Tips to help you select the best used car

When I was a graduate, I wanted to buy a second- hand car to commute. After reading some threads, I finally bought the first car in my life. Many of my friends also bought a second-hand car after graduation. We all found out that there was still a lot to watch out for. For example, how should we get the information about the used cars? How can you identify a flood-damaged car? So today, I wanna share some useful tips on buying a used car. Hope they can help you. If you have any problems, feel free to leave your questions!😁

1. Just think about what you need not just what you want

Attractive to buy a secondhand Benz because it’s cheap? Cheap to buy is not cheap to run! That’s why I just went for a second-hand Vios. Jadi la tu kan?

If you need a family car going long distances when you balik kampung, just think about safety and maintenance costs. 

2. Check prices from different sources.

Browsing some sites selling second hand cars and then comparing prices of the cars you're interested in to find out how much the expected price is. This gonna be the starting point when it comes to meeting the seller. 

Personally i compared like five or six websites, went to different dealerships just to get a good benchmark of the price. You think this is time consuming, but you’d be surprised how different prices can be. 

3. If possible, only buy from a VERY reputable dealer or private seller

Many online platforms selling cars have many ads. Most of them are second-hand car dealers, while some are private sellers. Private sellers might offer a bit higher prices, but there might be a lot of other things to deal with. 

One of my friends just bought a used car from a private seller but paid RM 5-6k more than a dealer. The pros is you avoid all sorts of weird fees, but the cons is that you’ll have to travel back and forth puspakom/jpj a couple of times to settle the whole thing. 

But at least it's more trustworthy than going to a dealer who might sell you a previously-wrecked or total loss car.

4. Pay attention to the prices on the websites

The price offered by a car dealer might not be the final price, it might be the price that does not include JPJ conversion program, inspection fee of Puspakom and bank loan, etc. Car dealers might also charge an extra fee as well. This one is called processing fees and its ridiculous. It’s never that much...

The price of my car online was RM70000, but its actual cost was about RM 80000. But my friend once fell into such a trap...So be careful, guys...

5. Inspect the car and ask for a test drive if possible

It is important to identify a flood-damaged car. But how? As the mud is not easy to remove completely, I lifted the car carpet to see whether there is mud or not. 

I also opened the Fuse box to see whether there are water spots or not. If it has a water spot, then it might be a flood-damaged car.

Test drive is a must I promise! When testing, you can do things like switch-off the radio and air con (but leave the windows up). If no sound comes out after that, then the car should be ok lah.

A tip from my repairman: try to check whether essential functions like brakes, tires, clutch, gearbox, visors, lights, doors, electric windows (if any), central door lock and air-condition are working…if you can even better bring the mechanic along haha

6. Careful check through all documents

Check the documents - B7 and B5. The B7 form is a hire purchase inspection that is given out by Puspakom after an 18-point check that includes both physical and identity checks. The B5 form is also from Puspakom for Transfer of Ownership. Just check it carefully that its not forged or anything, and this is where a reputable dealer is very, very important.

7. Last but most importantly,  if the car makes you happy, go for it!

I bought my car because it made me happy and it was cheap. So if the car satisfies you and you are happy to buy it, just do it! Buy it because it makes you happy - but buy it right!😁