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So me and my brother are planning of buying a car together, and both of us do not know the first thing about cars.

I was recommended to buy a brand new one, but we have seen some very beautiful used ones with nice price tags.
So when buying a used car, i need to know, like a how to guide of what things i should check about the car.
That also includes sometimes about even brand new cars.

I heard that there is some kind of a serial number you can check online if the car is used/damaged.

So anyway, if any members here have knowledge in this matter , please share your experience and guide our way.
what's the budget and what kind of cars are you looking for? sedan, suv, sports car... Automatic transmission or not, do you care about fuel consumption or not... You need to give your requirements first.

And since this is a subjective subject, much like "which is better iphone or sumsung", i'm telling you, you're not gonna get a definitive answer, users are gonna tell you to buy this or that, and you're gonna be more confused than ever.

I say go ask a car dealer or a mechanic or someone in your family who knows about cars.

As for a guide check this and this

A quick search on "what to look for when buying used car" will display about 288,000 results on youtube and about 215,000,000 results on google.

A guide to buy a new car? Any car is just fine if it fits your requirements.
am not a car expert.
Any used car that has been driven in Lebanon is a bad idea, just look at the roads.
get a picanto .. amazing mileage and very good mechanics
Here is an update of what we are looking for,
What kind of cars , just a regular car to go out . No SUVs and such, sports cars are preferable .
Does not matter if its manual or automatic , and for the fuel consumption, i dont know, i guess its better always if it was less.
@Fischer , thanks, the first link to the guide looks very helpful . Will watch some of the youtube videos later .
The Budget, i guess 10 000-11 000$ , 15 000$ tops if parents decide to help.

Even though these things matter, the point of my topic was, to, how to check a used car for malfunctions in the engine or stuff like that,but i guess the best choice of that is to take it to a mechanic or someone who knows about cars like you said.
And find out if the car has been damaged before . (By that number)
Im guessing its called a VIN number by the guide that @Fisher showed me . How can i find out more about that number ..?

Found this Car on elmazad .
Fischer wrotewhat's the budget and what kind of cars are you looking for? sedan, suv, sports car... Automatic transmission or not, do you care about fuel consumption or not... You need to give your requirements first.

And since this is a subjective subject, much like "which is better iphone or sumsung", i'm telling you, you're not gonna get a definitive answer, users are gonna tell you to buy this or that, and you're gonna be more confused than ever.

I say go ask a car dealer or a mechanic or someone in your family who knows about cars.

As for a guide check this and this

A quick search on "what to look for when buying used car" will display about 288,000 results on youtube and about 215,000,000 results on google.

A guide to buy a new car? Any car is just fine if it fits your requirements.
Awesome links!
Get the vin number and put it here: http://www.carfax.com/entry.cfx

Note: 1) I think it only works on us cars or cars that were driven in the us.
2) Its written by the people that used it so some may uplift its condition to make it sell for a better price
I am getting device that will show where car repainted, in 1-2 month. If you are going to buy car after that time, i can help you to check that.
nuclearcat wroteI am getting device that will show where car repainted, in 1-2 month. If you are going to buy car after that time, i can help you to check that.
a device that can show where car repainted ? Like the owner has repainted the car ?
Can you show me a link to this device ? plus, whats the use of it ? i mean , a repaint is not such of a big deal .
VIN is only for US cars.
When you want to buy a car, make sure you get with you a mechanical and electrical car engineer or at least mechnical, everybody is expert in their domain, you can't become an expert in like 3 days :P
well I have been watching about 12 seasons of Top Gear and I know it doesn't make me an expert but the advice I can give you is this:
1) for that money buy a new car instead of an old one, its better to buy a new kia instead of a used bmw or mercedes....it just helps you get rid of the headache of: has it been crashed, how good is the engine, is the electric system good.....just go for a new one!
2) kia's are surprisingly very reliable, my friend bought the kia rio 3 years ago, and it hasn't broken down once...of course he takes good care of it...(changes the oil, inspects it once every 3 months...)
3) DO NOT and I repeat NEVER EVER buy a Chinese car....NEVER!
4) best cars to go for are either German or Japanese (bmw, mercedes, honda<=very good brand...)
5) I highly recommend to not buy a french car either, they are not reliable at all...top gear did a huge survey at I think 2006 or 2007, and they found the most reliable car was a honda s2000 and the top ten were German and Japanese cars like bmw or vw and honda and nissan.....and the worse ten most unreliable cars were french cars like renault and peugeot...
6)also I recommend to not buy a toyota car, they have recalled cars sooo many times because of faults they discovered after selling them...

edit: if you have any questions on a specific brand let me know!
Kia have made some great cars that are very good with great prices. Nissans jeeps are simply EPIC in my point of view, but suck fuel like a fat baby starving for some milk. BMW are the best cars you can plan on buying, they may be expensive but wont give you any trouble in the future. Mercedes is just a normal car with normal standards. Make sure they are NEW, or if you want a nice used car that is cheap make sure you inspect every inch of it even the owners that sold it. Also if your going to buy a car make sure its manufactured and made from the same place the car is from, or from Germany.
I highly recommend an american 2007+ Honda Civic, you can find many in your price range and its a very superb car vrry fun to drive and reliable. Another alternative is thr Nissan Tida, goes for about the dame price range but i believe u can find newer models than the civic.

When checking out the car, take every fault howevrt tiny it is into consideration it could be a clue to somrthing desastres in the car, follow car fax and don't be hastey with your purchase. Get a professional that you trust(some of them accept bribes and screw you over) to inspect the car.

If you want to the ehole mess of looking inspecting qnd purchasing a usrd car than buy a korean car and save yoursrlf the trouble and time
Seat Ibiza 2010 7spd DSG is an option too. Unbelievably reliable car and very appealing to look at. You can find some at pre-owned Seat dealership where you can assure yourself that the car is already checked for you.
thegodfatherdany wroteSeat Ibiza 2010 7spd DSG is an option too. Unbelievably reliable car and very appealing to look at. You can find some at pre-owned Seat dealership where you can assure yourself that the car is already checked for you.
what about the parts? are they easy to find? and are they expensive like the alfa romeo parts are?
AVOlio wrote
nuclearcat wroteI am getting device that will show where car repainted, in 1-2 month. If you are going to buy car after that time, i can help you to check that.
a device that can show where car repainted ? Like the owner has repainted the car ?
Can you show me a link to this device ? plus, whats the use of it ? i mean , a repaint is not such of a big deal .
It is a deal over friend, not for webshop. If car repainted, mostly it means it has accident hit in this place.
Maybe my reception is just different, but for me it is not acceptable to take car, that maybe will go pieces on critical situations (i knew such situations in Lebanon) or i will lose control on it, because it is not stable on road.
Plus... if you say to seller - this car has accidents here and there, and he says no accidents - it is just reason to lower price :)
4 months later
Hello. This may sound a bit off topic but i didnt want to open a new thread.
I am looking to buy a car too so i was checking some expos online and i found one located in Rawche called Ghaddar Motors.
This expo has cheaply priced cars compared to other private sellers or dealer. Is it a risk to take by buying from an expo like that? Does anybody know anything about him? Thanks.

Heres a link for the expo: https://www.facebook.com/GhaddarMotors/info