My Used Car Buying Guide

One thing people frequently ask me about is advice on buying a used car. I would like to think it is in part because I know a lot about vehicles and also it doesn't hurt that I have bought good used vehicles. Below is what I do when buying a vehicle and what I look at.

1. Don't plan on buying a specific vehicle and then try to find one that you can afford instead figure out what you want to spend and then find the best vehicle that meets your needs in that price range. This opens up a larger selection of vehicles and when you get it narrowed down to a few you like then you can pick the one you want based off of model or type. Almost always I have a few choices and personally I have a preference for BMWs so once narrowed down to a few choices I tend to pick those.
2. Have realistic expectations for your price range. The general rules I follow for what to expect from a vehicle are:
1. $500 or less - If it moves under it's own power it is a good deal
2. $500-$1,000 - Decent engine, decent transmission (still not great) but expect a lot of other issues some may be major
3. $1,000-5,000 - Good engine and transmission, expect a number of minor issues but there shouldn't be any major issues
4. 5,000-10,000 - There should only be minor issues, no major ones. Mileage should be around the average of 12,000 per year. Reasonably new vehicle.
5. More than $10,000 - It should run great, no major issues, few if any minor issues, mileage should be around the average of 12,000 per year.  Reasonably new vehicle.
3. Find out what you need. Too many times to I see people buy cars they don't like because they thought they wanted/needed something else. If you just need to transport people and have never driven a truck or SUV then don't buy a SUV to haul people around because you probably won't like how it drives (this happened to my sister). 
4. See what is available. Go get a news paper or better yet go online and use sites like carsoup.com, cars.com, autotrader.com, or any number of other vehicle sites. Select the style of vehicle you are interested in, set your price range (be reasonable), and set your search area. Now you have a list of potential vehicles so start deciding what ones might be worth going to see.
5. Determining the actual cost of a vehicle. Private sellers have a tendency to either undervalue or over value their vehicles while dealerships will generally be more correct. Good sources for info on this would be sites like kbb.com or nadaguides.com as these can give you a ballpark idea of what a vehicle should cost. Remember just because someone else paid too much or threw too much money into a vehicle doesn't mean you have to. Why should you care what they paid or how much they spent on fixing it.
6. You should now have narrowed down the vehicles to a few that would be worth going to see and drive. The inspection and test drive are probably the greatest indicators of quality. I check the following:
1. The dipstick - It shouldn't be varnished or covered in soot, also the oil level should be correct
2. The oil - If they haven't just changed it it shouldn't smell burned and defiantly should never have metal shavings in it
3. The coolant - shouldn't have any oil film on top, if you have a coolant gravity tester check the quality
4. Check the fuel filter - If it looks cleaner than the rest of parts around it it has been changed
5. squeeze the hoses - they should be somewhat firm and shouldn't show surface cracks
6. Check the automatic transmission fluid - It should be at the proper level and bright red and shouldn't smell burned
7. drive the car - Take it out on the highway and when going down the on ramp run it through its paces hard. Problems will show up first at the extremes any noises, misses, hesitation or other abnormal things are an indicator of problems as are long or incompetent shifts in an automatic transmission. 
8. take it into a parking lot and do a couple of tight circles listen for creaks, squeals, grinding noises, or clunks.
9. Check the power steering fluid - If it uses regular power steering fluid it should be clear, if it uses ATF it should be bright red
10. On a manual see that it shifts smoothly and that the clutch holds when accelerating hard
11. Make sure that the car drives straight.
12. when going over bumps listen for clunks or other noise from the suspension.
13. make sure that all 4 tires match
14. check for even tread wear
15. Find out common problems on the vehicle you are looking to buy and check for those as well
16. Check in the wheel wells and door seams for signs of rust
17. If you are really motivated and buying form a dealership see if you can get them to put the car up on the lift and check it out. I have only managed to get one dealership to do this and that was the one where I bought my current BMW from. Here you can check a lot of the suspension and drive train stuff like axles, suspension, wheel bearings, tie rods, drive shaft, and a bunch of other stuff 
18. Turn the steering wheel to see if there is excessive play in the suspension, then turn it to the extremes to make sure that the power steering pump isn't making tons of noise. It will make some but shouldn't get really loud
19. If you don't want to do this get a mechanic you know to check it out, there is a charge for this but it will give you piece of mind.
7. Never buy the vehicle the day you first look at it. Go home find out specific things to look at more closely, and common problems. Sleep on it and then go checkout the vehicle again and take it for another test drive. If you still like it then buy it, otherwise walk away.

I have used this method for every vehicle I have ever owned and haven't been let down, even with the beater vehicles I have bought that were well under $500.

