When looking for great bargains shopping for a vehicle, many people choose to buy one from a private owner instead of going to a car dealership or car lot. While this can save you a lot of money in many cases it also limits your options if you have problems with the vehicle and private car sales are not subject to as stringent regulations like car dealers are.

When buying a car from an individual the responsibility that the vehicle is sound mechanically is totally up to you. It is highly recommended that you take the vehicle to a trusted mechanic for an inspection before you buy the car. It will be money well spent. If the owner has a problem with this, don?t bother dealing with them. Anyone who is honest and not trying to hind something will not have a problem with your request.

Whenever you buy a car privately it is a must to ensure that the vehicle you?re interested in does not have any lien on it. A lien basically means that someone else other than the person selling it actually has claim to the title due to money still being owed on it. If you finalize the purchase of a vehicle with a lien on it and you are unaware of the lien, you may have to pay of the loan to obtain the title. This is another one of those areas where you have more protection buying from a car dealer as they are required by law to ensure there are no encumbrances on vehicles they sell.

Always be sure that you are dealing with the actual owner of the vehicle you?re interested in. Check their name against the title of the vehicle as well as their driver?s license. Also be sure to ask for any repair bills and maintenance records. This is especially important for high end vehicles such as Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus where the value of the vehicle is substantially tied to its maintenance record.

Remember that when buying a vehicle from an individual you are solely taking on the risk that you could be buying from someone who has rebuilt a wrecked car, replaced an engine or transmission, or even rolled back the odometer. A quick way you can tell that someone has rolled back the odometer is just by looking at the numbers because they will usually be uneven.

If you?re buying in the US near the Gulf Coast another concern you have to watch out for is flood damage. Individuals can get away with selling you a flood damaged vehicle where car dealers are fully liable for doing so.

The decision is yours, does saving the money make it worth the possible risks when buying a car privately. If you need to save the money either bring a trusted knowledgeable person with you to check out the car or buy a used car from a dealer. At least they have to have some integrity on their used cars and more often than not they?ll give you some type of warranty. Just try to stay away from the ?buy as is? deals from a car dealer or privately.

Check out more Car Buying Help articles and learn why Car Buying Online saves you time and money. Be prepared the next time you?re in the market for a new or used car with tips from ShopOttawaCars.com and our ShopOttawaCars.com Blog