Buying a car is a familiar process for most of us. Also, everyone knows that buying a car is a rather troublesome and time-consuming process. And sometimes, this is a real lottery, in which you may only find the real result after a while.
The Internet pages with tips and reviews are full of “terrible” stories about the purchase of used cars: someone previously got a thoroughly “beaten” but well “painted over” car, the other got a car with a much lower indicated mileage than it was in reality …
Of course, when buying a used car, you should be even more careful than buying a new car in a car dealership. Before purchasing, you should find an opportunity to carefully check a used car.
But there are other things to do. When buying a used car, you should have a much better idea of what you are looking for and why you are buying a car. What can you do without, and what vehicle specification do you need, whatever that is?
One thing is clear – we are all always looking for the best possible product at an affordable price. There are situations when not quite the right choice in our life will not change much, but if we make a mistake in choosing a car, we usually pay for it … with money. Yes, and this is not only the amount of the purchase of the car but also the subsequent continuous investment in the repair of the car.
And that’s exactly what we want to avoid, right? What do you need to find out if you want to buy a used car but want to avoid making a mistake? Or it’s better not to take risks and buy a new vehicle.
Key criteria: Do you know what you are looking for?
If you want to buy a used car, but your knowledge about cars and your ability to objectively assess the car’s condition is limited, do not spare a small amount of money and seek professional help. Of course, you can carry out the initial selection process yourself. Like all potential buyers of used cars, to search for a car, you can go to the largest Latvian online sales and purchase platform, ss. Lv. Almost all used car dealers post their offers there, and the offers number in the thousands, so chances are you will get all the benefits.
During the initial screening, you should assess your requirements and needs.
From what year of manufacture will you be looking for a car? Would you like to purchase a vehicle with an automatic or manual transmission? Do you admit the possibility of buying a car that needs diesel fuel? Or is it gasoline? Or autogas?
Do you intend to buy a particular car brand, or maybe you know which car brands you would like to avoid buying? What type of body are you interested in? What size should the car be? What is the maximum mileage acceptable for you? What type of engine is right for you? Do you plan to drive mainly on city streets or outside the city?
Professional assessment of the condition of a used car Ss.lv proposes to select according to all these main criteria, which makes a choice much easier and “screens out” unwanted offers. If you need advice on these selection criteria, you can also contact a professional car mechanic at this stage. However, if you know what you want, select at least 3 to 5 cars according to the criteria you want to “show” to a car mechanic before buying.
If you know the place where “your” people work, whose ability to assess the condition of the car you trust, then it’s clear what to do. But if you need help finding a specialist, ask your friends or acquaintances, or place an ad on the Facebook portal.
People are responsive and willing to share their experiences and contacts. Be patient – read the recommendations and reviews. Evaluate cars and people, which can help you make the right choice. This time will be well-spent.
If you have found a mechanic who can help you, arrange a meeting with the owners of all the cars you have chosen at the first stage, who can bring their cars for a “show” to your specialist. Ask the mechanic to evaluate the car’s condition in context with the descriptions provided by the owners, and ask them the most important questions.
Namely: is this vehicle ready for travel, or do you need to invest additional funds immediately? What and how long will it withstand future operation? Are there any hidden defects? Does anything cause doubts and suspicions? Do not take the time to search – it will justify itself because otherwise, you will waste time and money on repairs.
Purchased and registered car in Latvia
By involving an experienced specialist in choosing a car, you have already done yourself a great favour. But it is not for nothing that they say “measure seven times”, and in the case of purchasing a used car, this can be attributed to the possibility of tracking a car.
Situations, of course, are different, you can get lucky with a used car brought from abroad, but in general, such a deal is much riskier because it is almost impossible to track the fate of a car brought from abroad.
The purchase of a used car from abroad is often associated with situations where the indicated mileage of the car does not correspond to the actual one. Of course, such an assumption should not be taken as a law, but in most transactions with cars that have travelled on the roads of Latvia, the mileage will be less and most likely true.
Ideally, the used car from Latvia that you plan to purchase will have a complete service history and registration information, which can be viewed on the website of the Road Traffic Safety Directorate. If a used vehicle was bought completely new from an official car dealer and repaired in official service, its current condition will be the best, and the data about the car can be trusted.
If, in most cases, the purchase of a cheaper and lower-quality product can be attributed to the expression “the miser pays twice”, then in the case of a used car, this “stingy” will pay much more. Used cars these days can be purchased at unimaginably low prices, starting as little as a couple of hundred euros, but of course, this has clear causes and consequences. Even if it seems that you are in a hopeless situation – a car is necessary, and there are no free funds to purchase it- buying a car for a couple of hundred euros will certainly not be the right decision.
Mostly such cheap offers are connected with the period of technical inspection of the car. This period is approaching, and it is clearer for the car’s owner that it will only pass the inspection with impressive investments. And even if you know that the technical inspection will have to pass after a certain time, the car tracker will most likely require investments before that. If you want to buy a relatively cheap used car, set the bottom bar for your price by at least a couple of thousand euros. In this case, you will likely be able to purchase a car at a respectable age but in fairly good condition.