Used Car Buying: All You Need to Know

With new car prices approaching levels commensurate with embarking on a college education or purchasing a new home, it's no wonder that more and more people are turning to used cars (or "pre-owned" or "experienced" in the current vernacular) as a means of transportation. Stricter laws have softened the old adage that "buying a used car is buying someone else's problem," but there are still unscrupulous dealers who will try to palm off a car that has been damaged in an accident or a natural disaster as a solid vehicle. While the purpose of this program is to educate potential used car purchasers on what to look for in order to determine whether a car is a good value or not, the presentation is wooden, amateurish, and boring (and while it's refreshingly non-stereotypical to see a woman talking about car parts rather than hawking cars, the narrator is so stiff in her movements and monotonous in her speaking that the viewer tends to slip into catatonia). Commendable for its information, though not its presentation, this is truly an optional purchase, especially as there are other (and better) used car guides available on video, such as Before You Buy: How to Inspect a Used Car (VL-1/98) and How to Buy a Used Car (VL-5/91). Aud: P. (J. Carlson)