Your used car dealer is there to help you through the process of buying a used car. Make sure that you take advantage of that fact and ask about anything you’d like to know before you sign on the dotted line.
Here are some of the questions you should ask your used car dealer:
- If the car is certified, is it certified by the manufacturer? If so, is the mechanic’s inspection record available to look at? Make sure you look carefully at any third-party certification claims.
- What is the vehicle’s maintenance history? Ask if maintenance records are available for the vehicle. You should also ask what kinds of service the dealership has done with the vehicle.
- What is the vehicle’s overall history? Ask the used car dealer if they can provide a used vehicle history report so that you can be sure that the vehicle hasn’t been through a flood or a catastrophic accident.
- What is the dealer’s return policy? While no dealership is likely to give you your money back, a good dealership will stand behind their vehicles and offer you a vehicle of equivalent value within a certain amount of time.
- Does the dealer take trade-ins? If the dealer is able to take your old vehicle and apply its value to your new one, it can save you a lot of time, trouble and headache.