If you're interested in buying a used truck, you need to understand how to inspect any prospective trucks and how to establish a baseline value for that truck in the current market.
Once you accomplish these two tasks, you can begin your real negotiation.
Truck Dealers Vs.
Private Owners Buying from a dealer means you're secure from odometer fraud.
This doesn't mean it won't occur, but it means you have laws protecting you if it does.
Additionally, lemon laws protect you for 15 days most of the time in most states.
If the truck breaks down on you in that time, you don't lose your money.
With an individual seller, once you hand that money over, the truck is yours for better or for worse.
Buying from an individual gives you more of the truck's story and quirks and problems aren't sanitized.
The engine usually isn't pressure cleaned and leaks are easier to identify.
This is actually good, because any used truck will likely have at least a few little leaks.
You want to know about them in advanced.
Establishing The Truck's Market Value and Real History You need to know the Kelly Blue Book value of the vehicle, regardless of what the seller is asking.
You shouldn't care about the price; you should care about the real value of the vehicle.
CarFax assures you the vehicle and vehicle history is legitimate and warns if there is any problem history (bad accidents requiring major repairs that could affect your truck's reliability and maintenance costs).
CarFax will also let you know if the seller is trying to sell you a salvaged and reconditioned vehicle.
Inspecting Each Used Truck How well do body lines fit? Look at the hood, the doors, the bumpers...
are the lines even and straight? Are gaps even? How do all body lines appear? Is everything tight and flush or is anything loose and uneven? Check the tires.
You should be skeptical of anyone who puts new tires on a used truck for resell.
This is a bad investment for someone trying to make money off a used truck sale, so if they've given it new tires, they may be hiding something.
If there are new tires, I urge you to see the alignment specifications.
If they can't provide you this data, you may have a sketchy situation on your hands.
Proceed with caution.
Check to see if the tires are worn pretty evenly.
If they are, then it's an indication the owner rotated their tires regularly.
That's usually a sign the owner took care of their vehicle, and indicates a greater likelihood of good care in other areas.
Now finally, you check the oil and oil level, and check the transmission fluid.
Check the transmission fluid color and smell.
If it's black and smells a little burnt, you may need transmission work soon.
Look for any leaks (water pump and filter, power steering pump, radiator, and so forth).
Keep in mind that some leaks are deal breakers, while others may require relatively simple and inexpensive repairs.
Some leaks don't indicate a serious problem but rather an opportunity for you to get a better deal on the truck.
With 4x4 vehicles, it is critical you verify the alignment and front end condition from a specialist.
Fixing the front end of a 4x4 can be very costly, so you need to know what you've got.
Once you accomplish these two tasks, you can begin your real negotiation.
Truck Dealers Vs.
Private Owners Buying from a dealer means you're secure from odometer fraud.
This doesn't mean it won't occur, but it means you have laws protecting you if it does.
Additionally, lemon laws protect you for 15 days most of the time in most states.
If the truck breaks down on you in that time, you don't lose your money.
With an individual seller, once you hand that money over, the truck is yours for better or for worse.
Buying from an individual gives you more of the truck's story and quirks and problems aren't sanitized.
The engine usually isn't pressure cleaned and leaks are easier to identify.
This is actually good, because any used truck will likely have at least a few little leaks.
You want to know about them in advanced.
Establishing The Truck's Market Value and Real History You need to know the Kelly Blue Book value of the vehicle, regardless of what the seller is asking.
You shouldn't care about the price; you should care about the real value of the vehicle.
CarFax assures you the vehicle and vehicle history is legitimate and warns if there is any problem history (bad accidents requiring major repairs that could affect your truck's reliability and maintenance costs).
CarFax will also let you know if the seller is trying to sell you a salvaged and reconditioned vehicle.
Inspecting Each Used Truck How well do body lines fit? Look at the hood, the doors, the bumpers...
are the lines even and straight? Are gaps even? How do all body lines appear? Is everything tight and flush or is anything loose and uneven? Check the tires.
You should be skeptical of anyone who puts new tires on a used truck for resell.
This is a bad investment for someone trying to make money off a used truck sale, so if they've given it new tires, they may be hiding something.
If there are new tires, I urge you to see the alignment specifications.
If they can't provide you this data, you may have a sketchy situation on your hands.
Proceed with caution.
Check to see if the tires are worn pretty evenly.
If they are, then it's an indication the owner rotated their tires regularly.
That's usually a sign the owner took care of their vehicle, and indicates a greater likelihood of good care in other areas.
Now finally, you check the oil and oil level, and check the transmission fluid.
Check the transmission fluid color and smell.
If it's black and smells a little burnt, you may need transmission work soon.
Look for any leaks (water pump and filter, power steering pump, radiator, and so forth).
Keep in mind that some leaks are deal breakers, while others may require relatively simple and inexpensive repairs.
Some leaks don't indicate a serious problem but rather an opportunity for you to get a better deal on the truck.
With 4x4 vehicles, it is critical you verify the alignment and front end condition from a specialist.
Fixing the front end of a 4x4 can be very costly, so you need to know what you've got.
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