Jacksonville Used Cars – Pushing Your Buttons

Jacksonville Used Cars – Pushing Your Buttons

By: Steve Kicklighter and Beth Kicklighter

Today we would like to talk about the third of our top ten things we recommend you look for when purchasing your next pre-owned vehicle.  These ten items are not in any particular order of importance, but are things we feel will help insure value when shopping for a car and could prevent you from making a costly mistake.

Week Three: Power windows and door locks:

Believe it or not this is a part of your vehicle that could add up to hundreds of dollars of repairs if not properly inspected.

While the inspection process is as simple as it gets, by simply checking each button to see if it is working adequately, it requires thoroughness to inspect each and every switch or button in a vehicle to insure they are working properly.  For example:  While the right rear window switch located on the drivers control panel may properly lower and raise that window it is possible that the switch located at the right rear passenger seat may not lower and raise that window at all.  So the key here again is simply to be thorough with your investigation in these areas.  The repair can be as simple as repairing a switch or be as costly as replacing a motor. If the car has power seats installed make sure you check all directions including the lumbar support to see if they are working properly. 

These repairs shouldn’t prevent you from buying a used car with these issues, but beware the costs could add up if several of these problems are found. Testing all the switches in a used car is a must including the a/c and radio. If you find out there are broken switches, talk with the dealer to see if they are going to fix the problem before you make the purchase. 

Note:  don’t forget to turn child locks off before testing. Some vehicles are equipped with child locks to prevent the door from being opened from the interior of the car. This is also the case with power windows. Newer vehicles have a standard window lock option that prevents the passengers from rolling down the car windows. 

Some models can be terribly expensive to replace window and door switches and motors. These repairs can add up in a hurry.  

Steve and Beth Kicklighter own and operate Kicklighter Auto Sales in Jacksonville, Florida.  To see more helpful hints, including videos, go to http://jacksonville-used-cars.com

Jacksonville Used Cars - A is for Air Conditioning

By: Steve & Beth Kicklighter

Week Two of Our Ten Week Series on Buying a pre-owned vehicle.

Today we would like to talk about the second of ten things we look for when purchasing your next pre-owned vehicle.  These ten items are not in any particular order of importance, but all things being equal, we feel these will help insure value when shopping for a car and could prevent you from making a horrible mistake.

Week Two: Air Conditioning

Living in Florida, one of the most important features a customer looks for is air conditioning. Temperatures can reach upwards of 100 degrees Fahrenheit in June, July, and August.  It isn’t unusual for temperatures to stay at or near the ninety degree mark in September as well.  Therefore A/C is just as important to us as it is to our customers.  It can also be one of the most expensive items in a vehicle to repair or replace. 

The problem is that it is extremely difficult for the average person to do any in depth inspection of a vehicle’s air conditioning system other than turning it on in order to see how cold the air is that comes out of the vents.   Make sure the air is cold, not merely cool.  That tells you that the compressor is working, which could be a major repair cost.  It also lets you know that the system is fully charged. Now it doesn’t mean that leaks don’t currently exist in the system and the seller of the vehicle has just refilled a leaky system or compressor with Freon.  Therefore, give the car time to warm up to see if air coming out of the vent warms up or stays cold. The engine has to be warm for the coolant to take effect. 

If you are purchasing your vehicle from a reputable dealer who is including a 30+ day warranty that would cover the compressor etc., this should give you ample time to discover a leaky air conditioning system, should it suddenly get warmer during that time period. Earlier in the month I expressed the importance of having a warranty with a used vehicle (Kicklighter Auto Sales Warranty Blog).

Whenever possible have your vehicle inspected prior to purchase by a certified mechanic. Nobody wants to buy a used car in the summer and have the air conditioning go out. 

Steve and Beth Kicklighter own and operate Kicklighter Auto Sales in Jacksonville, Florida.  To see more helpful hints, including videos, go to http://jacksonville-used-cars.com

Jacksonville Used Cars – Understanding Lights & Gauges

Jacksonville Used Cars – Understanding Lights & Gauges

By Steve & Beth Kicklighter

For the next ten weeks we would like to talk about the top ten things we look for and recommend you look for when purchasing your next pre-owned vehicle.  These ten items are not in a particular order of importance, but they are all things we feel will help insure value when shopping for a car and could prevent you from making a horrible mistake

Week One: Instrument Lights and Gauges:

Many people assume when purchasing a vehicle that all Instrument lights and gauges are working properly.  Many times they are not. In some cases we have seen lights that have been deliberately and intentionally tampered with.  An unscrupulous seller will do this so that an obvious problem with the vehicle is not readily apparent.  You as a buyer would find out about this problem once the deal was done and you drove away with your purchase.  Most manufacturers engineer their vehicles so that when you turn the ignition on all the vehicles instrument lights come on. As the car’s ignition is started those lights will turn off if no problem exists. 

Recently while inspecting a vehicle we were considering for purchase we preformed this test and discovered that the air bag light was not seen.  Having to put on glasses to investigate closer we were quite shocked to find that someone had placed black electrical tape over the airbag light.  Upon removing the tape we discovered someone had punched a small hole in the instrument cluster to destroy the light and keep it from glowing under the tape, which made it impossible to replace the light in the instrument cluster.  The reason they had done this was because the air bag on the passenger side was totally missing.

