Thinking about downsizing to a more fuel efficient car?

September 4, 1:13 PMAutomotive ExaminerKyle Busch

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A car is just a car - Not! Do research before you buy!

In the last few
months we have
been struggling
with some
atrocious gas
prices and even
though they have
come down a bit
lately, there is
little chance that
the prices will
come down to
the levels they
were a year or two ago. With that in mind, many people have made a
decision to downsize their vehicles for the sake of better gas mileage
so that when they fuel up they don’t have to take out a bank loan just
to fill their fuel tank.

When it comes to purchasing a vehicle, you can go to a
dealership and look at the new cars that are on the market
or you can also look at their stock of used (or as they like
to call it now - pre-owned) cars. You can even go to a used
car lot and look over what they have to offer, or you can look
to the classified ads for a private owner sale.

If you purchase a new car then of course you will be
purchasing a car with a warranty and if you do have any
problems then you would be able to go back to the dealership
to hopefully get that problem resolved.

Now, if you purchase a used car whether it is from a
dealership, used car lot, or a private sale, there is a good
chance of no warranty so it is going to be up to you the
buyer, to do a bit of research before that all important
purchase.

The research should consist of at the least how reliable
the make, model and year the car may be and if there
have been any recalls or Technical Service Bulletins
issued for the vehicle. A recall as we know is something
that could be a serious safety problem or defect and a
Technical Service Bulletin is something that manufacturers
make note of if there are numerous customer complaints
of the same problem. This might include anything from a
squeak in the dash to a gauge that might not read correctly
all the time.

What I recommend is that you first find out what recalls or TSBs
there are for the vehicle you are considering. You ask, how do
you do that? Well, there are websites available to search for that
information. The first is http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/index.cfm
which is a website run by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration which is a division of the Department of Transportation, http://www.dot.gov/citizen_services/cars_buses_bikes/index.html.
Another interesting website that has a lot of consumer information
is a privately run site called http://www.carcomplaints.com. With
these websites, the information is available to you to research
recalls and TSBs.

Now, how do you find out if your car has had the recall repair
performed? If you buy from a dealership, make sure they certify
that any recalls and TSBs have been complied with. If you’re
going to purchase from a used car dealership, I would have them
run a Carfax recall report on the vehicle for you. If they won’t do
it, then I would be suspicious of what else they may be covering
up and if you are purchasing from a private seller, it may be in your
best interest to purchase a Carfax report on your own. The cost of
the report could save you thousands of dollars in headache problems
down the road and they also offer some of the information for free,
so it is definitely worthwhile to check out beforehand.

Kyle Busch is the author of “Drive the Best for the Price…” He
welcomes your comments or car questions at his auto web site:
www.DriveTheBestBook.com.