Buying a used car can be a great way to get a car without spending too much, but you should be aware that you will end up with a lemon. Here are some tips on how to avoid buying unreliable and prone-to-failure used cars in reno.
The most important thing you should do before buying the used car is research the make and model of car so that you know what kind of reliability it is. Sometimes cars with less mileage tend to last longer than cars with more miles, according to Car Talk for example, so if it has low miles then this may help reduce your risk of getting a lemon. Also consider the warranty of the car. You should check even if it is still under factory warranty or not because sometimes during the time of warranty, issues are fixed, but you will still be able to get warranty for this car for at least two years.
Another thing that you need to consider is how many miles does the car has before you purchase? If it has less mileage then this may help reduce your risk of getting a lemon because there are some parts in the car which might have failed and this process can be expected to take longer. Also, research on how easily fixed it is by other people that have bought version of same make and model.
The last thing that you need to consider is the maintenance cost of this particular make and model of car. Because they are older and have less mileage, they are prone to more maintenance issues so you need to consider this fact when purchasing this car.
All these factors can help reduce the risk of you getting a lemon when purchasing a used car because if the car has low miles then it might have been well maintained and you will have no problems but if it has high mileage then maybe it is due to either a lot of repairs or simply because it failed quicker than others.
After you have done your research, you can schedule a test drive with the vehicle to see if it feels and works well enough for you. If it is still under warranty then be sure to bring your inspection form and get the car inspected. If the used car is still covered by warranty, the dealer or seller must replace faulty parts without charging any extra costs for that.
If after inspecting the used car you feel like it does not have any safety issues or other major issues then you can go forward with purchasing this car.