The Smell

One of the easiest ways to tell if a car has been flooded is if the interior has a musty, damp smell. No matter how hard you try, that smell is almost impossible to get rid of.

Odd Colors

Be sure to check out the interior thoroughly. Is the carpet discolored? Do the seats match the rest of the interior? It’s easy to swap large pieces of interior like seats, but carpet and door panels may be more difficult to replace in good condition. Keep an eye out for dark stains toward the lower portion of the used car or truck, too.

Debris

When a vehicle is an a flood, water carries all sorts of debris everywhere. That includes lots and lots of soil. When the water recedes, all that dirt is left behind all over the vehicle. No matter how thoroughly a car has been cleaned, caked on mud will remain. Give the car a good once over and look for any odd build up.

History Report

If the vehicle has been reported as being in a flood, that information will show up on the history report.

We don’t need to tell you just how tight the economy is right now. Everyone’s tightening their belts, making the most of every penny and trimming the budget where they can. For some organizations, that means selling off portions of their vehicle fleet for a great price. But does a slim dollar sign mean a great deal? Not always. In general, there are two lines of thought when it comes to buying a used fleet vehicle. On the one hand, a fleet vehicle is almost certain to have had all of its maintenances performed on time or before it was needed. What’s more, most cars or trucks that have spent time in motor pools have more highway miles than privately owned vehicles.

Of course, the flip side to that coin is that fleet vehicles tend to suffer quite a bit of abuse at the hands of their drivers. Since the people behind the wheel generally aren’t responsible for maintenance or repairs, they don’t tend to care how hard the car is driven or how brutal they’re being to the car’s brakes and suspension – imagine the rental car race scene in Top Gun and you’ll get the picture.

So does that mean you should pass by all fleet service vehicles entirely? Absolutely not. Fleet vehicles offer a great deal compared to their standard civilian counterparts, but you do need to be careful when it comes time to look the vehicle over. Take the time to have the car examined by a mechanic you trust, and if he or she says it’s best to keep looking, take their advice. If the car you have your eye on gets the ok from the shop, just be aware that replacement prone parts like starters and alternators may need attention soon, and factor those costs into your budget.

As you may have heard, Toyota recently issued a massive recall involving several makes of automobile from across the company’s marks. Everything from the Prius and Camry to Lexus models like the ES 350 and IS350 are under order to return to the dealer to take care of a faulty floor matt issue which may cause the vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably. The move to recall the 3.8 million cars and trucks came after a recent fatal accident. While the floor mats were technically optional dealer equipment, the crash and recall highlights an important issue when it comes to purchasing a used vehicle: aftermarket equipment.

The aftermarket is a great option when it comes to making your vehicle custom and comfortable, and there are hundreds of excellent companies out there geared toward providing you the absolute best product for your money. That doesn’t mean there aren’t just as many selling low-quality items that may be dangerous or illegal to use. If you have your eyes on a used car with a long list of aftermarket equipment, make sure the parts come from companies you recognize. If they don’t, do a little research to make sure there are no consumer complaints against the manufacturer. If the parts look like cheap Chinese knock offs, you may end up having to replace those bits shortly after purchasing the vehicle.

You should also be mindful of how the products were installed. Did the seller install them? Are they capable of properly installing the aftermarket equipment on the vehicle? It’s easy to cross a wire when bolting up a new stereo, resulting in popped fuses or even vehicle fires, and larger mechanical parts like intakes, suspension components and brakes should be handled by a qualified professional. If the seller doesn’t know who swapped your parts, you might be better off with a used car or truck a little closer to stock.

We have a new Certified Pre-Owned center over at UsedCars.com! You can get the skinny on all the different manufacturers’ CPO programs, and what exactly a car needs to be the cream of the crop. Usually, CPO cars are off-lease, which means they have really low miles and have been maintained by the dealership. That means you’re getting an essentially brand-new vehicle without having to shoulder all the depreciation. Now that UsedCars.com has a special CPO center, you can easily tell which vehicles on the site are certified – identifiable by special badges – and which aren’t.

There is a big difference in the type of certification used cars carry. While manufacturers maintain strict standards with long lists of check points, mileage stipulations and repair history parameters, local dealers can have their own CPO programs. Many times, local programs are less strict when it comes to what vehicles make it into the pool and as a result, you may end up with a car that could be more of a headache than a help. Fortunately, UsedCars.com’s newest CPO center only picks manufacturer-backed vehicles to help you find the perfect CPO car or truck in a hurry.

Aside from knowing your CPO vehicle has been given an extensive once-over by the manufacturer, there’s another reason to go certified. Most CPO cars and trucks carry a factory warranty, which is better than most used vehicles out there. That means if you encounter a mechanical problem, just take it back to the dealer and everything should be squared away at a fraction of the cost of a normal repair. So, if you’re looking to get into a great used car sometime soon, check out UsedCars.com’s CPO center to get started.

Similarly, big-ticket maintenance items may help you negotiate a price you’re comfortable with. Does the vehicle need tires? Tires are incredibly important to how safe your used vehicle is to drive, and a good set may cost upwards of $500. If the used car or truck you’re searching for needs new rubber, don’t hesitate to bring it to the seller’s attention. They’ll likely be willing to come down to a price you’re more comfortable with.

