What are things that you look for when buying a new or pre-owned vehicle ?

When buying a new or pre-owned vehicle what are some of the things you look for to help you make that final decision (other than does it work and gets you from point A to point B)?

Okay people,I am not out of my mind,this has worked for me forever


Used car
First thing I do is turn on the radio,if it is on a hard rock station,I get out and close the door

Country station or classical music,I figure a teenager has not owned it.

Cigarette lighter needs to work if it doesn't I walk away

When I bought my toyota I turned on the raido first,yep country,next cigarette lighter,Yep

Now I am ready to take it for a test drive,well hell,it belonged to a cop and he has it souped up,I love my toyota and if I want to get out and go that is what I will drive.


New car? Never have bothered with one,what for? Most of them are more expensive than my house and I really can't justify that

Never bought new, so wouldn't know.

Used....I check the mileage, look for rust starting (bottom of the doors, trunk lid, wheel wells), relatively clean engine, check the oil to see if it's fairly clean. There's so much to look for when buying used.

I like hard rock stations, and I treat my car like an extra child. I do understand the fear though.

cleanliness and mileage for one. If it has too many km's forget it. The age of the vehicle. I guess the age and mileage are the biggest for me. And if the vehicle has ever been in an accident or even a fender bender, I want to know.

Make of vehicle (ie. Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda, etc...). There are certain Makes that I just won't bother looking at.
Year of the vehicle.
Mileage (even if new, I want to know how many times approximately the car may have been test driven or moved around on the lot).
If use has been in any accidents.
Do the tires look new or worn for a pre-owned vehicle.
For a new vehicle does it have any scratches on the paint.
For a new vehicle is the material of the carpeting and seats of a good quality.
Do the car seats feel comfortable sitting in them if you were to go on a long drive.
Does the vehicle have 4WD (the amount of driving I do in the winter, this is a must).
The interest rate the dealership is offering to finance the vehicle.
Are there any odd noises with the vehicle (new or pre-owned) during the test drive.
Is the dealership offering me a fair trade-in value for my current vehicle (the Canadian blackbook can give you an estimate if you are getting a fair offer).
Does the vehicle have air conditioning. Only because I do a lot of driving in the summer.
What the reviews from different Google searches of people who own that particular Make and Model of vehicle that I'm intersted in purchasing.

How pretty is the car? Plus everything BBE said lol

I'm not too concerned about tires because a lot of times you can talk them into throwing in some new tires if you are getting the car from the dealership. I always buy used from a dealership and always get extra warranty. I have talked them into throwing all kind of stuff in bug deflectors on the hood and those wind deflectors over the side windows. I bought my car almosr 2 years ago and one model I was looking at had heated seats but more KMs soooo I asked them to put heated seats in the one with less KMs and they agreed!

Mousey, I never have that kind of luck.

BigBrownEyes29 wrote:

Mousey, I never have that kind of luck.