Used car buying poll
 

When buying a used car, do you buy it and have it checked out later or do you pay to have mechanic inspect it before you drive it away.

I have a mechanic look it all over.

And I would recommend every one do the same
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I went with the "other" option. The last two cards I've bought have still had at least a bit of a warranty on them, so I didn't bother having them checked out.

Spend a few bucks to have it looked at.

And I actually do it for regular customers quite often for no charge
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For me it depends on how much I'm spending on the car and who I'm buying it from.

And even with a mechanic's inspection buying a used car is still a crapshoot. They can only tell you what's wrong with it right now. A car could pass an inspection and still have the transmission explode two months down the road.

With that said, it's not a bad idea in certain circumstances, especially if you don't know much about cars.

I should have been more specific on the first option.

I have a mechanic look at every car I am considering actually purchasing.

You obviously wouldn't have them look at every jalopy you gander at.

pay $50 for a mechanic to check it out. Unless the car ain't worth $50.

I trust myself more than anyone else to look at them, but the last two used ones I bought were a long way from here for my daughters.

A Neon for my eldest going to school in Tallahassee, I bought on ebay from a dealer in Atlanta and took his feedback and our discussion as enough. It lasted her for quite some time while she finished school.

More recently I helped my youngest with an Altima from an individual down in Ft. Worth off of Ebay. Carfax and feedback, plus her test drive and we pulled the trigger. She has had real good luck with it as well for a Datsun.

I live in a rural area. We don't live on top of each other like rats in a sewer and try screwing each other. Well..unless they're kin.

I pretty much look it over myself. We have a kid working for us that is pretty decent. I had him look at one I was worried about. If it is something serious, I'll be able to tell. If not, is it worth fixing?

Same here. The past two cars I have purchased were from private sellers with some warranty left. After discussions with the seller and a test drive I was comfortable enough that they had been well cared for and had no issues.

I never do. I've only been burned once - a 1991 Sidekick with a bad valve. I lost about $700 in that deal but also learned a lot about repairs.

Most of the time I buy newer stuff that still has warranty left. I don't tend to be too concerned about issues with a $2000 car and have had pretty good luck so far.