Buying A Used Car For Dummies -

A car with documented oil changes every 5,000–7,500 miles is "gold".

Wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty. You need to be a skeptic: buying a used car for dummies

Insert a penny into the tire tread (head down). If you see all of Lincoln’s head, the tires are bald and will cost you hundreds to replace immediately. A car with documented oil changes every 5,000–7,500

Mismatched paint or uneven gaps between body panels (like the hood and fender) often mean the car was in a crash and repaired poorly. If you see all of Lincoln’s head, the

Buying a used car is a smart way to avoid the massive "new car" depreciation hit, but it requires a detective's eye to avoid inheriting someone else’s mechanical nightmares.

Never buy based on a shiny photo alone. Use the 17-digit to run a history report through services like CARFAX or AutoCheck .