_ AUTOMOTION

FORGET THOSE officially
- sanctioned guides on how to
buy. a used car.

‘The. secret.- ‘of fi inding the best
used car- has little to do. with
odometer readings, compression
‘tests and test drives. It has to do
with. people — more specifi ically,
the people who own the car you're

; +) thinking of buying.
~ How a car is treated over its
lifetime (especially cars over 10
years old) is just as important as
what type of car it is.

So when you go searching for a
‘used car, size up the owner; do a
quick personality profile. Does the
- owner look like the kind of person
who. would treat: his or. her. car
- with respect and due’ care? Has he
‘or she owned the car since new or
is-it; just one of many ‘“‘ships in
the night’? Is he or she holding
‘down:a'steady job?

‘Take a peek , at the insurance
papers. Does he or she’have a safe

driving discount? Look around :at.

the. owner’s home. Is it-neat’ and
well" kept?.. How, does he. or’ she
treat his or her dog?

{Spotting the most. promising

- prospects is not always easy, but.
here isa. brief: list. of those with -

the most potential...

- Senior citizens:

wa Seniors. love their cars. They
.pamper..them, - vacuum them,
garage them, service them regular-

<sly;-and'hardly ever drive them .....

well, , just enough .to, keep the
mechanical bits in good order.
‘Seniors were: raised in a time
when: honest people didn’t try to
, cheat; each: other out of afew
bucks. -on the sale’ of a. used’ car

~ Best: warranty

From page 29.

. powertrain and other major. com-
ponents are covered for six: years
or, 100,000 kilometres (from the
date of purchase). Corrosion per-

for well-kept ;
cars. Often the cars haven’t been

“it’s

RUT RUD

MOTIVE

manual: secrets of buying a used car

and they’re not really interested in
exerting extra energy to haggle
over price. They can’t understand
why newer cars are so expensive
anyway.

The only reason they’re selling
their car to a stranger is that they
don’t want it to go to their useless
son-in-law who thinks. he can
snap up the car cheap in return
for mowing the lawn a few times.
Wealthy people who don’t know
how much their car is worth and
don’t really care how much they
get for it:

If a used-car dealer doesn’t get
to them first, these are often the
best people to buy premium cars
from. Many of these people live
on the west side of Vancouver and
in West Vancouver. .

They're. not really interested in
making a profit on their old car;
they just want to get rid of the old
car because it no longer makes a
fashion statement. Normally, they
would just trade their old car for
a new one at a dealership, but this

-time they’ve decided to advertise it

in the local paper for the novelty
of seeing it in print.

Wealthy owners do not have the
desire or the time to pursue. the
best price on their vehicles, so
don’t waste their time: make them
a low offer,

Dead people:

Estate sales can be a gold mine

low-mileage older

driven for five or 10 years, just
stored in a garage: Prior to that,

I ,
y there's something incredibly
satisfying about walking into an
old. garage and blowing the dust
off an old Buick: that looks like
been. preserved in time,
waiting for a new owner to bring
it back to life. The best part is
that these cars are-often sold very
cheaply.
People the

who really need

money:
_«. They: can. be identified .by an.
overwhelming look ‘of worry on

their faces, Their houses” often
have a ‘for sale” sign in front of
them. They're often in a hurry to
sell, nervous, and break down eas-
ily under modest bargaining. They
often ask for cash and want to be
paid immediately. _

Help them out by making an
offer that’s not too generous.
Seilers who don’t know the true
value of their cars:

in the business

foration coverage. is six years/
untimited mileage. The Sentra also
comes with a three-year roadside
assisilance and a 1-800 informa-
tion line.

“FOR SERVICE EXCELLENCE
FROM OVER 90 DEALERS)

they ‘were driven only occasional-

&& Some people don't bother to find out how
much that used car is actually worth. 99

Some people don’t bother to
find out how much their used car
is actually worth. Or they attempt
to sell their well-kept low-mileage
‘car for the price of one in average
condition.

Spotting people who have

Mnderpriced their cars is relatively

easy. They generally don't know
much about the technical aspect
of cars and often cannot answer
even basic questions about the size
of the engine and drivetrain
layout.

They act surprised when you
ask them if everything is included
for the price published in the
newspaper. And they’re usually

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not in a rush to sell, because they
have more important things to do.
If you spot an underpriced car,
get in early.

The neighbor's pride-and-joy:

One of the biggest unknowns
when buying a used car is its his-
tory. Has it been in an accident?
Has it been treated harshly? Does
it have 60,000 km or 160, 000 km
on the odometer?

The problem is solved when you
buy your neighbor’s car. You've
watched him drive it to work

every day, service it regularly, and.
treat it with care. You know it’s a

good used car. So when it comes

time for him to sell it, offer .to

buy it for the proper price in the
Gold Book of Used Car Prices.
Your offer is bound to be higher
than what he would get as a
trade-in,

However, if something does go
wrong, don’t go back to your
neighbor and complain. That
could start a neighborhood feud
which will probably cost you a lot
more than the car repairs.
Doctors, priests and other profes-
sionals with a positive attitude to
life:

These people can generally be
trusted to tell you if there’s some-
thing wrong with their car and are
untikely to sell you a lemon in the
first place.

They’re also more likely to ser-
vice their car regularly and they
have enough money to keep it in
good condition, They’re less likely
to be involved in illicit drag rac-
ing, off-road adventures, and
amateur slalom events.

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