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A few handy tips on buying your used car.

Whether buying a car privately or through a dealer, it’s essential to do your research.

Once you’ve got your finances sorted and have a fixed price you’re prepared to bargain with, keep the following in mind:

1. Bring a friend
   Make sure that if you don’t know a lot about cars or car maintenance that you take a friend along who does.
2. Keep your eyes open
   Don’t book an inspection time at night or when it’s raining. Small imperfections such as rust or paint defects can be hard to see and can end up being costly to fix down the track.
3. Put it through the wringer
   Arrange for a mechanical inspection of the car and check independent web sites for common faults reported or vehicle ratings. Things such as tire and wheel conditions and electrical conditions can tell you a lot about the age and wear of a vehicle so check these carefully.
4. Ask questions
   Make sure that you get as much background on the history of the car as you can. Ask how long the owner had the car, how many kilometres it has done, why they are selling it and if there are any known defects.
5. Double check the detail
   Ask to review a log book or service history and find out if the car has any history of accidents. You should also make sure that the registration is current and that there is no outstanding finance on the car. If there are any outstanding payments, you may end up being the one footing the bill. You can check websites such as NRMA CarWise, which will tell you the current market value of the vehicle, check if there's finance owing or if it has been stolen through a REVS certificate included when you download an NRMA CarWise Report.
6. Bargain with confidence
   If the condition of the car checks out, provided you have already got your finances approved you can then negotiate a deal knowing that you have all the information you need. Particularly if you are buying a used car through a dealer, it’s important that you don’t do all your research only to have the total cost of your car inflated by them bundling the car price and finance. Check our dealer negotiation tips for some insider knowledge and get approval from Aussie for a car loan today to help you negotiate your best price.