Used Car Buyer's Checklist - The Podcast

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto) 01/07/2016 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

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I’ve covered a variety of used car buying issues here and in my podcasts. So, I have created a single podcast where I list all the things you can do to protect yourself when buying a used car. Follow this and the odds of getting ripped off drop significantly.

And here are the items on the checklist (which are detailed in the podcast and video):

Research the car and price: don’t just shop by price and never buy a car without researching known problems with that particular make and model.

Check Carfax (or equivalent), keeping in mind that these are not conclusive.

Run the VIN through NHTSA.gov to see about recalls and TSBs.

Test drive the car as you would drive the car in daily use. Not just around the block at 20 MPH.

Get the vehicle inspected by a mechanic.

Ask to see the title before you agree on a price to make sure the title is clear, clean and that the car is owned by the seller. (And if not, you should at least know that the seller is a curbstoner.)

Understand if the purchase is As-Is and, if it is, budget for the possibility of problems which may arise.

Don’t just do some of these things. Do all of them . As I explain here:

For the audio:

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And the video:

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Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 24 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we’re not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn’t act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 09:17

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>Implying I am a person who would buy cars that run, mechanics are familiar with, and are new enough to have a VIN<

SteveLehto > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/07/2016 at 09:23

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Yes, take those cars for a test push.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 09:27

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I did take the ‘59 Lincoln for a test pull. Some time after I bought it and unstuck 30 years of rust in the brakes, though.

Party-vi > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 09:30

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ZOMG CJ3A!!!

SteveLehto > Party-vi 01/07/2016 at 09:44

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I was going to suggest it as DeMuro’s next car, but it came with no Carmax warranty.

Party-vi > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 09:45

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No warranty necessary. It will absolutely leak oil, the Spicer 18 will absolutely rattle at highway speeds, and you will absolutely have to draft tractor trailers to get anywhere on time.

DrScientist > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 09:58

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the checklist for my two most recent automobile purchase:

1- check there is enough money in paypal account to cover the deposit

2- check there is a “make offer” or “place bid” button

somehow i’ve been lucky.

PartyPooper2012 > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 09:59

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Seems way too complicated. Can’t I just show up to see a car, whip out my $5000 and ask - Is this enough?

SteveLehto > PartyPooper2012 01/07/2016 at 10:04

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For a down payment, yes. Come back with your first-born and we have a deal!

Stevie Welles > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 10:04

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Steve, not really relevant to this post, but I wanted to thank you for suggesting I contact a lawyer regarding a deadbeat dealer that made misleading statements about a car I purchased out of state. Ended up wussing out on actually suing, but did get some settlement cash out of him thanks to the lawyer. Thanks!

SteveLehto > Stevie Welles 01/07/2016 at 10:05

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Very cool. Thanks for the update.

the dude > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/07/2016 at 10:07

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The DMV person was doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out how to title the VIN on my CB750K3.

the dude > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 10:09

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Mephistopheles is my car dealer!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > the dude 01/07/2016 at 10:16

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How hard can it really be? If most cars from before ‘81 don’t have recognizable VINs, you’d think they’d have seen it before. Surprisingly, the answer is often no. My Land Rover is some mash of numbers about 9 long with a “C” on the end, and the Ford and Lincoln have garbly 50s-60s Ford serials, neither as long as a modern VIN.

the dude > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/07/2016 at 10:21

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That's what I wondered. The desk drone had to call in more drone support to figure out the magical combination of letters and numbers to work in the Kansas DMV system. When I went for the antique plates when the bike qualified they didn't care much at that point.

I Will Always Be The Honey Badger > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/07/2016 at 10:25

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Or have the registry office employee stare blankly at me when I insist that not all VINs are 17 digits long.

Porsche was my first word > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 10:31

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Would check the title BEFORE the test drive as well as before paying a mechanic to check. If it’s a salvage/rebuilt car you can think about it if you’re okay with it. If not you can save the money for the mechanic. If you decide it’s okay you can be more aware during the test drive and the mechanic will be more thorouly (if he hadn’t recognized it’s a salvage car anyways. But if not he’s probably no godd mechanic.)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > I Will Always Be The Honey Badger 01/07/2016 at 10:33

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Depending on age of the employee, you can look at them long and pityingly, or just table-flip. If they’re younger than the modern VIN system (‘81), the pity. If they’re older than that (say, in their fifties), they deserve all the spite you can muster.

