You’ve probably seen dozens of ads about cars for sale over the years. You’ve probably also read about the benefits and the dangers of purchasing a used vehicle. If you are on the market for a used car, you need all the advice and tips you can get. Truth be told, you can buy a car in mint condition for a very fair price in just a couple days if you know what to look for. But there are also some risks involved. Fortunately, you can easily minimize these risks by taking the right decisions. Let’s talk about some of the main points of buying a pre-owned vehicle.

Are Used Cars Reliable?

But is a used car reliable? How much will it cost me to maintain it? This is the first thing that comes to mind when you are thinking about buying a pre-owned vehicle. If you are worried that a used car may not be reliable, don’t forget about the fact that most car manufacturers issue periodic recalls for some of their vehicles due to design flaws. Is a new car more reliable than a used car? It depends, really.

Modern engines are very reliable. They are designed to work for more than 100,000 miles without any major problems and with minimal maintenance costs. Of course, this is true only for cars that have been maintained correctly. Service intervals are very important, and so is the quality of the parts, oils and filters used during the maintenance procedures. A car that has been serviced regularly using quality parts, filters and oils will be in perfect working order even after 100,000 miles.

When you are buying a new vehicle, you are covered by the warranty for three to five years after the date of purchase. The manufacturer will pay for any repairs in case the vehicle breaks down due to a design flaw or defect. On average, 8 out of 10 cars don’t require any major repairs while under warranty, if they have been services regularly. In other words, these 8 cars will most likely continue to serve their new owners well for several more years before they start having problems.

What Are CPO Vehicles?

For your peace of mind, you can search for CPO vehicles. CPO stands for Certified Pre-Owned and it means you can trust that the vehicle really is in perfect working condition. CPO cars are usually late-model and are thoroughly inspected and refurbished before receiving the certification. Chances of you having major problems with such a car in one or two years are very slim. Another important benefit of CPO cars is that they come with warranty. The seller certifies that the car is in mint mechanical condition and will back this claim with a warranty (12 months in most cases).

What Are the Risks?

If you are not buying a CPO vehicle, you need to take some risks into consideration. The car may have some hidden problems. The seller may have lied about the history and the service intervals. In some cases, the odometer may have been rolled back. The good news is that you can easily minimize all of these risks by carefully choosing where you buy the car from. Private sellers have plenty of cars for sale – and these cars are cheaper than used car dealership vehicles in most cases. However, dealing with an established, trustworthy dealership is safer.

You are safer dealing with a large company than dealing with a stranger. Of course, we won’t deny that most private sellers are trustworthy. However, the chances of getting scammed are higher than when buying a used car from a dealership. And let’s not forget that most dealerships inspect the vehicles they purchase before putting them up for sale.

Doing Your Homework

To make sure you buy a reliable car that has been well maintained, you just need to do your homework. We advise you to find the most reliable car dealers in your area. It’s a very good idea to check each dealer online. Over 95% of these dealers have websites and most of them have dozens of reviews left by people who bought cars from them. If the majority of reviews are positive, it means the dealer is professional and offers value for money. The first thing people who feel like they have been scammed do is go online and leave a negative review about the company. If you find many such reviews about a dealer, just steer clear of that company.