While the purchase of a vehicle is always subject to decisions that are not always easy, the issue is complicated and a lot in the purchase of a second-hand vehicle. Here we give you some keys to help you buy your next car, if it’s going to be a used car.

Here at JB Prestige automotive service you will find a team of qualified professionals for the task.

1.- Where to go?

That depends on the budget you manage. It is not the same that you have set a budget of $ 3,000 that you intend to go to a ceiling of $ 10,000. Below $ 3,000, the most advisable option is to go to the private market. You have to take into account the risks involved, because the seller usually does not give a guarantee. In addition, try to go to shops for sale by this budget can waste time (not usually have cars for these prices), or worse, take something not recommended, since the professional has a benefit even in that type of offers.

2.- What do you have to pay attention to?

Any vehicle you see that interests you, you must first make a visual check. In the interiors we must observe that the wear details are coherent with the mileage. One of the details that better information can give us based on this is the status of the flyer. He is a clear confidant of the use that the vehicle has had. Therefore, suspect a car with 30,000 kms has a damaged steering wheel, with leather (if it has) peeling, or with worn out plastic or with a touch too soft.

3.- Seeing the engine does not mean that you are a mechanic, but you should always do it

Check the bowels of the car is more than necessary, mandatory. But you do not have to assume that you’re a mechanical engineer or something like that.

Water. The expansion canister, or coolant reservoir, is something you should observe. One of the worst problems of a car is the classic “reheat”. The problems derived from the lack of refrigeration of a car causes cylinder head problem, lubricating circuit, etc … and the coolant reservoir can be a good confidante. Do not hesitate to open the cap and see the liquid. If you see spots, layers of oil, traces of bubbling … bad stuff, the circuit has probably been damaged and water and oil mixed.

4.- The screws

The screws or nuts that are in the edges of the hood, and that usually hold the side panels, or the grill and optical group are usually painted, they are elements installed in the vehicle before painting it in its manufacture. That is, suspect for example if on one side of the car you see unpainted screws, or even rusted. They can be the test that warns you that the car had a blow. In that case it is important to look at the tips of the chassis, as well as to test the car on the highway at more than 100kms / h and see if it stays straight or on the contrary it always pulls to the side.

5.- Bet for legality.

If your purchase option is more oriented to the particular market, it is always advisable to obtain a report of the vehicle at the Provincial Traffic Headquarters. This document, issued immediately, contains the vehicle ownership data, but even more important are those data that are in the part of limitations of disposition. It is where a reservation of domain can be written down. If the vehicle has been the subject of previous financing, but it has not been satisfied, or the entry has not been made in the register, the car cannot be transferred. Other suspicious entries may be embargoes, rejected tickets, etc … Make sure that the vehicle is perfectly transferable.

6.- The traditional Chinese tales.

If the person selling you the car uses the hackneyed arguments like: “It’s just that I’m moving from town”, “The car was from an old lady”, “This car was used a little because its owner got sick” and so on until a long time, not you trust Who sell the car honestly does not have to go to these arguments, because if it does, it will surely be hiding something.

7.- Rent a car? no thanks?

Reject the prejudice of buying a rental car. In our experience in the sector, we have found in most cases, better maintenance in rental cars than in cases of individuals. So that we understand this aspect well, we will tell you that normally a Rent a Car signs with a dealer the purchase of a series of vehicles, usually with a agreed repurchase. That is, when the Rent a Car estimates that it is time to renew, it knows that it is the dealer who will buy the vehicles, always based on a series of conditions collected by contract. In these cases, the correct maintenance of vehicles is considered essential. In the case of the individual, sometimes it is very complicated to know if the maintenance has been carried out in a timely manner.

8.- Test the car.

Undoubtedly you must try the car. Your investment will accompany you for several years and you must ensure the “shot”. Turn off the radio, turn on the air conditioner if you have it, ask for silence and listen. You should look at the sound of the engine. At idle it sounds “round”, without ups and downs. In motion and at different revolutions, if you appreciate strange noises. Try the steering clearance, the height of the clutch, the hardness or smoothness of the changes … Nothing better than trying a car, not only to know if it is advisable your purchase, but also how you look in it.

9.- The usual mechanic.

If you have a workshop to which you have always taken your car, or on the contrary you have been advised by someone with a good reputation, do not hesitate to ask the seller if you can take it to your workshop. It will always give you a more technical point of view and you will be able to see possible failures that you would not see.

10.- Compare prices.

Just go to the Internet and look at second-hand pages, similar cars. You can check its good price, or if on the contrary they are asking too much based on what they offer.

Here at JB Prestige Euro Automotive Service we take pride in providing the best services for European cars in our area.