ULTIMATE used car buyers guide | ReDriven

Buying a used car can often be a stressful experience. Trying to navigate what's a good car and what's a bad car. All the while trying not to get completely ripped off or buying a nightmare of a vehicle.

To help, we've created the ultimate used car buying guide. Designed to help you make sure you're buying the absolute best car you can.

If we've missed something, let us know in the comments. If you have any used car buying horror stories that you feel like sharing, please drop them in the comments, we'd love to know and hopefully others can use it as a warning!

As always, hit subscribe to stay up to date with all our latest content!

#usedcar
#buyingacar
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At ReDriven, we’ll be taking you through the pros and cons of a huge range of used cars to see how well they’re going now that they’re a few years old, have thousands of kilometres on the clock, and are coming toward the end of their warranty, or maybe don’t have one at all.

Plus, thanks to our resident mechanic, Jim, you’ll find out what commonly goes wrong with them and what might need to be fixed.

Most importantly, we want to make ReDriven a voice for the most in-the-know used car experts there are...you guys.. See, you’re the ones that actually buy, live with, love and sometimes unfortunately hate the cars we’ll be reviewing.

So we want to hear your thoughts. Hit us up in the comments, or on Instagram and Facebook.

We’d love nothing more than for you to give us as much feedback as possible, so we can make this channel the best it can be.

Find us on:

[ReDriven]

Got any tips the ReDriven community should know about? Put them here!

[captainpugwash]

Maybe an obvious tip, particularly for young players - do a few quick online insurance quotes before getting too into the idea of a specific model you want. Insurance costs for some might be a deal-breaker.

[yeasirarafat]

The best thing about ReDriven: The fact that they are onto business from within 10 seconds of the start of the video. And that carries through the entire video. No BS, no drama, no crazy animation. Amazing

[rotarpowered]

Another hot tip is to physically check under the bonnet after a test drive, again to look for signs of leaks and check the underside of the bonnet for signs of fluid spray like oil, coolant, battery acid etc and look under the car for any fluids dripping or weeping out from parts of the car.
If you can, check under carpets and floor mats for water damage and rust.

[davemaca]

Tyres are the best indication of how the owner respects the vehicle and their ability to maintain it to OEM standard.

[nin]

I'm at the beginning stage of looking to purchase my first car - so many things to learn, it's pretty overwhelming - your videos are really helpful, especially this one, thanks so much!
I'm going to practice your inspecting tips from this video with my friend's car, so I feel more confident for when I actually have to do it

[inspectorsteve]

I took a used car to a mechanic to check it over make sure it was good before buying. He said looks great. Come to find out he missed a lot of stuff. Transmission went, there were recalls, and more. I'm guessing he didn't tell me about these things because he thought he would get more money out of me fixing all the things he knew was going to break. I didn't go to him at all but the vehicle cost me thousands to fix

[zreffac]

Um... Jim, mate Miata is always the answer.

[AshHalls]

A good tip. If your buying a used car try and find the best examples even out of your price range and go and test drive them and check out the engine especially. Then when you go to find a mid priced model of the car your after you can compare against a perfect example.

[anakinskywalker]

what a great video guys well done however, I think Stage 5 Should be the very first thing you do. As a mechanic in Melbourne the first thing I would recommend to anyone buying a used car whether it be from a dealership or a private sale. Is to get a pre-purchase inspection done by your local Auto Club (RACV in victoria Or NRMA in NSW etc) if the seller won't let you have an independent inspection then simply walk away there will always be another car somewhere else. This is before the test drive, do not test drive the car unless the seller agrees to an independent inspection. This is where 95% of people make mistakes if you test drive before inspecting then you will not be in the right state of mind if there are potential problems ahead.
Never ever trust what the seller says to you, do your own checks. If you notice any leaks oil, water, etc, Do Not Buy that car, I can almost guarantee it will not end well.
Also, my personal view is you must leave at leave 20% of the budget for repairs & maintenance. swapping insurance & rego etc is to be done within the remaining 80%. I have seen too many times people get caught buying something then it comes to my shop & needs $500 + spent on it. That means if you have $10, 000 to spend realistically you have $7, 500 for the car, $500 for insurance & rego, & the rest for servicing & repairs.