Morrie's Kia Sucks, Buy Pissed Off

I have been meaning to do this post for a while so here it goes. Last summer I purchased my 96 Jeep Cherokee. I bought it from Morrie's Kia which is right near my work. For those of you who don't know they have the "Buy Happy Promises". I only decided to go in there since ti was next to my work and thought since it was so close it would be worth checking out the very high mileage Jeep Cherokee they had (it was purchased with 368,XXX mile on it) so I had some base line to judge other Jeeps against. The vehicle was in their public before wholesale lot, so if someone didn't buy it they were going to send it off to the scrap yard basically, so I was told up front that it wasn't covered by lots of the benefits like lifetime oil changes or their warranty. Ok so that isn't a problem. My beef is with their crummy customer service and their supposed no pressure sales people. So here is how it went:

On my lunch break I decide to stop over and check out the 1996 Jeep Cherokee that has 368,XXX miles and the manual transmission. I went in and started talking to one of the sales guys about it and he mentioned that it was a good runner. Ok so normal BS from a sales person who probably doesn't know much about the internals of vehicles or what to look for. He goes and gets the keys and takes me out to it. It has some rust but nothing too bad, I go through my usual checks and so far so good. We go and start it up and the engine sounds good and it isn't smoking. We go and take it out for a test drive and it seems like it only has a few minor issues (2 of the wheels were out of balance). While talking on the test drive I state several times that I am not buying today and will be taking at least a day to decide. The test drive ends and he takes me back in to do some paper work. It turns out that the stupid sales person doesn't understand what I am not buying it today means and I need to restate it to him.

That night I went home and asked my one of my next door neighbors about what to look for on old Jeeps with the inline 6 4.0L engine as well a a guy down the street who has a Jeep Cherokee as well as an old CJ-5 or CJ-7 Jeep for off roading to gather more info on what to look for as well as checking the internet for common issues.

The next day over my lunch armed with my new knowledge and some simple tools and a flash light I go back to Morrie's Kia to have another look at the Jeep to see if it has any of the potential problems and take it for a second test drive to see if I am still as impressed with its performance. It checks out good no major issues and I still like it. We go inside and I don't have my check book so but can put a deposit on it ($100) so they will hold it until I can get a check to them for an additional $900 down (total down $1,000) and in 7-10 days I would bring in the difference as I would need to pull some money out of investments I do the paper work and and wander off thinking that everything is good

Day 3 I go in with my $900 check and the idiot sales person and used car sales manager gets uppidy with me because apparently they were too stupid to understand what I will be in tomorrow with a check for $900 means as they thought I was going to bring it in that night when I had told the sales person that I was going to bring it in the next day since I live in Apple Valley and it takes at least half an hour to get out there yet I work 2 minutes from the dealership. The used car sales manager also starts demanding the remaining $1000 or so (I think it was $995 or something stupid like that) because he doesn't understand what 7-10 day means either. For the record the money was coming from selling some of my company stock which is traded on the German Stock Exchange and was held in a Swiss account so it takes a bit to actually sell the stock get the money into the Swiss bank account and then get it transferred into my US account. No I am not dodging US taxes I paid my capital gains tax on it and have the 1099-b form to prove it. So I reexplain it to him that I will have the difference to him in 7-10 days.

2 days later I get a call from them wondering when I am going to pick up the car because they want it off the lot. Now I scramble to get things sorted out as the only place I have that kind of money available is on my credit card so the next day I go in with my card and put the difference on it. The used car manager thought that I was going to come in the day after I put down the previous $900 because he really was too stupid to realize what 7-10 days means. I then get a sob story about how then need to close their books for the month, guess what that isn't my effing my problem and I don't give a crap about your book keeping. I never took the car off the lot even though I had over 50% down on the stupid thing which is more than probably most of their customers have who get those stupid 0% interest rates. My 3 year old son seems to have a better grasp of time than these people do.

So in summary they don't have "no pressure sales people and they also don't seem to understand basic English. I would never buy a vehicle from Morrie's Kia again after that experience. I know that sales people are worthless when it comes to telling you about cars but the incompetence there just runs rampant. How hard is to to understand simple concepts like:

• I am not going to buy the vehicle today
• I can bring you a check for $900 tomorrow
• I will bring you the difference in 7-10 days but I am not taking delivery of the vehicle until then.
• Good customer service
• What no pressure sales people actually means

When compared to the previous time I bought a vehicle from a dealership this was downright awful. The previous time was when I bought my BMW 540i from Sears Import autos (the BMW side is now BMW of Minnetonka) where everything was smooth as silk I went in with a car in mind saw it, drove it (the sales guy let me take it unsupervised) told him I was interested and would be back the next day to look at it again and I would make my decision then so he held it for free. I went in the next day checked it out with more knowledge drove it again unsupervised and told him I wanted to purchase it. There again I needed to get some money so it would be a few days so we went and did up the contract and because it was such a short amount of time I drove it off the lot that day with nothing down even though that vehicle cost 5 times as much as the Jeep. Three days later I brought in the cashiers check after getting money and handed it off to the sales person (John Buyer) and was done. That is how car sales should work. I still have to stop into BMW of Minnetonka if I need a part today and they give great service and will wash my car for free and even shine up your shoes (boots in my case). Night and day difference in the quality of service.

