Used car checklist: what to check at the car

• Run the VIN check above before you make the trip. If the ad doesn't show the VIN, ask the seller for it. A bad title history can rule the car out before you drive anywhere, and any open recall is a question to ask the seller.
• Ask the seller not to start or drive the car before you get there, so you can watch it start cold.
• Ask a private seller to have the title, the registration, and any service records with them. Ask a dealer for the service records and any history report it has.
• Plan to see the car in daylight. A collision-repair guide that Virginia's Motor Vehicle Dealer Board shares with buyers says a walk around the car in good light will often show whether a panel was replaced or repainted. If the car is too dirty to see reflections in the paint, the guide suggests asking for it to be washed.
• Bring a flashlight, a penny for the tire check, and a friend if you can.

Start with the papers. If they don't match the car, you can stop here.

• Match the VIN. Find it on the plate on top of the dashboard, on the driver's side where it meets the windshield, and on the label on the driver's door or door frame. Both should match the title and the registration exactly. At a dealer, check the Buyers Guide and your paperwork too. A VIN plate or label that's scratched, loose, or looks replaced is a warning sign.
• At a dealer, read the Buyers Guide. Dealers must display this form on every used car they offer for sale. See which box is checked. “As Is - No Dealer Warranty” means the dealer won't pay for any problems or repairs. “Dealer Warranty” means the form lists what's covered and for how long. States that limit “as is” sales use an “Implied Warranties Only” box instead. The final Buyers Guide becomes part of your sales contract and overrides anything different in it. If the dealer handles the sale in Spanish, federal rules say the Buyers Guide must be in Spanish too. Here's what “as is” means for you.
• Read the title for brands. Look for words like salvage, rebuilt, flood or water damage, junk, and lemon law buyback (also called warranty return). States add these labels to show a car's current or past condition, such as major damage or a return to its maker under a lemon law. The names vary by state.
• Look for a lender. If the title lists a lienholder (a bank, credit union, or finance company) and there's no release, a lender still has a claim on the car. Don't pay until you know how the loan gets paid off. Here's how to check for a lien.
• Match the name. From a private seller, the name on the front of the title should match the name on the seller's photo ID.
• Compare the mileage. Check the odometer against the mileage on the title, on service and inspection records, and on oil-change stickers. No older record should show more miles than the odometer does now, though a sticker's “next change due” mileage can be higher. The wear on the pedals should fit the miles too. See how to spot a rolled-back odometer.

Walk all the way around the car, then look underneath and inside. Take photos of anything you want your mechanic to check.

• Paint and panels. Look down each side from a few angles. Color that doesn't quite match from one panel to the next, or reflections that ripple or don't line up, can mean body work. The gaps between panels should be even, and the panels should sit flush. Look for paint overspray on rubber seals, door jambs, hinges, and trim. See more signs of crash repairs.
• Rust. With a flashlight, look under the car at the frame, along the rocker panels below the doors, and along the bottoms of the doors. A frame that's cracked, has repair welds, or is rusted through is on the Buyers Guide's own list of major defects. Weld seams across the bottom of the body or extra undercoating can also point to crash repairs.
• Tires. Put a penny in the tread with Lincoln's head upside down and facing you. If you can see the top of his head, the tires need replacing. Look for cuts, cracks, or bulges, check that all four are the same size, and ask your mechanic about wear that's heavier on one edge. Then find the DOT code on each tire's sidewall. It may be on only one side, so check both. Its last four digits are the week and year the tire was made, so 1522 means the 15th week of 2022. Some carmakers and tire makers recommend replacing tires that are 6 to 10 years old, even if the tread looks fine.
• Glass and lights. Look for cracks and chips in the windshield and windows. With a friend outside, check the headlights (low and high beams), turn signals, brake lights, reverse lights, and hazard lights.
• Flood signs. Smell the cabin and the trunk. A musty odor, or a heavy smell of cleaner that could be covering one, is a warning sign. Look under the carpet and floor mats, under the dashboard, and in the spare-tire well for water stains, silt, sand, or mud. Look for fog inside the headlights and taillights, and for rust on screws where water wouldn't normally reach. See how to spot a flood-damaged car.

Do this before the test drive, while the engine is still cold.

