Home | List of Articles | Submit an Article | Contact Us

Consumer Tips: How To Buy A Used Car Privately

(NC)-Many people buy cars privately rather than through dealers. You can often save money going this route, however, keep in mind that if you have problems with the vehicle it may be difficult, if not impossible, to get any assistance or compensation from the vendor. Here are some more tips on how to get the best deal when buying a used car:

It's "buyer-beware" when purchasing a used car, so, be sure to take it to your mechanic for an inspection before handing over any money. If he (or she) finds the vehicle unsafe and/or in need of repairs, determine who will pay for them beforehand and include this in your written purchase agreement.

Check for liens against the vehicle. A lien means that money is owed on the vehicle and although the vendor is in possession of the vehicle, its legal claim belongs to someone else, such as a bank. If you buy a vehicle with a lien against it, you might be held responsible for future payment. Legislation differs across jurisdictions on the consequences of buying a vehicle with a lien. It is possible that the new owner may be required to pay the money owed or alternately you may risk having the vehicle seized. Contact your provincial or territorial office of consumer affairs for information specific to your jurisdiction or to find the organization in your jurisdiction responsible for conducting lien checks.

Ensure that the person you buy the car from is its registered owner. Remember to ask for repair bills and maintenance records.

If you decide to buy a vehicle from a private seller understand that he or she could be in the business of reselling poor-quality, stolen and/or rebuilt vehicles. Some of these people, frequently referred to as "curbers" or "curbsiders," may be involved with any number of other scams, such as tampering with the odometer or selling vehicles with liens against them.

The risk of curbsider scams makes it especially important that you get the used vehicle checked by a mechanic. You may want to question a mechanic you know and trust to see if the odometer has been rolled back. They can often tell by comparing wear and tear with the odometer reading.

Remember that you don't have the right to change your mind after a sale such as this. If you have problems with the vehicle it will most likely be impossible to get any assistance or compensation from the vendor. Litigation may be your only option.

As with any large ticket purchase, there's a lot to know in order to get the deal that's right for you. The sources of information about buying cars are limitless. It can be quite frustrating, and time consuming to get what you need. Until now that is. Thanks to a new Web site (ConsumerInformation.ca) created by federal, provincial, territorial governments and their partners, Canadians now have easy access to hundreds of objective, reliable, current consumer information sources.

About The Author

News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.

News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.

This article was posted on May 10, 2003

Related Articles:

Site Selection - Slice of Life, A Car Wash and Detail Center DownTown - There is a continual trend we are seeing which I can remember participating in over a decade ago, when cities were trying to figure out how to increase sales tax revenues when the large box stores outside of town came into nearby or surrounding areas. For instance a big and easy example would be Wal-Mart. Sam was smart and built his stores just ...

Adding Express Detailing Services to Your Already Successful Car Wash or Automotive Business - Express Detailing is a term, which has been marketed and inevitably defined by fixed site car washes in their attempt to increase average per ticket transactions. By using express detailing as an "add-on" service for between $35.00-$60.00 they are able to up sell a $4.99 exterior wash direct mail coupon that a customer brings in to a $40.00- 70. ...

How I Bought Exactly the Car I Wanted Using Just the Phone and the Internet - In 2002, the lease was up on my current car, so I decided it was time to get a new one. Like most people, I generally don’t like going to a car dealership to buy a car. At the beginning of my career, I worked for 6 months as a car sales person so I knew exactly what would happen if I went to the car dealership: The sales person would “asse ...

Selling Your Car - Tips on Taking the Phone Calls - Appointments - How to take the phone calls Now that you have advertised you should soon start to get some calls as soon as your ad hits the media. It’s not just a matter of making a time to see the car. This is a turning point and where you start to locate your buyer. A lot of the time I can tell that the person is going ...

Flashy Car Rims – Is It Just A Guy Thing? - Wheel Tips For The Female Of The Species Too If you browse the internet ads for tires and wheels, it seems like flashy car rims is a guy thing. The websites are geared to a masculine point of view. Some websites feature sound and videos that include a pounding rap beat backed up by a view of “shiny things.” Most websites feature Charl ...

Image is Everything - Secrets to Cleaning Car Fleets - A recent survey indicated that clean Taxi Cabs Fleets have higher tip rates and repeat customers. How do you wash a taxicab? You do them four at a time and you go up and over and up and over when you are drying them. If they have a little taxi cab sign, dry that last. But you do the rest of the car the way you do a regular car. The only differen ...

For a Complete list of Articles with summaries Click Here