Helping your kid buy their first used car?
It's a big check, a new driver, and a seller who knows more about the car than you do. Start with the free BuyerSide checklist. It walks you through checking the VIN, inspecting the car, and knowing when to stop.
A first car is really three decisions
It's easy to do them backwards: find a car you like, then find out you can't insure it, then wonder if it's safe. By then you're attached.
What can we really afford?
Not the price. The cost to own it for a year: insurance, taxes, maintenance, and a cushion for repairs.
What's safe for a new driver?
A few rules rule out most of the wrong cars before you look at a single listing.
Is this car the one?
Verify it, inspect it, negotiate, and be willing to walk away.
Free, right now
The BuyerSide checklist covers decision three, the part at the car.
- Check the VIN before you go. Recalls, theft and total-loss records, title brands, and history reports, compared against each other.
- Walk the car in nine stages, from the walkaround and cold start to the test drive and paperwork.
- Get a straight answer: Green, Caution, or Stop, with the reasons. Skip a stage and it says so.
BuyerSide First Car
A parent's playbook for buying a used car. Decisions one and two, plus everything around the purchase.
- The money talk, and who pays for what
- Cash, financing, or cosigning
- Insurance quotes before you shop
- What makes a good first car
- A 30-minute desk check before any visit
- Driver fit: can your kid actually drive it?
- Getting the most from an independent inspection
- Negotiation scripts you can read off your phone
- Closing safely, dealer or private seller
- The first 30 days, and a crash card
- A parent and new-driver agreement
- Three-car first-year cost calculator
Opens an email to hello@buyersideauto.com. One reply when it's ready. Nothing else.
The cheapest time to find a problem is before you own it.