How long has it been since the used vehicle you want to purchase has been serviced? Maintenance like brakes, timing belts, water pumps and fluid changes will all require money out of your pocket if they haven’t been tended to recently. Get a good picture of what your used car or truck will require and ask a local shop for a quote. Doing so will give you a good idea of what you can barter with and how much money you’ll have to sink into the car post purchase.

Not every accident gets reported to insurance companies, and as a result, even the best vehicle history report may miss a bruise or two. Usually, small parking-lot nudges and fender-benders are no big deal if they’ve been repaired properly and the seller is willing to come clean about the vehicle’s not-so-spotless history. Not everyone’s honest when it comes to selling a used vehicle, though. The good news is you can protect yourself from buying a problem vehicle with these three easy ways to tell if the car has been in an accident. Hop the jump for a look.

One of the easiest ways to find out if the used car you’re interested in has been through the body shop is to look at the paint. If there are different shades of the same color on the car, odds are there’s been some kind of body work in the car’s past. If you can, look at the car in multiple types of light – bright daylight, dusk and street lamps. Different colors may not show under high-noon sun, but may be easy to see under different lighting conditions.

Of course, that’s not to say a vehicle may not have been repainted all over. In that case, you may have to get a little more determined when you start looking for problem areas. Another easy way to check for body work is to examine the body gaps – or the spaces between different panels. All of the gaps should be uniform in size, without any major variation from one side of the car to the next or from top to bottom. If you can’t tell any difference with the naked eye, the car is probably OK.

Last but not least, you can use an ordinary refrigerator magnet to check for body filler. Some shops use large amounts of filler to fix dings and dents instead of straightening or replacing the body panel outright. Wrap the magnet in a handkerchief and place it in various places on the vehicle’s metal. If it sticks, there’s probably not body filler there. If it doesn’t you may have a problem. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Citizen

Back in the ‘90s, if you were into the import car scene, the hottest stuff came courtesy of Japan. Anything marked as Japanese Domestic Market, or JDM, cost a pretty penny. Importers picked up engines, transmissions, even the front half of cars, to sell here in the land of the free. The most ambitious guys went about importing whole cars. Right-hand drive Honda Civics and Nissan Skyline GTR’s were the ultimate in not-for-US cool. These days, we get fun cars like the Honda Civic SI and the Nissan GT-R that are just as fast as their Japanese counterparts. That means the import and sale of JDM metal has slacked off considerably.

At least that’s the case here in the states. Kenya has just taken the throne as the number one importer of Japanese used cars. By and large, Kenyans aren’t so much looking for extra performance as they are a low-dollar, reliable vehicle. While dealers in Kenya have seen interest in used cars slack somewhat in recent months, individual importers are buying cars abroad and having them shipped home to save on dealer fees, resulting in a spike in imports. Previously both Russia and Chile have held the title as importing the most used Japanese vehicles.

It just goes to show that a good used vehicle is a better buy than a new one no matter where you live. [Source: AllAfrica]

More than likely, one of the last things on anyone’s mind as they’re buying a used car is whether or not the vehicle is stolen. Unfortunately, cars with a shady past get bought and sold in this country every day. Take this story from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. According to a press release issued by the bureau, a Cadillac Escalade was stolen from Coral Gables, Florida. The thieves then manufactured a new VIN plate to obtain a clean title and sold the vehicle to an unsuspecting buyer all the way in Orange, California.

The buyer specializes in converting vehicles into limousines for fleet service, and set about converting his new, high-dollar SUV into a stretch limousine. Once the work was complete, the limo-builder sold the vehicle to a Texas business man for the princely sum of $125,000. When the buyer went to obtain a new Texas title for the truck, he was alerted to the fact that Cadillac had never produced a vehicle with that VIN, and the authorities seized the vehicle. Now the buyer and the limo builder are out a truck and their money. The authorities are currently attempting to locate the offending thieves and con artists.

The NICB urges buyers looking to pick up a used vehicle to check the VIN against the bureau’s free database. Doing so could alert you to a possible stolen vehicle, saving you thousands. [Source: NICB]

Similarly, another dealership in Shakopee, Minnesota had a vehicle’s dash ripped out and wheels stolen. Around 12 other vehicles had their windows smashed, but nothing taken from inside. According to the Shakopee Valley News, dealership owner Tom Mulcare will have to pay for the damage out of pocket as his cars have only liability coverage. So far the police have no leads on either case of vandalism.

If you’re looking to sell your used car or truck, now couldn’t be a better time. According to Bloomberg News, used car prices continued to rise last month. That makes June the sixth month in a row where wholesale car prices have climbed. The figures are up 5.8 percent from June, 2008 and 16.4 percent since January, 2009. Unfortunately, the reason for the increase in used car value has less to do with buyer demand and more to do with the number of cars available.

It’s no secret used car sales are absolutely dismal, and as such, there are fewer trade-ins available. What’s more, rental companies aren’t replacing their fleet vehicles with the same frequency as before. The result is fewer available vehicles than the market is accustomed to. What’s more, lower gas prices have spurred an interest in big, thirsty vehicles like SUVs and pick-up trucks – causing their value to climb as well.

While supply may be the main factor, the Bloomberg article says that while a rise in wholesale used vehicle prices is usually a precursor to higher demand for new vehicles, this time that may not be true. With credit still frigid in most parts of the country, few analysts predict the masses will come running to new car dealers anytime soon.