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Buying
a used car
Buying a used car
 Buying
a used car is always going to be a gamble to one extent or another—but
try to be as safe as you can. Even if you can access some of the
history of a used car before making your purchase, it still may
turn out to be a lemon.
· A Lemon:
A lemon is a car that is defective in some way or another. But it
is not until, when purchased, the defectiveness of the car is discovered.
- A lemon presents numerous or severe defects not readily apparent
before the purchase, but that are discovered to have been there
soon after.
- If the previously owned car that you purchase is found to have
problems like these, the cost of repairs can end up being more
than you paid for the car in the first place.
- Used lemons could be poorly built, or perhaps, poorly repaired.
A used car may have been unprofessionally rebuilt as well. Any
of these could cause the car to behave strangely, acquire damages
and call for immediate repairs.
· How to prevent yourself from buying a lemon:
As I mentioned before, there are ways of finding out the history
of a car before you make the purchase on it. But obviously, with
a lemon, something has been overlooked.
- If you are unsure about the used car that you are going to buy,
one of the best suggestions when buying a used car is to have
a mechanic look it over. And not just any mechanic, your mechanic
should assess the wear on the vehicle. Even if it costs you some
money to have the used car checked out before buying a new car,
in the long run, you’ll be much better off considering the
costs that a car that is in poor condition is sure to accumulate.
- Most simply put, however, is that there are some signs of wear
or problematic issues that can easily be overlooked when buying
a used car—even when a professional gives the used car a
once-over. You have to face that chance whenever you buy a used
car, I am afraid.
· What is a “Cut and Shut”?
A “cut and shut” is just another form of a lemon, a
used car with its problematic quirks.
- The difference between buying a used car, whether it turns out
to be a good car or a lemon, is that it comes from when someone
buys a wrecked car and saws off the wrecked section and replaces
it with a matching section from a similar car.
- This is much more of a danger to you because when driving at
high speeds, or in an accident, a “cut and shut” used
car may actually come apart.
- Usually you can tell if a used car is a “cut and shut”
if half of it is a different color than the rest of it. Be sure
to watch out for “cut and shut” cars when buying a
used car.
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