there shouldn't be if you follow our advice for inspections
You want to ask how the car was driven--stop and go, commuting?
Good questions to ask are: were you the first owner of the car?
That can be very hard on a vehicle.
Stuff like mileage, damage, etc will be on the CarFax report
You want to know if it has ever been in an accident.
I'd order one even if it is a friend of a friend.
You ideally will see (and get when you buy the car) all maintenance records.
Alright, we're almost out of time, so let's take one or two more questions.
That's a good point, Mark.
Ask for the maintenance records--if they have them, it's a sign they've taken care of the car.
Craigslist is the 21st century classifieds.
Which is where we used for find used cars.
On Craigslist...sure. A private-party seller is the same there as on AutoTrader.com or Cars.com or in the newspaper. You need to follow the same steps to verify if the car is good.
from private parties, that is.
Great, so they'll just want to follow the same advice you gave Kenneth.
Alright, we have time for 1-2 more questions. Here's one from Jeremy.
New cars have a warranty going for them, and you don't have any doubt about how they have been driven.
But you pay a lot for new-car depreciation.
I'd say people might forget that you'll get a hard-sell on the extended warranty for both used and new cars.
A lot of people swear by used cars because they don't want to pay for all that depreciation.
When the prices of used cars are so high (i.e. fuel-efficient cars right now) that they're within a few thousand of the new model.
One other thing to consider--a lot of new cars have updated safety features.
While Jessica and Mark finish up with Jeremy's question, we have one more question that I think another Kiplinger car guru has an answer for.
For example, stability control is standard on all new cars now.
That's when it really pays to weigh what a new-car warranty is worth, if the new model has better fuel efficiency, etc.
Completely agree with Mark on the safety features.
For needsacool ride, I'd suggest following the Web site bringatrailer.com for a while to tap into the vintage market. Fuel costs will be only one of your concerns!
Stay away from Ford Pintos!
Alright, unfortunately we're out of time for today's chat.
Happy driving, everyone. It's been fun.
Thanks so much for hosting today's chat, Jessica and Mark! You guys are quite the car experts
And thanks to everyone who joined us and asked some great questions
