Posts Tagged ‘used cars’
So your old banger has finally decided to pack it in? Or maybe some girls laughed at you when you drove past them in the street and the bumper decided to make an escape and fall off? Whatever your reason, you’re looking for a new car. The Internet has truly revolutionized the way we purchase and trade goods and the automobile industry is no exception. Things can be bought much cheaper on the net as opposed to many ‘physical’ stores and cars are sometimes included in this assertion. However, proceed with caution: this article will hopefully enlighten you in the art of buying your car online.
First of all, research, research, research. And then research again. Use sites like autotrader.com and whatcar.com to get a realistic price range for the type of car or model that your want. Also if you are buying through eBay then search for similar models to the one you are interested in to see what price they were sold for to give you a better idea if you are being ripped off or not. Also research the seller. Are they reputable? Have they sold before? Do they have positive feedback or a good trading score? Take all this into consideration.
If the car is advertised locally, or somewhere you can visit, then go and see it first. An online seller may provide several photographs of the vehicle; however photographs can be easily manipulated. So it is best to check it out in person if at all possible to make sure that there are no unwanted dents or bits of rust lurking on the bodywork. Also, go to your local DMV or registry to run a lien check (HPI check in UK) on the car you are thinking of buying.
The car has a clean CarFax, I’m Good Right?
Many car ads online also include free vehicle history reports but don’t accept these at face value. Run your own vehicle history report using the VIN of the vehicle that you are looking at to see if there are any problems or red flags. Chances are the vehicle you are looking at includes a free carfax report, but for vehicles purchased in Canada these reports are often incomplete. Try running a report on CarProof. CarProof reports typically contain more up-to-date information than CarFax, especially for Canadian vehicles.
The internet can yield great results when looking for a new car; but caution is advised. If something is too good to be true then chances are it probably is. By following these brief guidelines and some common sense then you could really grab a bargain on the net. Bottom line, trust your gut. If you don’t feel comfortable just walk away.
Once upon a time, the United States Department of Justice decided that used car buyers were getting ripped off. Rebuilt wrecks, rolled-back odometers, the works. Uncertainly and doubt ran rampant in the used vehicle market, with buyers having to trust the word of the person trying to hawk their vehicle. The DoJ decided that enough was enough, and that action needed to be taken. It was mandated that a national vehicle registry would be created for all vehicles, one which would keep track of titles, accidents, salvages, and other attributes that would be of keen interest to prospective buyers.
I'm not rebuilt. Trust me!
So, what happened to this mythical database of protection for the car-buying public? Well, 16 years of precisely jack squat, that’s what. The project was still official but was never acted upon, so independent firms like Carfax stepped in to fill the gap. (And make some money in the process. You have 5 alerts! Buy now to find out what they might be!) Now, after some hassling by the Public Citizen, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety and Consumer Action, (also known as Wanted: Good Acronym) the Department of Justice has made the project top priority.
So, sooner or later buying used cars from the States will be safer and easier than ever before. Suddenly, picking up a ride from south of the border becomes more attractive than ever (especially with the new harmonized bumper law). What Canada needs to keep the used car market strong here is simple: we need to rip off the States’ idea, period. If the Canadian government reasonably decides that people unknowingly dropping tens of thousands on a salvaged vehicle that they had no reliable way of researching is a problem, it’ll be just a matter of looking south and pressing “Copy.” Heck, if they pull it off I might even consider buying one of those cheap rides from out East.
Alright, maybe not. A database could help stop scammers, but oxidation might be a bit out if its league.
Consumerist
In this weekly segment, we cover the top discussions going on in the car forums. These threads may be the most recent hot topics, or epic threads that we just wanted to dig up and feature.
If you have a suggestion for a thread to be included on the forum weekly review, e-mail it to info@beyond.ca. If you have not joined our forums, register today its free!
The Gallery Of Fine Cars Threatens To Sue Beyond.ca
Of course this thread was going to be a part of this weeks forum thread round-up! If you missed this discussion this week, basically our members (thats you!) shared some experiences with a local used car dealership on our forums. Said dealership did not like all the “biased” comments that were untrue and wanted us to delete the posts. Unfortunately for The Gallery of Fine Cars, we don’t remove comments without a court order, especially not when we are threatened with a lawsuit in an e-mail riddled with spelling mistakes.
Beyond Member Helps Recover Another Stolen Car, RHD CRX
While we like to poke fun of RHD car owners occasionally all the time, we reunite when one of our members loses their ride to some scumbag car thief. After spotting several times, Kona9 was able to assist the Calgary Police in locating and returning the car back to its rightful owner. Unfortunately, the suspect ditched the vehicle after a short pursuit with Police, and got away.
2008 Bull Run Cars Visit One Of Our Sponsors
A few of the cars participating in the 2008 Bull Run dropped by Tunerworks, one of our sponsors for a quick tune-up and wheels before the long drive that starts this morning. For more pictures of the other Bull Run cars, visit our forums. If you are not yet a member, join today because its free!
In this weekly segment, we cover the top discussions going on in the car forums. These threads may be the most recent hot topics, or epic threads that we just wanted to dig up and feature.
If you have a suggestion for a thread to be included on the forum weekly review, e-mail it to info@beyond.ca. If you have not joined our forums, register today its free!
Used Car Market Drying Up?
Forum member richardchan2002 is asking other members if they are noticing that the used car market is drying up? “I’ve noticed there are a lot more cars being listed for sale, not only here on beyond but in other places as well” He notes. “A lot of them have very fair asking prices close to black book and still aren’t moving. Many people I know have resorted to trading their cars in because they can’t move their car at all.”
Saskatchewan Bans Lift Kits; Sets Sights On “Monster Trucks”
Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) recently implemented a new policy targetting truck owners who install lift kits to raise the height of their trucks. The new policy was introduced following studies in the US that showed that trucks with the lift kits made it more dangerous for other users of the road. I doubt SGI is going to target everyone with a lift-kit, but instead will focus those on the extreme end with danerously high ride heights. Either way, many truck owners are furious.
iPhone 3G First Look and Discussions
How could there be a weekly review during the iPhone 3G launch that didn’t include a nod to Apple’s second generation iPhone? Rumors are that Roger’s is ramping up their data plans. The data plans will apparently be starting at $30 for 300MB and will go up to $100 for 10GB. Are you switching to Rogers/Fido to get a second generation iPhone?
If you missed last week’s forum weekly review, you can see it here
Beyond Media, Inc.
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