If you are contemplating whether to finally buy a new set of wheels, chances are quite high that you have checked both brand new cars and second-hand vehicles. When you look at these two options, both of them do give you a few benefits you won’t be able to enjoy when going for the other one. Speaking of used vehicles, the main advantage is that you can buy a great vehicle for a much lower price than that of a comparable brand new offer. Still, there are a few things you should know when buying used vehicles. As you will be buying something that has already been used and driven by somebody else, you really don’t know how the previous owners of that vehicle have treated it. Not all people pay attention to having a regular maintenance schedule, and some don’t even care about caring for their vehicle so that it lasts longer. After all, why bother so much when you will sell car in Canberra after a few months?

Thus, you can never be certain that you will get a great vehicle by just choosing them based on their external appearance. You need to do a thorough inspection of all those vehicles you want to buy to ascertain that they are in a decent condition first. If you are knowledgeable about cars you can do this yourself but if not, consider having your local mechanic help you.

Let’s list a few things to check out whenever you carry out inspections of used cars for sale. Start by checking out the bodywork, simply because it is the one in plain sight. First of all, check whether you can see any visible dents, scratches or things that suggest the vehicle was involved in an accident. After that, check the paintwork to see its state: if it is damaged, you will likely need to repaint the car after buying it, which can cost you quite a lot of money. After that, check for rust, particularly near the wheel arches and at the edges of the bodywork. This last step is extremely important if you are going to buy something older than five years, for a full body overhaul can eat into your budget pretty quickly.

After that, do a quick check-up of the fluid levels to see whether they are at the optimum level. Also, check for any signs of leaks and damaged piping in the engine bay. Once that is over, check the tires to see if they are inflated correctly. Remember that some cars may have been sitting on the lot for quite a long time, so there is a high chance that tires may already be in need of replacing.

If the best car dealer allows it, arrange a test drive to really see how the car drives. This is actually the only way to check issues with electronics, brakes and the engine itself, as you cannot detect such issues just by doing a visual check-up.