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Tips for buying used car from private seller?
Posted on 4/2/26 at 12:39 pm
Posted on 4/2/26 at 12:39 pm
Looking for a moderately used and priced vehicle for high school kid and have never bought from a private seller.
Obviously people do this all the time, but seems risky. Is there anything reasonable to do to minimize risk? For example is it normal to request to have your own mechanic give it a check out? Seems weird that they’d let you essentially borrow it for a day or so.
We do have one of those things you plug in to scan for error codes or problems for whatever that’s worth.
TIA.
Obviously people do this all the time, but seems risky. Is there anything reasonable to do to minimize risk? For example is it normal to request to have your own mechanic give it a check out? Seems weird that they’d let you essentially borrow it for a day or so.
We do have one of those things you plug in to scan for error codes or problems for whatever that’s worth.
TIA.
3
Posted on 4/2/26 at 12:42 pm to Havoc
Get a Carfax report on the VIN and ask if they would let a mechanic you trust check it out. Also make sure it has a clean title.
Posted on 4/2/26 at 12:52 pm to Havoc
Narrow your search as much as possible. brand and models first,
Figure out the years of that brand and model that have had the most trouble (oil leaks, transmission failure, oil consumption, etc) this part takes a lot of screen takes time and effort. For instance, Honda accords are great cars, but certain years and models had transmission issues and the 2.0L turbos had some failures.
I hope you have a trusted mechanic, I have brought potential cars to mine, spent $125 to have him go over it and give me his opinion on the car and run codes the cheaper scanners cannot pick up.
Avoid KIA/Hyundai at all cost.
Figure out the years of that brand and model that have had the most trouble (oil leaks, transmission failure, oil consumption, etc) this part takes a lot of screen takes time and effort. For instance, Honda accords are great cars, but certain years and models had transmission issues and the 2.0L turbos had some failures.
I hope you have a trusted mechanic, I have brought potential cars to mine, spent $125 to have him go over it and give me his opinion on the car and run codes the cheaper scanners cannot pick up.
Avoid KIA/Hyundai at all cost.
Posted on 4/2/26 at 1:00 pm to Havoc
Would have to be a very good deal to buy from a private party. Not that used car dealers are any better, but using a dealer does come with some safety nets and streamline of the complexities.
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