Hi. I’m Roger Ghai and I wanted today to talk a little bit about how buying a used car could actually put you at more risk. The used cars present a significant problem, because according to the 2014 National Highway Transportation Safety Board, they came out with the statistics showing that there were many, many, many more recalls for older cars. Those vehicles, that is the older vehicles which were at a high rate of being recalled, were susceptible to many different faulty issues, thus resulting in many different types of motor vehicle accidents.
There’s an organization called the Consumer Reports Buying Guide which indicated, or put out a set of guidelines, safety guidelines, if you are considering buying an older vehicle. There are a few things that you do want to check out if you’re thinking of purchasing an older car. One thing, a primary thing is, of course, the tires and the suspension. These can cause enormous problems. One of the better things that you can do is basically to have a trusted mechanic verify that all operational systems are in good, consistent, working order.
A lot of times they too can check the particular vehicle to see what types of recalls have been issued for that vehicle, and they can advise you on what specific systems have caused problems for those types of vehicles in the past. It’s not that you shouldn’t buy used cars. They’re sometimes one of the best deals that you can get on the market. As we all know, cars go down the moment that they leave the lot, but again, you just need to be a little cautious that some of these vehicles, which are older, have been having a high rate of recalls. You need to be aware of that situation for your own safety. If you have any questions, feel free to call my office at 770-792-1000.