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The 9 Worst Mistakes I’ll Never Make (Again) When Buying A Car

Austin Smith

Published: March 22, 2024 11:00 am

Last Updated: March 22, 2024 3:26 pm

Buying a vehicle can be fun, exciting, and rewarding. It can also be expensive, devastating, and a horrible mistake if you don’t pay attention to the small details. As an automotive enthusiast here are some of the worst mistakes I’ve made buying cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles over the years.

Failing To Check For Rust

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Rust is to cars like inflation is to your savings. It’s a seemingly benign force that you forget about while it eats away for years. Then you wake up one day with something completely worthless. That was the case with a Jeep Grand Cherokee that spent it’s life in salty New England winters.

The body looked good, but the undercarriage was so rusted that the wheel bolts could not be removed and had to be cut off and replaced entirely. That bought a few months of roadworthiness until the rust continued to do it’s part, eating away at the brackets holding the gas tank in place, and everything else surrounding it.

Skipping The Test Drive

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Yes, this one hurts to admit. Sometimes you find a car that’s so unique and priced so well you just can’t lose, right? Wrong. That was the case with a rare Audi Ultra Sport with a 6-speed manual transmission. Sure the window was busted and it sat for a few years. Sure, the seller said the clutch wasn’t great (understatement), but it was only a few thousand dollars and could be easily fixed. Turns out, the car could only make it about 20 miles before the clutch died entirely and it had to be towed. The repairs cost more than the car itself, and ended up being a nightmare project with electrical gremlins on top of everything else.

Checking The Tires

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This one doesn’t seem like a big deal, tires wear down and have to be replaced. It’s just part of owning a vehicle. But not all tire wear means the same thing. On two separate vehicles now the inside of the front tires were completely bald while the outer edge still showed good tread. It can be easy to miss at first, but indicates an alignment issue. Depending on the severity, it can also mean having to replace the front end suspension. This is particularly common with heavy, higher mileage vehicles.

Buying A Tuned Car

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This one won’t apply to most buyers, but is potentially the most costly mistake on the list. Sometimes talented enthusiasts buy fun cars and make them even more fun. They do all sorts of neat things like increasing the turbo boost, or adding a supercharger. They pour thousands of dollars into a better suspension, transmission, shifter, and all sorts of extras. Things can seem great as you buy that car for less than half of the price of these extras they put into it. But… people build these cars to drive them hard, and they don’t sell them when they’re in their prime.

I made the mistake of thinking a 450hp tuned Audi was a steal, until I found out the entire driveshaft was failing and it’d cost more than the price of the car to fix that one part. Even if it was in better condition, all of the added strain of extra horsepower and aggressive driving can take it’s toll on even the most robust engines, causing premature failure. Stay away!

Going With A Single Turbo 

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Turbos became popular in the 70’s as a way to get more power out of smaller displacement engines, and save fuel economy. There are some fantastic turbos still made today (looking at you, 911), and some of the heaviest and hardest working trucks are even introducing them, like the Chevy Silverado.

But, in my lived experience turbos rarely live up to the hype. The promise of increased fuel efficiency is often negated by spirited driving, and turbo lag can throw a wet blanket on even the most fun vehicle as you wait, and wait, and wait to move. Instead, going with a larger displacement engine, or something with a more modern twin-turbo has been a better choice as a driver.

White Cloth Seats

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There is a time and place for white cloth seats, like if you live in an extremely hot place like Phoenix or Dallas. But beyond those edge cases they can turn into a disaster fast. If you have children, pets, do normal things like eat in your car, or have a job where you work with your hands the chances of destroying your white cloth seats are high.

McDonald’s Ketchup also seems to have a magnetic attraction to these seats, and doesn’t come out easily. I gambled on them once, thinking ‘how bad can it be?’. They had to be replaced 18 months later.

Forgetting The Charger

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Used EV prices are plummeting. If you’re tempted to pick up a used Tesla or Rivian for cheap, make sure the charger is included. Decent chargers can cost hundreds of dollars to replace, and can be a hassle to make sure you buy one with the correct port, that’s well built, and safe to use. After market ones on Amazon and elsewhere have a varied quality ratings, buying a shoddy one is easy. When in doubt, make sure your used EV includes the original, OEM charger. This will ensure it’s well made, and designed to work with your vehicle.

Buying The First Model Year

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Buying a new model year car is exciting. There won’t be many on the road, it will have the most current technology and design. It will probably be faster, more efficient, and more comfortable than the generation it replaced. It will also have an entirely new set of gremlins and issues that haven’t revealed themselves yet. Don’t be a guinea pig tester for an auto manufacturer, wait 2-3 years into the model line after the biggest issues have been addressed before jumping in.

Buying In A State With Different Emissions

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Different states have different emissions rules. Wyoming doesn’t require inspections while California is very strict. If you buy a vehicle in a different state than the one you’re registering it in, you may have issues. In some cases, like mine, someone may even have cut out the catalytic converters to increase performance, because their state didn’t care. And then when you go to register in your state, you have to install an entirely new exhaust system just to register the vehicle.

Other Mistakes

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What are the worst mistakes you’ve made buying a vehicle? Please share in the comments, and save drivers from the same fate!