GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In this week’s Money Guide, we’re on your side helping you make sure that next big purchase isn’t your next greatest mistake. With dealerships still struggling with low inventory of new cars, used cars continue to grow in popularity. Here’s how to check, and double check, that you’ll make it to your destination safely in that used car.
Brett Kerridge is the owner of A&B Auto Center in Norton Shores. He recently went viral for a social media post encouraging potential car buyers to make sure to have used cars inspected before purchase.
Kerridge described a scenario he says he’s seen time and time again.
“Saved up. Bought his first car. Spent like $8,000 on it and come to find out it had been in a major accident. Somebody made it look pretty and it was missing parts. Parts were broken.”
Kerridge continued, saying, “They took it in for an inspection and they had $12,000 worth of repairs that needed to be done to it.”
It’s a mistake he says is easy to make and easy to avoid.
“Get it inspected by somebody that knows what they’re looking for,” said Kerridge.
Taking a car out for a test drive before making your purchase just isn’t enough according to Kerridge, who says, “Well, when you drive around the block, it doesn’t really give you an idea of what you’re actually driving.”
He added that, “Especially in Michigan, you get these cars that are completely rusted out underneath and it can look really pretty on the outside but what makes a car go down the road is under the hood.”
So, leave it to the pros, he says.
“It is harder today to look at fluids but if you do look at like the belts and hoses and just grease or oil on the engine. Stuff like that is kind of a sign of how well it’s been taken care of underneath the hood,” said Kerridge.
He explains that, “First thing that I always do is we pop the hood and we actually look to see if there’s anything in the front that would represent damage. Like, zip ties are a big clue, obviously, but a lot of times you’ll see like shiny new bolts or you’ll see where there’s been extra bolts added.”
Kerridge said, “We also look around the edges of the wheel wells, around the tires, stuff like that to look for new paint. So, if you see that, that’s usually a sign that somebody bought it and fixed it up or just repaired it,” and that, “If the tires are bald and you look at the tires and the tires are worn unevenly from the inside to the outside, that means there’s probably a suspension issue or at least it hasn’t been aligned.”
Kerridge also adds that an inspection won’t catch everything, but will at least give you a general idea of the condition that the vehicle is in before you make your purchase.
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