they bring it in for inspection and we have all kinds of problems

these are mistakes that I don't want you to make so let us start with the first one and we'll go through everything research is key I see so many folks walk in the dealership still in 2024 not knowing what kind of car they want they walk into the dealership oh what do you have we want we have a family we want an SUV what options do we have don't do that because remember one thing a cars dealership sales department they're principle job is sales not anything else doesn't make them bad folks doesn't make them that

trying to take advantage of you or whatnot cuz you nine out of 10 times and I almost said 10 out 10 out of 10 times would be more accurate the sales person selling you the car they have no idea what this car is what condition it is how reliable it is how good it is or not good it is they don't know and that's an unrealistic expectation in 2024 there's so much information about a car that you go talk to a salesperson many of the times they don't know good sales people will be like you

know what the question you're asking I don't know let me find out but unfortunately there is the bad ones that will make up an answer just to give you an answer so we can make a sale that's the problem but that is not the responsibility of the salesman it's your responsibility to research and here's what I mean by research you're going to buy a used car first before we even talk about the car itself you're going to see what kind of car do you want what are your needs what are your wants very important that

you identify that before you even decide what car I am going to buy because used cars are as the word says used cars the reason people buy used cars is because they're cheaper than new cars if you want the car that is as perfect as it's going to be go buy a new one simple as that so here's what the research is going to start you need to write a list what is your want what is your needs the needs we don't compromise on the wants they may be compromises that is the number one thing

then you're going to start researching on the internet folks we live in times where you can find anything on the internet you need to find out what cars out there fit your criteria once you decide I want this SUV or This SUV or This SUV these three models are checking my boxes most people will stop right there and start searching for these cars go go look at a bunch of them that is the biggest mistake because just because these three models check your boxes for what you need and what you want doesn't mean that they're

actually good longterm nobody buys a car or actually I shouldn't say nobody majority of folks buying cars they're buying them with expectation we're going to keep it for as long as it is feasible to keep it the research starts on the specific models are these good cars what are some of their common problems does the reliability of this car and its features and everything line up with our plan cuz we were going to work about talk about the plan in a little bit here but you need to know what what you're getting yourself into some

cars are good they're reliable they're wellmade this and that but these cars you are looking for them so is everybody else and there's the cars that no matter what you do to them they're just not wellmade they're not good cars flat out they have a lot of problems even the best one that you'll find will have problems well how do you know that if you didn't look folks you don't have to be a mechanic or into cars or into that you need to do your research not only on what car I'm going to look at

but the cars that fit your criteria what are their common problems you need to know that and are they good cars to begin with and myself and many other mechanics are posting videos on YouTube talking about their common problems simple as that and here's something I would like you to never do you walk into a dealership you've done the research you know you narrowed it down to three models that you're looking at two of them are preferred one of them is kind of the third one because it does have a few common more common issues

that make you uncomfortable you walk in the dealership and I see this all the time hey I'm I'm here to see this particular model this particular car that you have for sale it's it's either sold already or you go drive it and it's not in good shape as as good as it looked on pictures this is the mistake I see people do oh what other cars do you have ignoring all your research and all your stuff and the salesman will basically be like well we have this other SUV do you want to look at it

you look at it oh my God it's so good like why how can I not think about this you buy it and then the next day you found out what you actually bought was not good don't do your research at the dealership I see someone many folks trying to buy cars they're on their phone trying to look that's mistake stop walk away no matter what pressing situation no matter how much little time you have to actually decide and buy a car don't make that mistake which is going to lead us to the next mistake which

is after you researched you found the car you want the next mistake is vital that you don't do you researched you did everything even if you know about cars and you looked into their common problems and you checked this car you checked all your boxes this car is checking all your boxes the million dollar question is are you a mechanic are you someone that truly knows these cars to a point where you can actually identify a good car from a bad car it is my opinion any car you inspect what you look at on the

outside is 25% of the story lift the car up and look underneath it you will see the rest of the story a pre- purchase inspection is essential for you to know you're actually buying a car that is as good as it looks on the outside underneath and in the important stuff that is the thing and and the second thing was pre- purchase inspections who's doing the pre- purchase inspection does the person doing the pre- purchase inspection actually cares that's the second problem I see so many pre-purchase inspections that happen and then when the car shows

up in the shop it's like how could they miss this stuff this is like vital common stuff with this model how could they miss it you need to have a specialist do an inspection on that particular car somebody that knows that car not just here's another car let's lift it up and check for oil leaks or I my favorite one taking a car you're buying to a classic shop classic restoration shop all they work on is 40 50y old cars you take them a car that's 5 years old expect them to know everything about it

