Asking how many miles and how many owners it had is what you need to determine if you're considering a used vehicle.
Experts advice us that cars are in better shape if they've only had one owner rather than if they had multiple owners. Many of the one owner cars are relatively new, have fewer miles on them and less overall wear and tear. While these cars may cost a bit more, the chances of a new owner having to shell out cash down the road for repairs could decrease dramatically.
Many car buying decisions are done with the help of the one owner preference. Nine out of ten shoppers claim that finding out how many owners the car has had is important. Eight out of 10 claim that they're more likely to buy the car that only had one owner rather than the car that had multiple owners. Two out of three shoppers are even willing to pay more for a one owner vehicle.
Finding One Owner Vehicles
To find one owner cars, study found that the best place to look is at franchised dealers but investigating on your own is also important.
A good place to start is with a vehicle history report from a company such as Carfax. The company's reports give a complete time line of a vehicle's ownership, and clearly indicates whether a vehicle has had one or multiple owners. The reports also indicate whether a car has been in an accident, flood or fire, or if it has been totaled and rebuilt.
In addition to running a report on any car you considering, it's important to talk to the dealer about the vehicle's previous owner. You need to ask if the dealership can guarantee that the car is indeed a one owner vehicle and find out as well why the owner sold the car in the first place. A lot of dealers do provide a free vehicle history report.
Ask a private seller what you would normally ask a dealer as well as the seller's phone number and address. If he or she is not willing to provide that information, you may want to consider walking away from the deal.