THE DEAL

Jeez! Looking and searching for a vehicle in this 2022 economy, well, it's a wicked nightmare. Perhaps, go as far as saying, "It's CRAZY!"

If you don't know, let me just say, "It's a bad time to be purchasing anything." In my opinion, it's the worst time to be searching and looking for a vehicle either pre-owned or a new ride.

Yet, here we are. Considering purchasing a pre-owned vehicle, that's fancy talk for those used and abused vehicles sold by dealerships and owners. Gasping, as the mileage is read, the number of miles driven is unbelievable. Especially, the vehicles that are under 10K. The ones under 5K are utterly the worst.

On the other hand, if the vehicle has too few miles, worrying and wondering, is that a red flag?

When the car is eight years old and over market price by 800 dollars or more, has extremely low mileage. It has had three owners. The vehicle history shows no accidents. From the pictures, seeing obvious damage to the exterior, the salesperson blames the former owner who didn't report the fender bender. Yet, the dealership wants 20K. Are they serious?

All the while the news media dwells on and on and on, telling everyone, "The economy is in inflation mode." No joke, Dick Tracy!"

As if people didn't know this already, how could they NOT know? Surely, they haven't been living under a rock. Have they? With everything costing more today than last year, their pocketbooks and wallets are feeling the strain and pain.

If you dare and if you must, go ahead and fill up that gas guzzler. Maybe, you will be approached by a news reporter who loves to interview shocked and bewildered consumers.

For me, busily, utilizing the computer, I've become the official information searcher and researcher. Regarding reliability, a simple google search of the year make, and model is done. Entering the VIN number into the website, the vehicle history is reviewed. Doing a VIN search on the national recall list, it's definitely wise to check and see whether that cream puff has a recall on it. Amazingly, cars on dealership lots do have unrepaired recalls. Is that legal? Beware!

Sooooo, the original list of pre-owned cars and the shortlist looked something like this:

Toyota Corolla

Honda Civic

Honda Accord

Pontiac Vibe

Ford Escape

Dodge Grand Caravan

Honda Element

Reiterating, "This isn't a good time to purchase a vehicle."

Yet, finding cars that were on her shortlist, the media claims there is a shortage of vehicles. Nevertheless, haven't found a shortage of vehicles for sale. Frankly, can't agree with the news media.

Amazingly, the vehicles have a zillion of miles and over-market prices to boot. After the test drives, the Accord and Civic were dropped, scratched, and eliminated from the list.

Realistically, an SUV is a must. Since that is what she has been driving for a very long time, a sedan wouldn't work. The bottom line, a sedan isn't going to happen!

After several months, was wondering! When did I become the only person that can search the backgrounds for the vehicles considered? Guess my googling skills are superior. That's hard to believe.

In fact, with a few keystrokes, you can search the vehicle history and background information on iSeecars.com.

Naturally, to save money, my choice for iSeecars.com was the free option with five searches while there are several levels of paid searching choices. Within a 48-hour time period, all of my five searches were used on their website. On the 25th of June, five more searches will be free for me. Woohoo! Will I last that l o n g?

Conceivably, you are familiar with CARFAX. Sometimes it's offered free and other times it's an expense. Why pay for the vehicle history? Admittedly, three years ago paid out $35.00 twice for vehicle histories. No more! You can get all the information on the vehicle from VehicleHistory.com as long as you have the VIN number.

For a recall check, go to www.nhtsa.gov/recall. Enter the 17-digit VIN number. It's best when the message is zero unrepaired recalls. Cringing at the computer screen, the vehicle had two recalls that hadn't been repaired. Wondering, why not?

After two vehicles were dropped, scratched, and eliminated from the list, two cars were added. The two SUV vehicles were:

Lincoln MKC

Buick Encore

With Ford's recall announcement of transmission problems with their Ford Escape vehicles from 2013 to 2019. The Ford Escape has been scratched from the list.

Unfortunately, a family member has a 2016 Ford Escape that is alarming and bothersome.

Out of the blue, the Toyota Highlander was added to the list. Researching the vehicle's reliability, I discovered that 2003, 2008, 2014, and 2015 Highlanders should be AVOIDED. Wouldn't you know it! She was looking at a blue 2008 Highlander, my text message back, " RUN and avoid."

Getting back to the two other vehicles that were included and placed on the shortlist, comparing the Lincoln MKC with Ford Escape, the MKC is the more luxurious SUV vehicle. According to the information online, the 2016 Lincoln MKC had a 3.5out of 5 reliability while the Buick Encore had a 4 out of 5 reliability rating.

Of course, that's not all to consider. If the owner of the Buick Encore didn't have the transmission fluid exchanged regularly with Buick-approved fluid. There could be transmission problems later.

All this information is making me dizzy!

Admittedly, using a computer to look and search for vehicles, there are some drawbacks. For instance, you can't smell, touch, see the tires or hear the engine problems. Does the car smell of smoke? If smoked in, right there, it's a deal-breaker.

Looking, how much wear and tear on the tires? Tip: you can do the penny test. Touching the seats and the dash, does it feel sticky (yuck) or feel off?

Hearing the engine whether the engine is healthy or unhealthy. If unhealthy, you can hear the tapping, knocking, and grinding. Yep! There is a problem needing a solution.

As a matter of fact, a test drive is needed. If the whirring gets louder as you speed up, it's definitely an unhealthy engine. Did the engine backfire? Hearing loud exhaust noises, you know that there's a problem.

Getting started, what should be considered? You have to consider the mileage and the condition of the vehicle. In addition, the age of the vehicle should be considered. Yes! Age can be a factor.

For example, if the vehicle is nine years old and low miles, and still looks good, the vehicle history will provide some valuable information. For example, the location is needed. With the location, you will be able to determine if the vehicle was in a flooded area or in a colder climate where salting the roads is a common practice. The salt can damage a car. Rust can ruin that sweet deal when considering the expenses and repairs down the road.

Googling for the best-used SUVs, this is what was found:

Honda CR-V

Toyota RAV4

Chevrolet Traverse

GMC Yukon

Toyota Highlander

Kia Sorento

Ford Expedition

Hyundai Tuscan

Buick Encore

Changing gears and without any notice, she headed in another direction. Not surprised! Receiving and sharing the information from two different dealership deals for a 2022 Toyota Corolla Crossover, was an eye-opener.

Unbelievable, I've read that dealerships were adding fees above the MSRP. Seeing the 7K added as an adjustment fee on one of the dealership's deals was shocking and overwhelming!

Today, can you guess what was in my Facebook feed? Reporting information on a test drive of a 2022 Toyota Corolla Crossover, the report wasn't exactly a bad review; but then, it wasn't exactly a favorable and glowing statement. Ugh!

Did I mention that it's a bad time to be purchasing a vehicle!

Writer's notes: Checking VIN numbers, the online websites have been emboldened. Hopefully, this piece is helpful to all the consumers who are looking for a deal and a new ride.

Thank you for reading!