Auto-Loan-Financing.com has scoured the web to find the best financial articles to help peole repair bad credit or fix their
personal finances. Each article is written by leading finance or automotive industry experts.
Spoken Promises
The Buyers Guide cautions you not to rely on spoken promises. They are difficult to enforce because there may not be any way for a court to determine with any confidence what was said. Get all promises written into the Guide.
Pre-Purchase Independent Inspection
It's best to have any used car inspected by an independent mechanic before you buy it. For about $100 or less, you'll get a general indication of the mechanical condition of the vehicle. An inspection is a good idea even if the car has been "certified" and inspected by the dealer and is being sold with a warranty or service contract. A mechanical inspection is different from a safety inspection. Safety inspections usually focus on conditions that make a car unsafe to drive. They are not designed to determine the overall reliability or mechanical condition of a vehicle.
To find a pre-purchase inspection facility, check your Yellow Pages under "Automotive Diagnostic Service" or ask friends, relatives, and co-workers for referrals. Look for facilities that display certifications like an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) seal. Certification indicates that some or all of the technicians meet basic standards of knowledge and competence in specific technical areas. Make sure the certifications are current, but remember that certification alone is no guarantee of good or honest work. Also ask to see current licenses if state or local law requires such facilities to be licensed or registered. Check with your state Attorney General's office or local consumer protection agency to find out whether there's a record of complaints about particular facilities.
There are no standard operating procedures for pre-purchase inspections. Ask what the inspection includes, how long it takes, and how much it costs. Get this information in writing.
If the dealer won't let you take the car off the lot, perhaps because of insurance restrictions, you may be able to find a mobile inspection service that will go to the dealer. If that's not an option, ask the dealer to have the car inspected at a facility you designate. You will have to pay the inspection fee.
Once the vehicle has been inspected, ask the mechanic for a written report with a cost estimate for all necessary repairs. Be sure the report includes the vehicle's make, model, and VIN. Make sure you understand every item. If you decide to make a purchase offer to the dealer after considering the inspection's results, you can use the estimated repair costs to negotiate the price of the vehicle.
Article content is copyrighted by their respective authors. Auto-Loan-Financing.com makes no claim to ownership of the
articles. The Articles provided are solely for educational and informational purposes and do not constitute legal or financial
advice. Files, source code, page layout, and design contained herein are the intellectual property of Auto-Loan-Financing.com
and may not be reproduced without the express written consent from Auto-Loan-Financing.com.
The Articles provided are solely for educational and informational purposes and do not constitute legal or financial advice to
erase, fix, or repair bad credit.
