How to Research a Used Car

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is John Michaels with Expert Village; today we are going to be talking about buying a used car. In this segment we are going to be determining whether or not your used car has been in an accident. It is really important to find that information about. Some of the ways that dealerships use to find out whether a car has been in an accident is to look for a paint line and if the car has been wrecked and repainted, they tape up the windows and other portions of the car as to not get any over-spray on it. If you look real good, and run your finger along the edges, you can feel a real fine paint line. That is a really good sign that, that car has had some paintwork done on it or been damaged. Also look into a Carfax, which is a service that a lot of dealerships provide nowadays. It is a good way to find out whether or not your car has been wrecked before you purchase it but keep in mind not everyone takes their car to have any repairs done to it, to a dealership or to a reputable shop and not, not always do they claim it on their insurance. That is really the only way that Carfax can find out whether or not your car has been wrecked. So get out there and touch that car and really look hard for any swirls in the paint, any lemon peel looking designs on the doors or the hood or on the trunk lid and see if you can’t look for that paint line. That is a sure way of knowing whether or not that car has been wrecked before you buy it. "