Buying a used car : 3 things to look out for (car brahs GTFIH)

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Please help a bro out, since I don't know anything about cars.

I want to buy it second-hand but still pretty new, say, 20,000 Km (12,000 miles) mileage.

Could you name 3 things (to keep it simple) that I should absolutely watch out for / make sure of ?

The only thing I know of is to avoid test drivers and former rental cars.

Other than that I have no clue what can be identifiable on a car that new.

BTW : I have already chosen the model : VW Golf VII Diesel. Can't go wrong with that in Germany where I live.
 
-Make sure it has a clean title history. No salvage cars.
-Try to get service records
-20k is very low miles. Take it for a good long test drive. Try all the components. Hard braking, quick lane changes, alignment. Give it a good workout.

Are you buying private or dealer?
 
Please help a bro out, since I don't know anything about cars.

I want to buy it second-hand but still pretty new, say, 20,000 Km (12,000 miles) mileage.

Could you name 3 things (to keep it simple) that I should absolutely watch out for / make sure of ?

The only thing I know of is to avoid test drivers and former rental cars.

Other than that I have no clue what can be identifiable on a car that new.

BTW : I have already chosen the model : VW Golf VII Diesel. Can't go wrong with that in Germany where I live.

FYI, former rental cars are actually not that bad. The reason for this is that most rental companies do all the required maintenance at the proper intervals for their fleet of vehicles.
 
-Make sure it has a clean title history. No salvage cars.
-Try to get service records
-20k is very low miles. Take it for a good long test drive. Try all the components. Hard braking, quick lane changes, alignment. Give it a good workout.

Are you buying private or dealer?

Thanks. That's on my priority list. I will be buying from a dealer (a major one).
 
Please help a bro out, since I don't know anything about cars.

I want to buy it second-hand but still pretty new, say, 20,000 Km (12,000 miles) mileage.

Could you name 3 things (to keep it simple) that I should absolutely watch out for / make sure of ?

The only thing I know of is to avoid test drivers and former rental cars.

Other than that I have no clue what can be identifiable on a car that new.

BTW : I have already chosen the model : VW Golf VII Diesel. Can't go wrong with that in Germany where I live.

Do they even allow the Volkswagen Diesels on the road after they cheated the emissions tests?
 
FYI, former rental cars are actually not that bad. The reason for this is that most rental companies do all the required maintenance at the proper intervals for their fleet of vehicles.

I am not so sure about that, m8.

Many people can't drive for shit so you are sure to have had a bunch of incompetent drivers in the drivers' history. These people will mess up the clutch and gears.

On top of that people give no shit about a rental and will bang the wheels against sidewalks while parking it, slam doors when they are pissed, etc.

I know I am very negligent with rental cars, especially when I am pissed off at the rental company.
 
Do they even allow the Volkswagen Diesels on the road after they cheated the emissions tests?

It's very mediatised, but let's put it this way, it's still one of the best-selling cars in the world and extremely frequent on German roads.
 
I dont know about Germany, but in U.S. dealerships are shady (alot).
Try to get financing through your bank if you can. Dealerships (U.S. anyway) always try to add on fees to bump up their profit
 
I dont know about Germany, but in U.S. dealerships are shady (alot).
Try to get financing through your bank if you can. Dealerships (U.S. anyway) always try to add on fees to bump up their profit

Done.
 
Look at the radio presets. If they listen to rap music walk away from the sale. If it's country music you're good, rednecks usually know how to wrench.
 
Thanks. That's on my priority list. I will be buying from a dealer (a major one).

That's good. Since it is a low km car make sure they give you a good warranty for piece of mind, then you'll be set.
 
When I was in high school I was voted most-likely to become a car brah
 
TS, essentially this. Also, really take a look at the body. Not a quick skim, really investigate to make sure you don't see anything. I got a deal on a used car last year and didn't take the time to look at the bumper and noticed after I bought it that it was cracked from the previous owner hitting curbs. I went on to notice 3-4 other things that bothered me. So really look at the body.

But what liljoe said is correct

-Make sure it has a clean title history. No salvage cars.
-Try to get service records
-20k is very low miles. Take it for a good long test drive. Try all the components. Hard braking, quick lane changes, alignment. Give it a good workout.

Are you buying private or dealer?
 
If you read the whole post, then you wpuld realize that he is in Germany

Yes, they cheated the tests in Europe too.
How widespread are VW's problems?
What started in the US has spread to a growing number of countries. The UK, Italy, France, South Korea, Canada and, of course, Germany, have opened investigations. Throughout the world, politicians, regulators and environmental groups are questioning the legitimacy of VW's emissions testing.

VW will recall 8.5 million cars in Europe, including 2.4 million in Germany and 1.2 million in the UK, and 500,000 in the US as a result of the emissions scandal.

No wonder the carmaker's shares have fallen by about a third since the scandal broke.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772
 
Look at the radio presets. If they listen to rap music walk away from the sale. If it's country music you're good, rednecks usually know how to wrench.

Rednecks are usually the roughest on cars.
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I don't know about Germany but most cars you would find with 12,000 miles in the US would be rental or leased vehicles. Who sells a car with 12,000 miles unless they had trouble with it?
 
Definitely get it looked over by a garage you trust before buying (I don't necessarily trust those dealerships 100 point inspections) if you end up getting something with higher mileage than you mention. Carfax or equivalent is also wise.

I prefer to buy from a private seller (might be able to weasel a lower sale price and/or cheat for the registration) but as you are financing that might not be feasible I guess.
 
I don't know about Germany but most cars you would find with 12,000 miles in the US would be rental or leased vehicles. Who sells a car with 12,000 miles unless they had trouble with it?
Or its a lease trade in?
 
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