Get a used car inspected before you buy

Florida has no cooling off period for car purchases. Once you sign, the car is yours, unless the seller gave you a return policy in writing.

Dealers must display a Buyers Guide in the window of every used car they offer for sale. It tells you whether the car comes with a warranty or is sold as is. As is means that once you drive off, repairs are your problem. Private sellers almost always sell as is too.

That is why the inspection happens before money changes hands, not after. The cost of an inspection is small next to the price of the car, and smaller still next to a single major repair.

Certified pre-owned programs and dealer warranties help, but read what they cover. Many exclude wear items, and some exclude whole systems. An inspection is still worth doing.

Compare the VIN on the dashboard, the driver's door jamb, and the title. They should all match. A mismatch is a reason to stop right there.

Look at the title itself. A brand like salvage, rebuilt, or flood tells you the car's past. Make sure the name on the title matches the seller's ID, and ask whether there is a lien on the car. A car with an unpaid loan cannot be cleanly transferred until the lender is paid.

Run a vehicle history report and a check through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, a federal title database. Neither one is complete, because not every accident or repair gets reported, but together they catch a lot. Look for gaps in mileage, many owners in a short time, or a car that changed states soon after a big storm.

For a private sale in Florida, the seller signs the title over to you, and you title the car in your name through the county tax collector or a license plate agency. Do not hand over money for a car whose title is missing, still in the mail, or in someone else's name.

After every big storm, flood-damaged cars get dried out, cleaned up, and sold, sometimes far from where they flooded and sometimes right back here.

Signs to look for: a musty smell or a heavy air freshener covering one, new carpet in an older car, water lines or silt under the seats and in the spare tire well, rust on seat bolts and under the dashboard, fog inside the headlights, and electrical glitches like flickering screens or windows that stick.

Water damage keeps getting worse after the car dries, because corrosion keeps working on connectors and wiring. If you see these signs, walk away, or have a shop inspect it closely before you go any further.

Look at the brake rotors and suspension parts too. A car that sat in water often has heavy rust on those parts that looks out of place for its age and mileage.

On a lift: frame rails and crush zones for signs of crash repair, fresh welds, fluid leaks, rust, suspension and steering wear, the condition of the tires and their date codes, and brake thickness.

With a scan tool: stored and pending trouble codes in the engine, transmission, airbag, and ABS systems, plus the readiness monitors. If several monitors show not ready, the codes may have been cleared recently, sometimes to hide a problem for the sale.

On the body: a paint thickness gauge shows which panels were repainted, and uneven panel gaps show what was replaced or pulled. Under the hood: fluid condition, belts, hoses, the cooling system, and signs of past overheating.

On the road: how the transmission shifts both cold and hot, whether the car tracks straight, noises over bumps, how the brakes feel, and whether the A/C blows cold after a real drive.

On a hybrid or an EV, the high-voltage battery is the most expensive part of the car. A regular inspection does not tell you how healthy it is.

Ask for a battery health check that reads the battery's actual capacity and its fault history. Find out how much of the battery warranty is left, and whether it transfers to you.

Also check the charging port and cable, and confirm the car charges at the rate it should. On hybrids, a clogged battery cooling fan or intake is common and easy to spot during an inspection.

Tell the seller up front that you want an independent inspection before you buy. An honest seller will say yes. A seller who refuses is giving you an answer too.

Bring the car to a shop you choose, not one the seller picks. If the seller will not let the car leave, that is worth thinking about hard.

Bring the paperwork you have, including any service records, and a list of anything you noticed on your test drive. It helps the inspector focus on what matters to you.

Make any offer subject to the inspection, in writing if you can, so you are not locked in before you know what you are buying.

You get a written report of what we found, in plain language, split into what needs attention now, what will need attention soon, and what is fine.

Use it to walk away, or to negotiate the price with facts instead of feelings. A known repair is a number you can subtract from the offer. An unknown one is a gamble.

If the car checks out, you buy with confidence and a record of its condition on day one. That record helps later with warranty questions and with planning your own maintenance.