Jeffro Tull > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 10:38

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Another thing to keep in mind: make sure the vehicle’s title (or registration) is free of typos.

I just bought a car, and the Virginia title only has 16 of the characters in the VIN. Not looking forward to how the New York department of motor vehicles is going to react to that.

Urambo Tauro > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 10:50

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(Hiding the vehicle title) ...that’s kind of like saying “ I’m gonna sell you the car but I won’t let you look in the trunk.” Why wouldn’t I let you look in the trunk? “Just don’t look in the trunk. You either buy the car or you don’t buy the car.” OF COURSE YOU’RE GONNA LOOK IN THE TRUNK!

I love this analogy.

PartyPooper2012 > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 11:14

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I reject your counter offer and offer all my borns.

Whitesmoke > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 11:23

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Very good podcast as usual and well thought out checklist. As opposed to my Used Car Buyer’s Checklist: 1 Don’t. 2. No, really!

SteveLehto > Porsche was my first word 01/07/2016 at 11:30

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Yes, I guess that order makes sense. I had made the list with less thought about order and more thought about inclusiveness.

SteveLehto > Whitesmoke 01/07/2016 at 11:32

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#3 “See #s 1 & 2”

Porsche was my first word > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 11:34

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No worries, we are all better off with your list. Thanks!

Especially the mechanic thing is the big deal, I think. It prevent’s you from making mistakes because you’re in love with the car and want to own as soon as possible.

Enderxenocide23 > Jeffro Tull 01/07/2016 at 11:57

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with extreme prejudice.

Ad_absurdum_per_aspera > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 12:42

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One of the most important things is the window sticker. This one says, “$2100 for a running, seemingly intact and not even very rusty ‘53 Jeep? You’re killin’ me here, Lehto — what’s the area code?”

#mannytranny > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 12:48

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Newish web-centered used car brokers with customer service, document services, mechanical checks, safe payment processing and more are pretty good. My neighbor sold their Prius recently on Driveshift.com and is delighted with the ease and better-than-trade-in price received.

SteveLehto > Ad_absurdum_per_aspera 01/07/2016 at 12:55

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I took that pic a few years ago. But the thing was rough. I walked around it and it didn’t look all that intact (or rust free).

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 14:52

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I’d want to inspect the first-born first. For all you know, partypooper’s first born may look like Quasimodo and stink of shit...

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > the dude 01/07/2016 at 18:27

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Weird, because when I tagged my former ‘65 Volvo 122 in KS, the folks at my treasurer’s office didn’t have any issue with the 5 digit chassis number.

Of course, this was also a pretty rural county, and a car that was in KS from day one, so...

Burn-Spaz1966-Burn > SteveLehto 01/07/2016 at 23:44

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Thank You.

Whitesmoke > SteveLehto 01/08/2016 at 05:17

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#4 - and that is why you have a podcast and I don’t !!

billy-quizboy > SteveLehto 01/08/2016 at 20:14

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I contacted folks for about ten cars, test-drove three cars, was able to sked two of them for inspections, and bought one of them.

About $250 spent on inspections. Soooo worth it. I can’t begin to describe the lack of agita that otherwise would come with having to unexpectedly buy a used car, now, over the holiday season.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > SteveLehto 01/17/2016 at 11:13

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Another great podcast. Listened twice and took notes. I plan on using this in the next 12-18 months.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 01/17/2016 at 17:24

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or 3-4 months if VW buys back our 2013 Jetta EKE. (Environment Killer Edition)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > SteveLehto 02/11/2016 at 15:29

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I’m telling ya Steve, it just really doesn’t seem worth it to buy a car from an individual these days... this innocent guy is out the money he paid for the car.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/02/10/car…

SteveLehto > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 02/11/2016 at 15:33

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I handled a case like that. We sued the seller and won (and collected). But it can be tough if the seller is an individual (or uncollectable).

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > SteveLehto 02/11/2016 at 15:58

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I am personally thinking the premium of buying from a legit dealer is a bit of insurance, not laziness. Suing a dealer is easy. Finding some schlep from 5 years ago off of Craig’s List, not so much.

SteveLehto > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 02/11/2016 at 16:01

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Plus, dealers are bonded. Makes them more collectible to an extent.