When looking to buy a Used vehicle, Never buy from a dealer or private owner the very first time you go to look at the vehicle, always make them feel more pressed to "Give you a deal on it". This of coarse is a secondary consideration if you are looking to buy a vehicle that will last you many years to come. First things first, as a consumer you not only have the right, but you have the responsibility to yourself and to any loved ones you will be putting in the vehicle, to CHECK the oil level and color, if the vehicle is on level ground, the ENGINE oil dipstick should have a crosshatched area or some other sort of indicating range marks that, when a shop services the vehicle(except in the case of some fords) the engine oil level should come to the top pf this "range" and the color should be a VERY TRANSLUCENT light brown. If the level is below this "SAFE RANGE" and/or the color is a very dark brown to black then the vehicle has been abused and neglected and no one has taken any steps to hide this fact. In this case, DO NOT BY THE VEHICLE! While you have the hood open, check the color of the other fluids in the vehicl from their dipsticks or with a flashlight, NEW coolant(ethelene glycol) used in most all cars up till about 1996 and still used in many as well as being used to replace longlife coolants as a less expensive alternative and in many cases an acceptable alternative, is a flourescent, powerful green color when new{GM has since started using a reddish orange coolant called dexcool, ford and chrysler product sometimes have a very light yellow collored long life coolant, Toyota has a red and a pink coolant that they use, jaguar late models use pink, their are other exceptions), ANY COOLANT OF BROWN or BLACK COLOR is a good indication of neglect. Transmission fliud(AUTOMATIC) in almost every case is going to be of bright red color when new, and any significant variance is an indication of neglect(BROWN or BLACK). DOT 3 and DOT 4 brake fluids used in most all cars(often indicated on cap) are very light brown and almost clear in color, Dark to OPAQUE brake fluid colors show a high moisture content from heat exhuastion and boiling at high temperatures from wear and tear and can be considered unsafe as water in hydalic fluids can cause air in the system and cause brake failure! Clutch fluid is brake fluid and on manual transmissions with hydralic clutch it is usually located next to the brake fluid reservoir. Also, low brake fluid level is 99% of the time an indication of one of two things, in a system with no leaks it means that the brake surface contact materials are getting very then which means expensive repairs right away. otherwise their is probably a leak(rust on the brake booster behind and below the master cylinder indicater a leaking master cylinder. Most power steering fluids are either clear or red, darker colors are a good indication you can expect anything from leaks and noises to complete system failure some time in the future. Most engines are designed to run fairly smoothly and any ticks, knocks, whines, eratic operational speeds when idling, are OUT OF THE ORDINARY and don't let anyone tell you different. While inspecting the mechanicals, look around for any signs of leakage, don't be affraid to get down and look up under the vehicle, most problems can be spoted by a careful inspection by the untrained eye far before they cost you in expensive repairs. Test Drive the car, highway speeds, suburban roads, lots of turns, listen carefully with the radio off, with windows up, with windows down, poping and creeking noises may be a sign that the car will not make you happy or will cost you much in repairs. While on the test drive stop by a reputable shop or service station that you know and trust and ask them if they will give it a good once over, If they find anything wrong with the vehicle ask them to write this up on an official document and sign it so that you have proof of knowledge of what is wrong to aid in bargaining. While test driving test the a/c and heat to make sure that both are functional and would be comfortable when needed. Look for check enge lights, oil pressure lights and gauges, and other warning lights as these will indicate needed repairs that could be costly. Get down and look at the tire wear of all four tire, uneven or choppy wear is an indication that the car, at the very least needs an allignment. Ask for Maintenence and repair records. Research Carfax with the VIN number. My experience as a professional is that when well maintained, Hondas and Toyotas tend to make the most dependable cars(ACURA is a high dollar honda, Lexus is a high dollar Toyota), most of the japanese brands when taken care of exceptionaly well tend to be dependable and last a long time, GM(chevy, olds, buick, pontiacs,cadilacs, so on) have been notoriously bad about leaks, namely the 3.1 and 3.4 liter v6's intakes leak coolant. Cadilac northstars leak coolant at the water pump, also they leak oil from the lower crank case, Dodge V6 van motor develope poor internal oil circulation when oil is not changed at the proper interval. Most any german car(VW, BMW, BENZ, PORSCHE, AUDI) Make great long life vehicles, when maitained properly. Before buying any vehicle, get the make model and milage and contact a dealer to see what services are recommended to be performed at prior, current, and future intervals and ask the seller what of these services have been performed and where and if they have invoices. ALSO, do not just take my advice, research price guides, ask friends, family and anyone knowledgeable, someone who has been driving the same car for more than ten years probably has a pretty good idea of how much they enjoy owning and driving that vehicle. also, for the "Made in USA" minded buyer, please keep in mind that many, in fact nearly all of the JAPANESE brands and for that matter most of the GERMAN brands have been 70% of each vehicle or more made in the USA for nearly or more than 20 years depending on which brand, USA branded cars seem to have a hard time meeting that standard, Korean cars are almost all unfortunately built in Korea and they use recycled alluminum for many vital structural and mechanical parts(recycled alluminum is porrus and of lesser quality than the T6 used by Jap, German, and American car makers, Korean brands include Hyundia, Kia, Deawoo) Otherwise, happy shopping.