they're not flat out they're going to look at it like yeah it looks good I mean I I don't see anything Drive is okay but did they actually check specific things that about this car that are known and common no the other option for pre- purchase inspections is dealerships and here's the problem with dealerships you could get a really good pre- purchase inspection in dealership or you could get a really bad one I remember clearly some technicians that I've actually unfortunately worked with that will look at pre inspection ah this car is fine it's fine

that's just let's just move on with life it's fine it's all there did you actually look cuz because that's a responsibility I personally and many other mechanics take it at a huge responsibility prepurchase inspections raise my blood pressure because we need to be as thorough as possible to make sure that this family that's going to put their finances on the line with this car they're going to buy a good car cuz even the best prepurchase inspection is not kind of a vision of the future there may be stuff you miss but if you give it

to your 110% best you may catch most of the stuff pre- purchase inspections are essential folks but I know that many will skip this part for many reasons some of them good some of them not good good reasons to skip a prepurchase inspection well the dealership you're buying the car from just doesn't allow you to take it somewhere for pre- purchase I get that I see that a lot and people in that case will rely on something called Carfax and car car check but what is that Carfax and car check granted my opinion Carfax usually

is a little bit more detailed than auto check most people use that as a determination is this a good car or a bad car that is the biggest mistake you will ever make and let me tell you why nothing against Carfax and auto check the main stuff the big stuff is this a branded title is this a kind of a disaster car has a domino been rolled back this is the obvious stuff you're going to check but here's here's the problem do you actually know what Carfax and auto Che is most people assume it's like

some government registry folks they're private companies they're basically reporting entities that's all they do folks report to them they put them on a platform that's all it is buy the VIN number here's here's the scenario you go look at a car it has beautiful service history I mean every 5,000 Mi on the dot vehicle service vehicle service vehicle service do you actually know how that works one of these vehicle service could have been customer States engine making knocking noises technician says car has a bad engine needs an engine replacement at times for reasons unknown to

me it'll actually appear as vehicle service and you're just assuming well vehicle's been serviced it's been maintained let me share with you some red flags that you you can kind of decipher from a car's car facts or auto check history that will make you think twice about this car first look at the general trends of this car don't read too much into it though because CARFAX is only as good as the entities reporting to it many shops well not and dealerships believe it or not will not report to Carfax my shop reports to Carfax it

costs me money to do that because this is a value that we give to our customers that whatever we do is going to get reported so should you sell the car one day they will be able to see the entire history but not every shop will want to do that and that's not I'm I guess them it cost the money if it doesn't work for their business model I understand but read into the Carfax and and read between the lines here's how look at the car's overall forecast for service it does it have a detailed

service where it says exactly what was done does it say oil changed tire rotation coolant replaced transmission fluid replaced or flushed or whatever the terminology they use or does it just say vehicle serviced vehicle serviced don't take that as a service that's number one number two you see the init the first let's say the car has 150,000 Mi you're looking at first 100,000 Mi looks pretty consistent service immediately skip because it doesn't it doesn't matter the middle part it's the initial part was this car service good at the beginning and then we get to the

end the end is is essential you all of a sudden look at a car and it has vehicle service vehicle service vehicle service and then vehicle offered for sale look at the dates and Miles why was this car serviced three times consecutively and the distance between each service is 10 mil 100 Mil 150 mil then not 3 miles later car offered for sale what does that tell you you know what that tells me the C customer had a problem with the car tried to fix it didn't get fixed tried to fix it third time they

found something catastrophic they traded it moved on that's how that would look like but at the same time and this is where things get difficult this is why I don't want you to take the Carfax as a pre- purchase inspection or a history of the car is detailed it could be customer took the car in for an inspection before they sell it to make sure it's good then they took it the next time to put some wipers then they took it the third time because they were actually trying to sell it to somebody that did

the prepurchase inspection and then it didn't pan out they didn't like it whatever and they just traded in how about that dealership sometimes will list their own pre- purchase inspection as a vehicle service and they will sometimes do it three times for whatever reason when when the day that they are doing the trade in and you'll see it like that so you got to identify that accidents is the next disaster I call it disaster because it is you see an accident on Carfax you need to use that not as a determining factor I don't want

this car this thing is not good no you need to investigate it you see an accident reported on Carfax was it a scratch that got repaired and ended up being an impact on the Carfax or was it a giant accident that was never reported is that's always the case you see an accident reported on Carfax as specific point go look at the car and focus on that area do you see something off you take it for PR inspection mention that hey this car listed an accident here can you focus on this area or you see

a car that has no accident history at all people take that as in that is written in stone let me tell you one thing if I crash my car and destroy it I bring it in my shop I don't write any paperwork on it I glue it back together with the cheapest stuff possible and it looks horrible and I go Trade It Off how does Carfax know actually won't here's what reports to Carfax insurance companies police reports get reported to Carfax body shops who will repair to car report to Carfax that's how they know if