[TwistedDonners]

3 other tips that is worth mentioning. The first is from the same car salesman (he no longer is one) is taking a decent magnet and a soft thin cloth like a hanky. This is to see if bog or spray primer filler has been used to repair scratches, dents or patch jobs as a magnet will slide off or won't give any resistance to being removed the car hasn't had metal to metal repairs done.

2nd is from a panel beater who said if there is a black covering on the under side of the car. If there is don't touch even of its a new car as its either got severe rust or damage being concealed or they're trying to hide the fact its a rebirth.

3rd one is to take a A20c or A$2 coin (or the equivalent for your local currency)to use to help check the gaps as most cars with a few exceptions should have either one of them pass though the gaps seamlessly and if not then there's something screwy going on there. This tip was from a panel beater as well.

These were ones that my old man just told me as he's the one these tips were told too as he wasn't sure if you guys or others knew about them and if not then hopefully it should help other people out.

[AyTee]

Great tips! I did EVERYTHING completely wrong with my first car purchase. Pretty much the exact opposite to what you said. And ended up paying $$ to get it fixed. The person who sold me the car left the country the next day so I couldn’t get any recourse. I learnt my lesson the hard way.

[eyecontrol]

pre-purchase inspections are so needed, even on usually reliable cars. My uncle bought a used 2014 corolla hatch last yr, and didnt get it checked out. within 2 weeks, it needed a full clutch replacement and new brakes.

[fhd]

When you go for a test drive, put the key in contact instead of starting the engine first and check if all the warning lights (check engine etc.) light up. If not, the owner is probably trying to hide potential issues.

[iruss]

I like to stick to cars that have been owned for a while with service history.
Check the spare wheel well also.
Every car has a value whatever the problem, don't mean walk away, but do if it out values the asking price.

[SmithyInWelly]

So... my promised car buying story - back in the 90's (in NZ) I fell in lust with an e36 325i coupe. It was a japanese import; metallic bronze, sunroof, leather, etc etc. Drove like a train, and a small dealer was selling it. My Dad, thankfully talked me into getting an AA (NZs equivalent of RACQ/NRMA, etc) report as it was a big amount of cash for me at the time. So I dropped in confident I was wasting a hundy bucks. Went to pick it up and told the gyt I was here to pickup the bronze Beemer and he looked puzzled. He asked which colour and I said again, bronze... he replied they had a blue one, a black one, and a white one. I was more puzzled and he asked if I knew what a cut and shut was (where a vehicle gets cut in half somewhere and attached to the matching piece of another vehicle), which I replied to the positive. He then said the car I tool in was a cut and cut and shut and shut... and they'd never seen before three cars repurposed into one... I was gobsmacked. He said they done a bloody good job - the only simple tell-tale was they'd forgotten to reconnect the internal boot release. But as for buying it? He said anyone would have to have rocks in their head - luckily for me, I didn't... took it straight back to the dealer, threw the keys at them and ran away!
The lesson? as the RD guys tell us, never assume - get the experts to look at the things you aren't expert in. Sure, you'll pay a little up front that you might flush down the dunny if it's no good... but that's a shit load better than owning it and losing thousands; either on getting it made "right" or on resale.
Of course, I still luv me Beemers!

[hellothere]

I generally make sure to check the car out from a cold start. If the seller has already warmed the car up prior your arrival I'll consider that a red flag. If you have access to a OBD scanner bring that along to plus a tarp to get under the car to check for bushing/mounts etc.

[ddsgardening]

Again more sensible advice really enjoy your shows, thanks so much guys, Kudos to you 👏

[MartinJones]

The video that nobody wanted, but everybody needed... I hope this video blows up...

Question: What are your thoughts of buying a car interstate?

Great content guys 👍

[talkingautomotivewithmark_john]

Thanks for sharing great practical tips.