Did you know that the average age of a used car is 12.1 years old? The used car market is an element of the motor economy that provides great benefits to many different kinds of people. Buying a used car is very often cheaper than buying a new one, and it even lowers your carbon footprint. The main sentiment that often stops people from buying used cars is the idea that you’re buying someone else’s problems. However, you can overcome this hurdle simply by doing a good pre-purchase inspection.
Learn more about the benefits of doing a pre-purchase inspection by reading the rest of this article.
What Happens in a Pre-Purchase Inspection
A pre-purchase car inspection is a lot more thorough than the pre-drive checks a person does before taking a long trip. The inspection can last between 45 minutes and 2 hours, during which the technicians will run through a checklist with as many as 200 items on it.
The inspection will start with a test drive, followed by checking the monitors, any computers that feed into displays, dashboard lights, and the gauges. The inspector will then look at the electrical systems, the exhaust, the radiator, the engine, and the HVAC unit. They finish by checking breaks, fluids, window condition, the steering system, and the suspension.
Different dealerships and mechanics may have different ways of going through an inspection, but in the end, every nook and cranny in the car gets looked at.
Safety Benefits of a Pre-Purchase Inspection
Many people view their cars almost as extensions of their own families. When you’re trusting the machine to get you to work and back safely or with the lives of your spouse, children, and friends, your primary concern has to be the safety of a vehicle before anything else. Cars are complex machines with many parts that have to be in sync for them to work safely.
When you have a pre-purchase inspection done on a vehicle before making your final decision, you’ll assuredly pick up any safety hazards. These can be as minor as a weak windshield or as dire as a broken radiator, busted seatbelts, or damaged brakes or drivetrain.
An inspection will reveal if a car has been in an accident before. This is important information because cars that have been repaired after accidents sometimes have underlying weaknesses in their chassis, engines, and also in other parts. A good inspection can even reveal if a used car salesman is trying to sneak a recalled vehicle past you for a quick sale.
Once you know what a car’s potential issues are, you can forego the purchase or choose to fix it up.
Economic Benefits of a Pre-Purchase Inspection
Though safety is the most important reason to do an inspection before buying a car, a pre-purchase inspection can also have a plethora of economic benefits. The first of which is that you know exactly what you’re getting.
You’ll be able to decide whether or not the car and any possible problems are really worth the price the seller is asking for. If you ask a dealership if you can do a pre-purchase inspection and they decline, it also tells you that something is terribly wrong with the cars that dealership pedals.
Sometimes knowing exactly what’s wrong with a car will allow you to negotiate for a lower price with a cooperative seller. Many pre-purchase inspection reports give you a ballpark estimate of the car’s true resale value. With this in hand, you will have the upper hand in the negotiation as long as the seller is trying to quote for a higher price.
This quoted resale value can also potentially lower the insurance payments you’ll be making on the car. If the car’s market value is lower than expected, you won’t have to insure it for as much.
Spotting potential problems also let you know where future repairs will be needed. This means you can either prepare to fix them when they get out of hand or spend a little more money with your purchase and repair those key areas.
It’s often the case that repairing a potential problem in the present works out much cheaper than fixing a mechanical failure once it’s happened. Remember that this doesn’t just apply to the car; you will also not be risking medical bills or even worse eventualities that come from car crashes.
Handiness Benefits of a Pre-Purchase Inspection
Pre-purchase inspections also set used car buyers up for a lot of convenience in the future. After the inspection, the inspector has a deep understanding of everything that may be an issue going forward.
If you then buy the car, you can immediately take it to him or his workshop. The mechanics and technicians then don’t have to waste time running diagnostics to find out what to fix.
After the inspection or subsequent repair job, the mechanic will often give you advice on what to do next and how to drive so that you don’t make any underlying issues worse. This is especially useful to first-time car buyers and owners of slightly older and more beat-up vehicles.
Get Yourself a Great Deal on a Used Car Today
When buying a used car, it’s very important for a person to have a pre-purchase inspection done. It’s a small extra cost in the grand scheme of buying a car that comes with a ton of upsides.
You’ll be completely aware of your car’s safety and quality. This doesn’t only give you peace of mind, but it can also translate into many different kinds of savings and economic benefits. It also ends up being more convenient in the long run.
Are you ready to buy a used car? Browse today to find a used car dealership that will give you the best deal on your dream car and don’t forget your pre-purchase inspection.
