If you are interested in purchasing a pre-owned truck, make sure that you do your research. Do not just purchase the first truck that you find that is for sale at what appears to be an affordable price with a reasonable amount of miles on the vehicle. Make sure that you really investigate the make, model and year of the used vehicle that you are interested in to ensure that the vehicle will provide you with the value that you think it will for the time that you need the vehicle for.

#1 Research Consumer Reports

The first thing that you should research are the consumer reports that were created for the specific make, model, and year of vehicle that you want to purchase. The consumer reports will provide you with information about the testing results that the auto industry ran on the specific vehicle that you are interested in. These reports will allow you to determine how safe the vehicle is that you are interested in, as well as what safety features it does and does not have. These reports should also clue you into the quality of the vehicle you are interested in and how it performs in tests. Additionally, many consumer reports also include information about customer satisfaction based on surveys and data that they gathers from people who actually owned the vehicle. This is a great, verifiable, and large unbiased way to gain information about a vehicle.

#2 Read Up On Vehicle Forums

In a search engine, enter in the name, make and model of the vehicle that you are interested in purchasing and put forums before or after that information. This should help you find forums where people talk online about their experience with owning the type of vehicle that you are interested in purchasing. This will give you some solid ideas about what it is actually like to own that specific vehicle.  For example, you should be able to find out what type of repair and maintenance your vehicle may need or should have already received based on the number of miles that were put on the vehicle. You should be able to find out if this vehicle is a lemon, or if it is really a good deal based on people's personal experience owing the same vehicle that you are interested in purchasing. 

#3 Get An Inspection

Finally, the best way to really determine what type of condition a used vehicle is in is by getting a vehicle inspection. You will want to have the vehicle inspected at your local auto body shop. This inspection will let you know how close to perfect working condition the vehicle is in, what repairs it will need right away and what repairs it will need in the near future. This will help you more accurately estimate the cost of purchasing and repairing the vehicle that you are interested in; remember, no new vehicle is perfect, so be prepared to pay to fix it up a bit. Before your purchase a used truck or other vehicle, make sure that you do multiple levels of research, looking at what the auto industry had to say about the vehicle, what actual vehicles owners had to say and what condition the specific vehicle you are interested in purchasing is in.