It can be said that “everyone drives a used car”. Once your new car tires hit the pavement and roll out with plates out of the new car dealership your car, truck or SUV suffers great depreciation in value. After all “someone” ( meaning you in this case) has to pay for the beautiful new automotive dealership , the lot and building and overhead never mind to mention taxes of all types and labor costs to that business that sold you the vehicle.
In life no one is right or wrong so to speak. It’s all a matter of perspective, personal needs and experiences - good and bad to the greatest degree and degrees. What those of the new car only buyer group fail to take into account and appreciate is that their own vehicle is “used’ the very second they drive out of the new car dealership sales lot. The rough estimate is that once the car is registered with its VIN number on the books (in these days the state or provincial government auto registration system) that virtually 30 % of the value of the car or truck (as a rough give or take guide) disappears into “thin air”.
On the other side of the highway, buying a used car means that you don’t have the “pleasure: of dealing with new car salespeople. Your options are actually much greater. There are myriads of people selling used cars privately. You can look in your local newspapers; you can check classified ads online for free on such services as Craigslist, Kijii or other local or national listing services. If you are willing to travel and be adventurous you can even expand your geographic horizons with national - even international services such as eBay which cover the US and Canada in one swoop. Financing can be at your local bank or credit union if need be. Just with private sellers alone you will generally have more choice than in dealing with a handful of dealers in your local area. In addition both new car and used car dealers offer used cars for sale. In some cases it’s a matter of more stock and variety in one setting so that you don’t have to drive around great distances. In other cases people feel better and more comfortable dealing with a solid company with recourse than a private person who may take little responsibility for events after the sale. With a real firm, they are licensed, they are in the trade so that if the car or truck has issues these should have been diagnosed and taken care ahead of you signing on the bottom line accepting the legal contractual agreement - binding to both parties.
Just what can you expect in an online vehicle report? First of all to explain the information (data) on your car is provided via a cross reference to the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) which is essence a serial number assigned to that particular unit since new. Each and every owner or change of ownership is tracked via this data. Attached to those changes of ownership should be addresses, perhaps phone numbers and mileage at that point in time. Traffic accidents and worse will be recorded as well as part of the process. If the car was in a very substantial accident and “written off” as salvage - and somehow returned to roadworthy condition (or at least the part attached to the VIN) this will be part of the report as well. Just one note - take into account practicalities of life. A computer report is a wonderful tool. Yet it is possible that owner’s may have had misfortunes in the auto’s life and done repairs under the table so that they do not appear on the roster. It’s always a possibility. So be wary of this. Stranger things have happened. The reports are valuable, one stop shopping pieces of information - however still use your practical judgment and skills of perception. Remember the other person is there to sell you the car. Once the contract is signed and the transaction of cash payment occurs for the most part you are on your own.
In that vein even if the car or truck appears as the best choice in the world, don’t become emotionally involved. The attitude should be that “there are plenty of other fish / vehicles in the ocean / dealer lots and online classified sites. Always insist that a reliable third party competent mechanic does a thorough once over on your “new “vehicle purchase.
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