Help! Purchasing a Used Car

[BkinTX]

Tomorrow we are traveling to a couple nearby towns to look at some used vehicles being sold by owners.

Our budget is $2,000 and we are looking at a 1997 Dodge Caravan and a 1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager.

The Caravan is priced a little bit above kbb, so we will definitely ask for a price reduction. The GV is being sold at quite a bit below kbb.

The Caravan has a rebuilt transmission and the GV has a new motor and some peeling paint.

I have become so accustomed to purchasing vehicles beyond my budget and trading them in every few years that the idea of buying something outright is scary to me.

What are the questions I should ask? What do I look for? What are signs that something is not right?

I don't need anything fancy, although creature comfort features are nice. I have 4 children, two of whom are very young, and it is imperative that the vehicle we purchase be safe and reliable.

Our idea (ala Dave Ramsey) is to put aside what we would spend on car payments throughout the year and then use that money + sale or trade in value of the vehicle we're buying now to get something slightly better in a year.

Hopefully doing this over time to continually trade up to something nicer and always paying cash.

Both vehicles are over 10 years old and have about 170k miles on them. Are we taking a risk considering purchasing these vehicles?

Advice?

[Houseofcards]

I can make a suggestion - i am an auto technician by trade.

If you have a mechanic you know and trust - ask the seller if you can take the vehicle to your mechanic for an inspection. The last thing you want to do is pay $2000 on a vehicle - only to find out it needs $1500 more in repairs

If the seller says no - than run away

[JRScott]

As suggested having a mechanic you trust look over it is a good idea.

Barring that I'd open up the hood and look around. Look for corrosion and oil built up on the motor, on a car that old some oil buildup is natural but if its really thick around the valve or head gasgets it could indicate they are blown. Make sure the wiring and belts look sound. Ask to start it up. Leave the oil dipstick out while you start it up. If smoke comes up through oil dipstick area don't buy that car engine is blown.

Ask at least if you can drive around the block in it with of course the current owner in the vehicle with you. Just to make sure the brakes are in good order and nothing happens.

You could also get the VIN number off the vehicle and then use a service like carfax.com to check on history of the car as well. You can get this in two places generally. One is the sticker at the door or usually in front of the driver's seat near where an inspection sticker would be placed.

[BkinTX]

Thanks for the advice.

My husband's father is a mechanic, but unfortunately he lives about an 8 hour drive from us.

My DH is military so he should be able to pick up red flags just from having to do maintenance on vehicles (I hope!).

I am both excited about having a vehicle with NO PAYMENTS but also nervous about getting something and having problems with it.

The vehicle only needs to last us a year, but it needs to be safe during that time.