1. Open the hood before you start the car. Check the oil and coolant levels, and look for leaks or wet spots on the engine and on the ground under the car.
2. Turn the car on without starting the engine. Warning lights such as the check engine light and the tire-pressure light should light up to show they work.
3. Start the engine. The warning lights should go off once it's running. A check engine light that stays on, or never came on at all, needs an explanation. Texas fails a car on its emissions test if that light doesn't work, because it's there to warn the driver of a problem.
4. Watch the tailpipe and listen as it starts. Note any smoke, and whether it's still there once the engine warms up. Listen for knocking, ticking, squealing, or grinding. Tell your mechanic what you saw and heard.
5. Let it idle for a few minutes. It should run smoothly, without shaking, stalling, or a warning light coming back on.

A test drive should show how the car runs, not just its features. Washington's attorney general suggests driving it the way you drive every day: on the freeway, in town, and on hills. Turn the radio off so you can listen, and plan a route that covers each of these:

• City streets. In stop-and-go traffic, the car should shift smoothly, without slipping, jerking, or delays.
• Highway speed. Listen as the engine speeds up while you merge, and on a hill if there is one. At speed, the car should track straight and smooth. If it shudders or drifts to one side, it might need only an alignment, or it might need suspension work, or its structure could be bent.
• Braking. Where it's safe and no one is behind you, make a firm, controlled stop. The car should stop in a straight line, without grinding, and the pedal should stay firm instead of feeling soft or sinking.
• A rough road. Drive over bumps or a patched stretch of road. Listen for clunks, rattles, and squeaks.
• A parking lot. Drive slowly in a circle with the wheel turned all the way, one way and then the other. Listen for clicking, clunking, or grinding. Back up, and try the parking brake.
• Heat and A/C. Run the air conditioning on its coldest setting and the heat on its hottest, and try the defroster and each fan speed.

Afterward, look under the car again for fresh drips, and write down what you noticed for your mechanic.

If you have a basic OBD2 code reader, or can borrow one, plug it into the car's diagnostic port with the seller's OK. It can show two useful things:

• Stored trouble codes. These are problems the car's computer has recorded. Write them down for your mechanic.
• Readiness monitors. These are the car's self-checks of its emissions systems. Texas and Nevada both note that clearing the codes or disconnecting the battery resets them to “not ready,” and Nevada adds that a battery that died or was just replaced does it too. Texas still passes a 2001 or newer car with one monitor not ready. If several aren't ready, someone may have cleared the codes recently, so ask the seller why.

A code reader is a quick screen, not a diagnosis. Leave the diagnosis to your mechanic.

Ask these before you talk price, and write down the answers. Then compare them with the paperwork, the VIN check, and what you saw. The Virginia collision-repair guide says the biggest red flag is a gap between what the seller says and what the car shows.

At a dealer

• Can my mechanic inspect the car, at a shop or here on the lot?
• Is it sold as is, or with a warranty? What does the warranty cover, and for how long?
• Are there any open recalls? Has any recall work been done?
• May I see the service records and any history report you have?
• Has it been in an accident, or had body or frame repairs?
• Where did the car come from: a trade-in, an auction, or a rental fleet?
• What's the full out-the-door price, in writing? Here's how to get it.

From a private seller

• Is the title in your name, and do you have it with you?
• Is there a loan on the car? If so, which lender?
• Has it been in an accident or a flood?
• Do you have the service records?
• Why are you selling it?
• Are there any open recalls, and were any fixed?
• Can my mechanic inspect it before I buy?

Buying from someone you found online? Read how to avoid private-seller scams before you meet or pay.

Your own checks can rule a car out, but they can't clear it. Before you pay, have a mechanic you choose do a pre-purchase inspection. The FTC says a history report isn't a substitute for one: it may list accidents and flood damage, but typically not mechanical problems.

• Tell the mechanic what you noticed at the car and on the drive, and what the VIN check showed.
• If a dealer won't let the car leave the lot, the FTC says a mobile inspection service may be able to come to it. Or ask the dealer to bring the car to a shop you choose.
• Ask for a written report with the car's VIN and a cost estimate for every repair it needs. The FTC notes you can use those estimates to negotiate the price.

You pay for the inspection. Oregon's Justice Department says it may cost $100 or more but could save you thousands. Use the inspection record to plan it and write down what the mechanic finds.

• The VINs on the car and the paperwork don't all match, or a VIN plate or label looks tampered with.
• From a private seller, the name on the title doesn't match the seller's ID.
• A lender is listed on the title, and there's no clear plan to pay off the loan and release the lien before you pay.
• The title or the history report shows a brand, like salvage or flood, that the seller didn't mention.
• An older record shows more miles than the odometer does now, and the seller can't show records that explain it.
• The seller won't allow an independent inspection.
• You're pushed to pay before you've seen the car, to pay by gift card or wire transfer, or to decide on the spot.
• What the seller tells you doesn't match what the car shows.