You have been searching for days and you finally found it, your new car. Well, it’s not new but it’s new to you. It comes with most of the fixings that you wanted and it couldn’t be more affordable.
However, you got so enamored by the prospect you forgot to check some things. A few weeks later, your new used car breaks down. It’s only the first time so you don’t think anything of it.
But then it happens again, and again. You begin to think, “Is my car a lemon?”
Don’t let your car start to get sour. Don’t ask, “Is my car bad?” Here are five signs that you may be dealing with a lemon and need to get rid of it right now.
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Is My Car a Lemon?
A lemon is easy to recognize when you know what to look for. But what is a lemon anyway?
A lemon is a vehicle that suffers from a chronic problem or defect that damages the use, the value, or safety of the car within a certain time. Usually, this car has received services for this very same defect multiple times in its warranty period.
A “Lemon Test” is usually the first step in determining your car value.
Offer Is Too Generous
One sign a car is a lemon, and the salesman is suspect, is if the offer is way too generous. A car dealer will never admit it, but there is always at least one car on the lot they can’t sell for several reasons.
If they offer lower interest rates than the market value, you should be wary. If they offer zero, then your spider-sense should be tingling off the charts.
Worn Out Interior
The interior can tell the story the exterior may not. Look for foul smells, discolorations and stains, and rips or tears. These can be minor fixes, but can also indicate whether the car experienced other mishaps like flooding.
Leave it alone if it appears to be worn.
Misaligned Body Parts
This a real nuisance, because ideally, you want everything to be aligned. However, this can be a red flag.
When inspecting, be sure to check the width between the seams that line the body panels, hood gaps, the car doors, and the trunk. If you spot any, back away.
Shaky Suspension
If you hear a lot of shaky and banging noises before starting the car, maybe the vehicle has suspension issues.
This can be easy to find. If you push down on either end of the bumper it should rebound once or twice. But it does more than that, you may also have worn shock absorbers.
Stay away, so don’t have to ask the question is my car a lemon.
Odometer Has Been Manipulated
This is the sign that the car and the salesman are extremely shady. Manipulating the odometer on a vehicle is federally illegal and many states have laws against this act.
If the mileage does not match the wear on the car, definitely leave that one alone.
Avoid Lemons
Nobody should have to ask, “Is my car a lemon?” You deserve to have the best car you can afford. If you look out for these things, chances are you may avoid lemons altogether.
Soon you will be in your new car, drinking lemonade with that lemon in the rearview mirror.
For other great articles like this one, be sure to check out the rest of our blog.
