The title of this article might have been a bit misleading “Cheap Used Cars: What To Look For Not To Get Cheap Used Cars?” Are you wondering “huh?” As a car buyer on a budget, you’re looking for a cheap or affordably priced car. Cheap in price is fine, but cheap in quality is not. After all, you need a reliable vehicle that can get you to and from work, among other places.

So how can you get a cheap car without actually getting a cheap car?

Test drive and inspection – It is always recommended (whether you are shopping for cheap used cars or new cars) that you inspect and test drive the vehicle. This is undoubtedly the best way to ensure you don’t get a shoddy car. The test drive is easy, but what if you don’t know about cars? Should I skip the inspection? No. If you must pay a few dollars to have a quick check on the vehicle by a mechanic or take a friend or family member with you for a quick check inside and out.

read reviews – As stated above, you want to be on the lookout for car owners misrepresenting the vehicles they are trying to sell. Some sellers make their vehicles look much better than they really are and the new buyer gets to keep the bag. On that same note, some problems aren’t even the vehicle owner’s fault. Suppose he reads reviews of a vehicle he likes and notices a theme among customers: the car rusts too easily. Rust occurring on one or two vehicles (especially in the northern states) is normal, but it shouldn’t be a widespread complaint from hundreds or thousands of car owners.

Read recovery information – This is another issue where the vehicle owner might not be misrepresenting the vehicle because they may not have been aware that the vehicle was the subject of a recall. This is common when cheap used cars are constantly changing owners. The good news about recalls is that if you can prove you own the car, the recall should be fixed, and it’s probably free. Similarly, recalls cause you to consider the overall quality of the vehicle and this is a factor that you should take into account.

Price and Quality – If you didn’t already know, the Kelley Blue Book website is a must for buyers looking for cheap used cars. You enter information about a car and then you can get the recommended value for trade-ins and for owner vehicle sales. As stated above, some sellers will misrepresent their vehicles to make them look like a better deal. That is why it is recommended that you do your research in advance on the Kelley Blue Book website. Say you host a car test drive, you need to have the basics (make, model, year, and mileage). Enter this information, but two three different searches based on different conditions: excellent, good and fair. So let’s say the car buyer lied and the car is more fair than good, you know it has an estimated value that you can return to them for an offer.