If you are Morrie's Kia don't bother contacting me I won't set foot in your dealership ever again and won't respond to you if you try to comment. If you post  I will just delete your posts. Also if you try to sue me for slander or defamation for this post remember the truth is a defense. Your service sucks Morie's Kia, "buy pissed off".

That New Used Car

As I have never purchased a new vehicle only used I always make sure to do some basic maintenance for worry free operation. Recently I purchased a new to me 1996 Jeep Cherokee with the 4.0L inline six and 5 speed manual to replace my failing 1988 Bronco II. This is really a high mileage vehicle with 368,XXX on it and it actually runs really well. As I would like to keep it running as such I need to take care of it. Also by doing this maintenance I can get an idea of the care the previous owner took of the vehicle.

So what are the things I do to a used vehicle when purchased. It is basically fluids, filters, and depending on mileage spark plugs and wires as well.

1. Engine oil and filter service - First thing is first check the oil level, it should be in the normal fill range, if not the engine might have an excessive leak or be burning oil. Then check to see that it is in the normal range of color (light clean tan to darker brown indicating it is time for a change) if it is really black they may not have changed the oil as regularly as they should have. If it is milky then there is either a head gasket leak that is causing coolant to leak into the oil or there is a plugged PCV valve/system. If you have milky oil hope it is just a plugged PCV valve otherwise return the vehicle if they didn't tell you it had a bad head gasket or valley pan gasket (not all vehicles have a valley pan). At this point I have all the info I can gather from the oil so I just do my normal oil and filter service even if the oil is reasonably fresh. This enables me to know exactly when the oil was changed and if there were any deposits you just flushed them out.
2. Transmission fluid and filter if automatic - Most people neglect their transmission especially automatics. Here I check the level to ensure there isn't a leak and then change it. If it is an automatic you should change the filter as well and clean out the pan to remove any filings that are in there. Manual transmission don't have a filter but when changing fluids always open the fill plug before opening the drain plug (this is a common theme). You do this to ensure that you can refill the thing before you empty out all the fluid. If I can't get a plug out (I have only had this happen once) I am willing to make it someone else's problem as a fluid change isn't that expensive on a manual transmission or differentials. Once they crack it open it will be easy the next time you want to do it and you won't have to pay someone else to do it this time. Fresh fluid and filter will greatly extend the life of an automatic transmission.
3. Coolant - Here I check the level and also check to see if there is any oil in it. Once done I drain it and fill it back up with a 50/50 mix of distilled water and antifreeze. If you have oil in your coolant then you might have a blown head gasket or bad valley pan gasket. Use distilled water it doesn't have all the minerals that tap water has in it that can cause corrosion and lime scale build up and will extend the life of your cooling system.
4. Transfer case fluid - check the level to ensure that it doesn't leak and then drain and refill. Again here always open the fill plug before opening the drain plug since you don't want to drain it and then not be able to refill it.
5. Differential fluid - Again here check the level before draining and refilling to ensure that there isn't a leak. When changing it always remove the fill plug before removing the cover or drain plug to ensure you can actually refill it. Once the cover is off clean up the interior of the differential using paper towels to wipe out any material and remaining oil you can. You will need to scrape off any gasket material that may still be stuck to the differential or the cover. The nice thing is if they have been using different color RTV gasket material you can tell how many times it has been changed. It appears on my Jeep it has been done at least 2 times as there wasn't the factory paper gasket (this is all Jeep used) and there was some old orange RTV gasket material and newer gray RTV gasket material. Also you can check for excessive wear marks or scoring on the gears.
6. Fuel filter - Who knows when this was last changed and they are cheep.
7. Air filter - Even if it looks clean these are cheep and easy to do so might as well
8. PCV valve - Again here it is cheep and really easy to change
9. Spark plugs and wires - With 368,??? on the Jeep the $12 in plugs and $14 for wires seemed reasonable. This also gives you a great insight into what is going on inside the engine and how it is running if you want to read your spark plugs (not my site but this diagram is a common one and is correct). Also since this Jeep still has a distributor I also changed the cap and rotor as they looked to be the factory originals and I didn't want to get stuck for the $11 it cost for new ones. It is cheap insurance and you are already working in that area of the vehicle.
10. Power steering fluid - This also seems to be a neglected fluid much like transmission fluid is. I always do a partial exchange when changing oil so might as well get some clean fresh fluid in there. Just use a fluid transfer pump to empty the reservoir and refill with clean fresh fluid. You probably only change out 1/3 to 1/2 of the fluid but do this a few times and you will be near all new fluid in your power steering system.

Additionally I give the vehicle a good once over checking all the belts and hoses to ensure that they aren't in need of replacing if you find one that needs replacing do it now not later, road side repairs suck and tows are expensive. Also at this point I will convert a vehicle to fully synthetic fluids for all their added benefits. Now that most things have been done and you know when they have been done you can just follow a regular maintenance schedule and hopefully have years of worry free operation.