nobody tells them if I fix it in my backyard how are they going to know they won't and you won't see it so when you see no accidents on a car I I would actually be a little bit more worried checking it especially if you're buying a 105y old car I mean how many 105 year old cars didn't get a tiny little fender bender tiny little scratch that got painted honestly not a lot that's that's a reality not a lot so you're expecting going to buy a 10 15y old car to have a small accident

here or there nothing major as long as it was repaired good with good parts good job good labor good paint we don't have concerns that is very important folks look at the Carfax but read into it and don't make decisions based off it use it as a research tool not a decision-making tool that is very important [Music] folks and folks this is the part that unfortunately many folks don't think about what's the plan with this car you know if you bought a new car you want to keep it for as long as possible that's understandable

but when you buy a used car what's the plan are you buying this used car to keep it for 5 years 10 years 15 years 20 years two years I really dislike it when folks buy a car I'm going to buy this keep it till the wheels fall off I don't want the wheels falling off on my car dangerous you got to have a plan and you got to have expectations out of that plan and based on that is how you're going to actually go back to the beginning and start your research all over again

again because if you're going to buy a car that has a reputation for having transmission problems and engine problems and they rust really badly and this and that and you happen to live in a Rust Belt area you're not going to keep that car for 25 years that's that's bottom line and then you go buy another car say you live in a very hot Arizona you buy a car that has notorious AC problems do you think that's a good idea what's the plan you got to manage your expectations folks this is very important and I

see this mistake all the time you go and buy a car that that used car that is $3,000 it's old 20 years old has rust has wear and tear and problems and this and that and then you're upset that this car is not it's making noise and it's leaking oil it's doing this and that well did you actually manage your expectations for getting a value for your dollar that you paid for this car most people don't and then when they go buy a car that cost3 $40,000 used they're expecting Miracles don't do that that is

a mistake cuz if you want the absolute top expectations from this car go buy a new bottom line there is no such thing as a discount savings I got a deal there is always something nothing is free in life but the love of God let's lay that on the table and say that when you go look at a car and all the prices you're seeing for this particular car that you've done all your homework on is let's say around 20,000 all of a sudden you find one for 11 I'm going to go buy that one

and it'll be great it'll be the best car I ever bought I got a crazy deal on it and I'm just did great don't you want to take a step back and look at the number one question that I hope comes up why is that car cheaper than the rest and the better question is why have not 101 people like me looking for a used car jumped on it already which leads us to the most important thing and this is only when you're buying cars from from dealerships how much how many days have this car

been on the lot let me introduce you to a word called lot rot cars when they sit at dealerships the longer they sit the more problems they will have just think about it this car is thrown outside on the lot it's being test driving by by everybody and anybody that walks through the door do you really want to buy a car that's been in a dealership being test driven by everybody and anybody and just thrown outside like that that's been there for 6 to 9 months and the better question is why is not has that

car not sold in 6 to9 9 months don't buy a car that's been sitting at a dealership lot too long you can easily some dealerships will kind of be vague about their how long's car has been here but manage your expectations folks don't look for the deal look for the good car and once you find that good car if it is a lot of money you get what you pay for with cars all the time don't overpay but don't underpay and expect it to be the same that is very important folks buying a used car

is a very difficult process see when you buy a new car you just got to select the car that suits your needs and we're done but with used cars you got to research into this particular car that you found you got to spend a lot of time don't make Rush decisions don't fall into the oh well this car is here now if it's gone it's gone there is not one like it there will always be one like it always and there will be one even better let's just let's just lay that out regardless how the

market is you spend enough time and research and effort you will find what you need out there always and if you don't see it right now today it it may come up tomorrow and the day after don't rush to buy a car manage your expectations research spend the time before you even look at the car the more time you spend researching and educating yourself about what car you're buying the better the experience will be after you've actually find the one that suits your needs and your family's needs and buy it please folks don't buy cars

in a rush get a prepurchase inspection proper prepurchase inspection I'm seeing a giant rise of disaster cars disaster pre- purchase inspections I just gave horrible news to a customer today nicest gentleman in the planet they just bought a Camry I mean I bought a Camry it's so reliable what's going on well he an engine engine is $110,000 car they paid $5,000 for that's a problem folks you got to research and the best part is when I'm talking to that customer they told me that after they bought the car and realized it has all the issues

with the engine burning oil at a ridiculous rate they actually researched and then found my channel find find another channels that talking about the same issue and they're like aha but that was too late you already bought the car don't buy a car then find out it's problems found the problems and then based on that decide which car fits your needs essential folks please really don't like giving bad pre- purchase inspections or my worst thing in the planet post purchase inspections is the worst thing you will ever do please don't do that folks I hope

this video is helpful informative I hope you learned something new if you like it consider giving a thumbs up if you're not a subscriber consider subscribing to the channel check out my other videos until the next video folks may the Lord bless you and keep you and you have yourself a wonderful day