by Christopher Stone

Created on: March 23, 2009

the Kelly Blue Book values cars primarily by age, mileage, and original purchase price, or at least this is the basis for their system

after setting a basis, the type of car is looked at, for example; is it a sports model or a rare model, meaning there were not a huge amount of them made.

as a used car buyer it is good to start with the Kelley Blue Book, however you should never stop there, because if you do a good inspection of the car, it will tell you vast amounts about what kind of life it has had.

here is a list of seven things any used car buyer can look at to help in the purchase of a used car, after checking The Blue Book

1. Check in the corner of the windshield for a sticker showing hand written mileage, this is what a large number of oil change garages or shops use to determine when the next oil change is due. Not all changing stations use this method, if there is no sticker then check the maintenance book that should still be in the glove compartment, usually in the back there is a area used for oil changes

2. While checking on the oil change in the maintenance book you can also look for other signs of the up keep of the vehicle, such as; do a quick study of the maintenance schedule to see if the previous owner actually followed it by writing down different maintenance actions performed in the vehicles history such as; steering fluid check, transmission fluid and filter change or inspections performed as requested in the owners manual.

3. visually inspect the area all around each wheel, what this can tell you is what kinds of roads this vehicle has been driven on and since the area inside the wheel base is plastic it usually shows a great history, things to look for are dents or scratches on the plastic meaning the vehicle has been driven on gravel or loose pavement. also look inside the corners where the plastic mounts to the outer shell to see if there is a build up of anything such as tar or gravel etc....(the majority of people who was their cars usually forget this area completely or to some degree.

4. find a area to the front or behind the vehicle that is clear of any fluids, if possible move the car to the spot you have chosen while you continue inspecting,..this will tell you if there are any fluids leaking from the vehicle.

5. if you are allowed to drive the car, find a parking lot where the area is clear and turn the steering wheel as far to to one side as possible and drive the car slowly both forward and backward in the best circle the car can

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