15 Red Flags to Watch for When Buying a Used Car That Could Cost You

When you’re shopping for a used car, it's all about getting the most bang for your buck. However, if you're not careful, you could end up flushing a lot of money down the metaphorical toilet.

Here are 15 things to check before buying that used car. Keep your eyes peeled for these potential problems so you don’t find yourself shelling out cash for surprise repairs down the line. 

Rust is ugly and spreads like malignant tissue. Look under the car, around the wheel wells, and under the doors to ensure your new ride does not come with lots of rust. 

Worn-out tires are an easy fix, but if all four need replacing, that can easily set you back $1,000. Please ensure the ones on the new ride you’re considering look like they still have some life in them, so they won’t cost you all that money minutes after you pull out of the dealership. 

If the “check engine” light is on while you take a look at your potential new car, it never hurts to ask why. It might be something minor, but it could also mean an engine component is failing. So get it scanned. 

Do you see puddles under your potential new car? As the great automotive minds of our time would say, that’s bad. Oil, coolant, or transmission fluid leaks can lead to significant repair costs, so make sure the ground under the car is free of rapidly spreading pools of liquid. 

If the brakes are squishy or make weird noises, they almost certainly need work, and that work costs money. Brake jobs are decidedly not cheap, especially if rotors are involved, so again, do your due diligence. 

If you’re test-driving a car and it seems to struggle when you try to shift gears, that’s a massive and very expensive red flag. According to J.D. Power, transmission repairs can cost anywhere between $1,500 and $6.000, and that nugget of info right there should be enough for you to keep your eyes open for the problem. 

Check every single button, switch, and light, then go back and recheck every single one of them. Make sure everything works because fixing a dead power window or bad alternator can empty your wallet like nobody’s business and do so in an astonishingly small period of time. 

Bounce the car. Does it keep bouncing like a pogo stick long after it should have stopped? Congratulations! The shocks or struts are probably shot. According to Car Talk, repairs could run anywhere from $500 to $2,500. 

Odd noises, generally speaking, are not great, no matter where they come from. If those odd noises are coming from your darkened attic, you can avoid the ghosts and supernatural spirits by just not going up there, which is free. But if it’s a used car that you’re thinking of buying, rattling, knocking, and hissing are signs of engine problems. Move along. 

Of the many problems a used car can have, blue, white, or black smoke emanating from the exhaust signals trouble. Each of those colors means a different kind of trouble, all of which are expensive to fix. According to AutoZone, white smoke signals a cooling system issue, blue smoke signals burning oil, and black smoke signifies fuel in the exhaust. 

So, the used car you’re considering buying has a spotty or mismatched paint job. Besides just looking ugly, it can mean the car’s been in an accident, which might lead to structural issues down the line. Do not expect honesty from the seller when you ask why the paint looks that way. 

High miles alone don’t necessarily signal that a used car is about to go off to its great reward. It may just be an old car that its former owners used frequently. Still, it likely signals some wear and tear, meaning the timing belt or the water pump might be living on borrowed time. 

Check for musty smells, water stains, or silt under carpets when you’re shopping for a new car, especially if you’re shopping for it in an area that just had a category-five hurricane. Trust us on this one — a flood-damaged car can have stubborn electrical problems that may tempt you to just push the thing off a pier and be done with it. 

A chipped or cracked windshield might seem minor and it’s not that hard to get it fixed and be on your way. Prices vary wildly depending on the type of car, but if it’s an electric car, replacing it can cost $1,000. 

If the car you’re thinking of buying has no maintenance history, that should be a major red flag, as surely as a job applicant walking into an interview and saying he has no work history. Ensure the car has regular service records to show it’s been cared for and in good hands before you found it. 

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