How to Buy a Used Car and Not Get Taken
A Word about This Segment
This segment was developed by people who know the used-vehicle market. Their objective was to provide a reference that would help you make a more informed used-car, van, or pickup buying decision. Their efforts have produced a guide that offers ideas, tips, and suggestions that you can put to use when evaluating a used vehicle, even if you have little or no automotive expertise.

A.C.LS. makes no representations that this information will assure you of buying a trouble-free vehicle. Make no mistake, there are risks when buying a used car, van, or pickup. While it is possible to detect problems that could lead to costly repairs, no publication and probably few automotive experts can predict with 100 percent accuracy how a used car* will perform one month, six months, or a year into the future.

You will, we believe, improve the odds of getting a good used buy by preparing yourself before you start to shop. We offer this manual as a means of providing you with basic information that, when used with common sense, can help you decide what questions to ask of the seller, what to look for during your inspection and test drive, and when to enlist the help and advice of a professional mechanic.

It is our hope you will find this segment interesting, useful, and that it will make your used-car shopping experience a more rewarding one.

*When we talk about a, used car, we are, in general, talking about issues that also relate to the purchase of a used van or pickup. To avoid the redundant use of "oar, van, or pickup" we are, in the main, limiting ourselves to the term "used car" and hope that you will urcder.stand that, unless otherwise stated, it gevcrally applies to vans and pickups as well.