The 3 Questions That Will Give You All You Need to Know When Buying a Car from a Private Seller

Knowing what questions to ask when buying a car from a private party is crucial to ensure you make a great purchase. There are thousands of questions you can ask, but if you over whelm the seller, sometimes they get turned off and don’t want to deal with you. Here are 3 basic questions you can ask, that will get the correct flow of the conversation and give you pretty much all the information you need to then decide if this is the right car for you.

Can I get the VIN Number (Vehicle Identification Number) to check the service records and accident history?

The vehicle identification number is exactly what it says, the identity of that particular vehicle. No other vehicle will have that same exact VIN number, it’s like its own social security number. It is a 17 character code with numbers and letters, each part of the code signify where it was made, what year and many other technical information that isn’t that important.

What IS important, is getting the vehicle history report with that VIN number. The vehicle history report will show how many owners, any accident history, any service records, any open recalls and last odometer reading to name a few. It will give you in depth details on anything the car has gone through.

The VIN number does not give personal information, it only gives out the vehicle history. Although some people are skeptical about giving the VIN number out because they think it gives out their personal information, it actually does not. If someone doesn’t want to give this out, it should automatically throw up a red flag for you as the buyer. This is where your people skills comes into play, you have to read the person and gauge if they’re really just unaware and scared it will give out their personal information, or if they really are trying to hide something that the vehicle history report will disclose.

Some good companies we recommend when doing a vehicle history report. Prices vary, they do offer packages, we recommend only checking the vin once you’re ready and certain to buy so long the vin number is clean.

carfax.com

autocheck.com

vinaudit.com

How long have you owned it?

The purpose of this question is to connect the dots on the story of the seller. Ideally you want to buy from the original owner, since they will know for sure the full history of the car. When you get to the second, third and beyond owners, they really don’t know what services have been done or any accidents it has been in. When you’re not buying from the original owner, checking the VIN number paints a better pictures on how the car was kept since the second or third owner can’t really speak for the previous owners on what the car has been through.

Another story to connect is if the owner has owned for only a few months and is already selling it should throw up a red flag. From experience we can say that the seller is either just flipping the car or something is wrong to where they don’t want the headache anymore.

Now there is nothing wrong with buying and selling cars, but when you’re searching the private party market, you’d much prefer buying from an actual owner that has used it and has a good idea of how the car is running. Often times these flippers try to hide they’re reselling the car, so they hate this question. An easy way to find out is to ask if the title is in their name and have them show their ID to match the title. In some cases, people really just have a drastic life change, and need a different car.

Does the car have any problems and does it need anything?

This is just a precautionary question. You want to know what you’re getting into when buying a car. The most common things to add onto this question is; is the engine and transmission running well, are there any leaks, does it need tires, when were the brakes last changed, has it had any kind of major service done, do all the electronics work. When buying, it’s good to know any immediate expenses you will need to spend, and also things you will need to plan for.

When prepared and equipped with the right knowledge, you can do well buying a car from the private party market. It takes a little bit more homework, a little bit more research on the buyers’ part, but with technology and Google at our fingertips, we can almost instantaneously get an answer to every question on the spot. This gives us the opportunity to save from buying at the high end, retail value, while still being able to buy a great running car, or at the least know exactly what kind of car you’re getting into, and buying at the price accordingly.

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