 

Surprisingly, the cost to replace and reprogram the damaged instrument cluster is about twice as much as simply replacing the air bag!  In another case someone had simply taken a black magic marker and colored over a glowing check engine light.  We have seen this deliberate tampering many times in our inspections of vehicles. As your trusted automotive professionals we take these inspections seriously in order to uncover these problems and deliver quality vehicles to our customers.

The last place you want to find out about this kind of tampering is when the vehicle stops running and you are stuck on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck pondering how much of a bite the repair is going to take.  So take care and be aware of this tactic when purchasing a vehicle. 

Beth & Steve Kicklighter own and operate Kicklighter Auto Sales in Jacksonville, Florida.  Visit their website at http://jacksonville-used-cars.com

Jacksonville Used Cars: Do I Need A Warranty?

By Steve Kicklighter

Do you really need a warranty on a used car?  Absolutely!

Anytime you purchase a car as is, you are risking the entire investment in that car.

     If the value of that car is $300 it’s not a huge risk as car values go, but $300 might be all the money YOU have in the world. You may not have a job or the ability to come up with another $300. Even so, we consistently have people reject our offers of extended warranties. 

     Recently we had a customer who was in the automotive repair business purchase a vehicle worth approximately $15,000 and chose to reject extending the basic 90 day limited drivetrain warranty we gave the customer.   We explained that we had the vehicle thoroughly inspected and informed them of one minor problem we were able to find,  but recommended extending the warranty further.  The customer’s response was, they felt these warranties were not worth the investment.  Several months later, the customer experienced a devastating repair cost on that vehicle that would have been covered in full had they purchased an extended warranty.  

     Who among us in their right mind would purchase a $15,000 vehicle without full comprehensive insurance?  The same should apply to warranty coverage.  Contrary to popular belief, warranties are not very expensive and usually pay for themselves in the first two years.  They are also often financeable. It is our professional opinion that you should never purchase a used vehicle without an extended warranty.  The price of the vehicle should help you determine the type of warranty you should purchase.

     

     When it comes to protecting your used car investment, you should always weigh the cost of a warranty against the risk of being without one should the need arise.  Then you will come to the right conclusion. 

Steve Kicklighter is owner of Kicklighter Auto Sales, a family owned and operated used car dealership in Jacksonville, Florida.  Visit his website at http://jacksonville-used-cars.com

Jacksonville Used Cars - Understanding CARFAX

Jacksonville Used Cars – Understanding CARFAX 

                In august I wrote a blog explaining the importance of buying a used car only if you have a CARFAX in hand (http://kicklighterautosales.blogspot.com/2012/08/jacksonville-usedcars-how-to-value-my.html). I want to go into more detail and show you exactly how to read and view a CARFAX on any car that you desire. 

                This service is not free so I suggest you get the carfax from a dealership website or physically from a salesman on a car lot. Many dealerships have a CARFAX account on their inventory that you can request free of charge. I’m going to walk you through a detailed CARFAX on the Kicklighter Auto Sales website. Here is the link for you to follow along (http://kicklighterautosales.com/view/1028/Black-2010-Ford-Fusion-in-Jacksonville-FL). You’re going to scroll down until you see the “show me the CARFAX” icon located under the price of the vehicle. 

                Once you have the CARFAX open on your browser you can see the complete vehicle history of everything that has been done to the vehicle. The first box is going to be a summary of the vehicle’s history explaining how many owners and whether or not the car has a clean title. As you can see this vehicle is a CARFAX one owner and has had no previous accidents. This section also lists the mileage and how many service records are on file for this automobile. 

                The next section is a price calculator that determines whether you need to add or subtract from the retail value of the car. Based on the history CARFAX suggests this car is worth $260 over retail value.  This is the price you can expect to pay from a dealer for a similar vehicle. 

                Below that is ownership history. This section will tell you the estimated length of ownership and the last reported odometer reading. It will also tell you the states it was purchased in and the year the car was purchased.  An obvious red flag would be if the car has been resold multiple times in a few years.

                This section is vital because you want to have the title history of the vehicle you are purchasing. This explains if the car has any flood or hail damage. If you want a car with a clean title then reference this section when talking with a salesman. It explains if there were any reported odometer discrepancies as well.

                The last box before the detailed history is additional information. If you decide to buy a salvage or rebuilt title then this section will give you details on airbag deployment, odometer, structural damage, and warranty. 

                The last section that we are going to discuss is the detailed history.  Here you can see what has been done to the automobile. Every dealership that offers service is required to report to CARFAX. This list reports something as severe as accidents to as minor as an oil change. I would never purchase a used vehicle without seeing the CARFAX first.

By: Jeremy Kicklighter

Kicklighter Auto Sales Manager

Links:

Website- http://kicklighterautosales.com/

http://jacksonville-used-cars.com/

CARFAX example- http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?vin=3FAHP0HA2AR231016&partner=dvw_1