What to look for when purchasing a used Honda - Part one
If you are looking to purchase a used Honda, you are making the right choice. Not only Honda has one of the highest resale values in the market, but this particular brand is also very reliable. Since Honda Civic is the number one selling vehicle in Canada, there will be lots of choices when you are searching for your next Honda. However price should not be the only deciding factor when it comes to your purchase, remember the old saying of "you get what you pay for"? If you are a typical consumer, the most logical route you will take is to search on Autotrader.com, because of Auto Trader's popularity majority of your local inventory can be found online that way. Bear in mind the Civic will have many different models, trims, transmission setups, km, equipment, modifications. The list goes on and on when it comes to why the two Civics are priced out differently. The rule of the thumb is the dealer will usually ask more for a Civic versus a private seller, or a small independent dealer. While it is true the smaller guys will have less overhead, but that is not the only reason why their product is cheaper. Many smaller dealers will purchase their vehicle through auction, or other wholesalers. Auctions usually don't have the best selection when it comes to the vehicle quality, because when the lease expires on a Honda, the head office may dump all the undesirable vehicles through auctions.
Vehicles with minor cosmetic damages abused and mechanically damaged vehicles, even vehicles with major accident repairs. The best Honda you can possibly purchase is straight from the dealership's existing customer. These vehicles will usually have a service history, and the dealers usually will keep the best vehicles for themselves to resale, and dump the rest to the auctions. So the cleanest, most accident free and well maintained vehicles are usually found from the dealership's existing customers. Haven said that, how can you tell if the car you are buying is accident free or well maintained? Simple, now days with the dealer disclosure laws in place, a reputable dealership is obligated to tell you if there are any damages exceeding $3000 in repairs. Usually a simple cosmetic repair will cost you about $1000, so $3000 is not a lot when you look at it from the body shop's perspective. Ask your local dealer to provide you with a Car Proof report which will list all the insurance claims or any recorded accident history.
Although Car Proof report is a great tool to determine if your vehicle has been involved in a previous accident, it may not be 100% accurate all the time. There can be repairs that was done to the vehicle and paid by customer themselves, leaving virtually no paper trail. Another simple method to quickly check if your vehicle has been involved in a major accident is to look for VIN etching stickers through out the body panels. Honda been one of the earliest manufactures to adopt this practice, all Hondas since 2001 and newer will have the vehicle VIN number sticker to every panel. If you find a panel with missing VIN stickers that usually indicate that particular part has been changed. Thank you for reading this article it is brought to you by Used Honda Toronto, you can find us online at http://www.usedhondatoronto.ca
About the Author:
Used Honda Toronto is Toronto's leading quality used car dealership, we have all makes and models including late model Honda Civics, Accords, Odysseys, CRVs and more, you can find our latest inventory online at http://www.usedhondatoronto.ca
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