June Car Month 2015

Stop me if you've heard this before. A young couple walks into a used car dealership, only to be steered to a much more expensive, unreliable, and crappy car they wanted. The olde upsell.

A young man, excited about buying his first new car, is overjoyed to drive his new car home that same day. He gets a phone call next day informing him he has to re-sign and drop an additional $$$ money off to close the deal. Classic spot delivery scam.

An elderly man walks into a luxury dealership and buys a 80K car. His family call the next day informing them he has Alzheimer's can can't afford the deal. Car salesman laughs and said it's too late, the deal is done.

A young woman walks in and buys an economical car at a decent price. On her way to the finance manager, she spends an hour and gets convinced to buy an additional $5,000 worth of useless ad-ons: Window etching,  extended warranty, maintenance package, and rust protection. All pure profit.

All real stories. I guess I'm a sadist, because I enjoy visiting used car dealers and wasting their time. I know right away if I'm dealing with an asshole or wannabe scammers. I remember once looking through used cars on Kijiji and I found this attractive VW Golf for sale. I phoned the seller and agreed to meet for a test drive. As soon as I popped the hood I knew it was trouble: Oil leaks, smells of burning oil, and a very noisy running engine. The guy had bought it from an auction and "fixed" it up. The inside was a mess. I walked away after the short test drive.

Just because a vehicle is "Certified Used" doesn't mean you shouldn't take it to an independent mechanic to have it inspected. Certified Used is just another bullshit expression from used car dealers to say "We've checked it over, and we believe it's fit for sale". Sure, they can boast about 150-some areas checked. But against who's standards? You never know what you're going to get.

Get your vehicle inspected by an independent mechanic. The 50-100 you spend on this could save you tens of thousands of dollars in repair bills. There are many stories of people buying used cars on Consumer Affairs and getting ripped off. Don't believe Google reviews. They are shill ads filled out by paid review people.

Go here for information on buying a used car. Do your research. Be prepared to walk away if you don't get your price.

Good luck.