Auto Talk 101: Mistakes When Buying Used Cars - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. I am Chris Cozad with Alternative Auto Care. First and foremost, is not having your car checked by a mechanic who is working for you. A lot of people fall into the certified car, but those cars have been checked by someone working for the seller, not the buyer. It is well worth it to have a pre-purchase inspection. Most shops do that for a minimal charge. Make sure that everything is okay. The biggest thing that happens is you buy someone else's headaches. And so that is very easily preventable. I hate it when my customers call me and say "I just bought a car, will you check it out?" I would so much rather have the conversation with them beforehand. Take a look under the hood. You do not have to know what you are looking at necessarily to see if things like belts and hoses are frayed, there is oil all over everything. I also recommend a very thorough test drive, including at freeway speed. Do not just zip it around the block at the car lot. Get it up to speed at the freeway, make sure there are no vibrations at high speed, that the transmission is shifting properly. You can tell how it feels. You may not know what is wrong, but you should be able to tell if it feels like it is, you know, vibrating or things like that without knowing the cause, and do not be afraid to ask questions. Ask about maintenance history if you can. That is harder with a car lot, but if you are buying from an individual, you can ask them about maintenance history and if they have maintenance records, things like that.