USA : Buying Car

Buying used car in USA :

There are several points you want to be aware of while buying a used car.

1)Get the car checked/inspected from a professional mechanic.
At http://www.pepboys.com or Midas http://www.midas.com 

For e.g. Pepboys has a 100 point inspection plan for around 50$. Its good value. They check the car for any previous damages (hidden problems - which are not visible to you externally).
Check the engine, tranmisssion brakes, a/c systems, etc.

You can even get car checked at specific Car showrooms, for eg., Toyota, Nissan.

2)You can compare the price of the used car by looking at the KBB value online at http://www.kbb.com or at http://www.edmunds.com.

3) Get the VIN# of the car and should see the CarFax report at http://www.carfax.com - $35 per month. It provides information about the Accident history of the car if there are any and the no.of owners for the car. (Try to buy a car which is owned by a single person)

Before taking the membership at CarFax try to see if anybody is selling the carfax at Sulekha. Usually they sell a single carfax report for 1$/ 3$.

4)If possible try to avoid buying car from dealers. Buying cars from dealer will be more expensive. Also the amount of tax you have to pay will be higher. 

The best site to search for used cars is http://www.craigslist.org/.

5)http://www.sulekha.com is a good resource.

6) When you are buying a used car from a private party, do ask the person if they personally own the car. Many times there are people who sell the car on behalf of the real owner. To be sure before you finalize the price, ask the seller to show the Title Document, or atleast a copy of the Title Document (and also the driver's license of the seller). This way you will be sure that the seller of the car is the actual owner. In case the person you are dealing with for the car is not the actual owner, insist on paying by check. In the worst case what could have happened is that the car may be a stolen car & the title transfer document may have been forged. 

7) The actual Title Transfer Document should not have any cancellation marks (just like a check). 

8) Last but not the least, prefer a Japanese brand car, such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc, as they provide better mileage and less wear & tear over years. Also, it would give better returns, when you sell it.