# 4

Look at the car carefully yourself. Get a second opinion by bringing a car mechanic friend or someone knowledgeable on car quality. Take the car for a test drive. Pay attention for any unusual noises. Pick a mechanic you trust to inspect the car before agreeing to sign a contract. Take the VIN to the local Department of Motor Vehicles office. Find out whether the car has a lien on it and confirm the person selling it to you is the rightful owner.

# 3

Investigate a car by its history. Get the Vehicle Inspection Number (VIN) of each car you are considering as a purchase option. Find the number on the car title or sometimes under the windshield on the dashboard. Look up a company that provides vehicle history reports, such as CARFAX, eBay Motors and AutoCheck. Feed the numbers to your company of choice and find out the history on the vehicles. Read these reports for any reported previous damages to the car and whether those were repaired; odometer history to make sure that it has not been reset; inspection histories and how the car has been used, such as for taxi or personal use.

#2

Do the research on the car you wish to purchase. Pick a model and year and read reviews by people who have bought and dealt with that car. Compare several models and decide which car has the sturdiest, lowest-maintenance design. Since no car is perfect, decide which set of problems you would rather have with your car, such as deciding which models cost less to maintain. Go to a car lot with these considerations in mind, looking for what you have already decided is a good buy before you step on the lot.

Read more: Steps Needed for Buying a Car | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7575477_steps-needed-buying-car.html#ixzz1yTKRcqLZ

Instructions #1

Figure out your budget for buying and owning the car. The budget should include many factors: the price of buying the car; a car loan with an interest rate and payment schedule that you can manage; a fund for car repairs and maintenance; a fund for gas that matches the car's gas mileage and an allotment for insurance based on the car and the insurance status of the person driving it. Young drivers or those who have had accidents before will have a higher insurance premium. Also, sports cars tend to raise insurance prices compared to economy cars.

How to Budget for Car Maintenance

Owning a car requires you to spend a little money periodically on maintenance. Since maintenance typically occurs randomly on your car, it can be difficult to save enough money for this cost. If you can effectively budget for your car maintenance in advance, you can avoid many of the financial problems that people have when a car repair bill comes up. Once you determine how much you need, you can set aside a certain amount of money every month for your auto maintenance.

Instructions
 

1. Add up the total amount of money that you spend on car maintenance over the course of year. For this process, you may need to get a copy of your bank statement to determine how much you have spent in this area. Add everything that you can think of such as oil changes, new tires, wiper fluid and tag renewals. Try to be as detailed as possible so that you can avoid any surprising expenses that you have forgotten. If you had any major repairs done over the course of the last year, you may want to still include the amount of the repairs in your figure. It is always a good idea to overestimate because you never know how much you will have to spend in car repairs in any given year.
2. Divide the number that you came up with by 12 so that you can see how much money you spend per month on average. If you wanted to break it down even further, you could divide it by 52 so that you can see how much you spend every week on car maintenance. By doing this, you can determine how much you need to set aside on a regular basis to get enough money for your car maintenance.
3. Open a savings account with your bank or with an online bank. Now that you know exactly how much you need to set aside on a regular basis, you can get in the habit of transferring enough money into this account. The easiest way to do this is to set up an automatic transfer with your new bank account. For example, if you determine that you need $100 per month for car maintenance, set up a $100 transfer from your main bank account to your new savings account every month. If it is more convenient, you could set up two $50 transfers per month so that it does not take as much money out of your account at once.

Read more: How to Budget for Car Maintenance | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7607189_budget-car-maintenance.html#ixzz1yTH1VCA2

Battery

As long as you are careful not to leave the light or any other battery-operated extras such as the stereo turned on when your engine is not running, your Mazda's battery should last approximately five to six years. When approaching the five- to six-year mark, be sure to have it inspected. It is better to be prepared than to have your battery die unexpectedly when you need to be somewhere.

Read more: Mazda Maintenance | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/way_5403620_mazda-maintenance.html#ixzz1yTGdv0BY

Inspection

If you bought your Mazda new, follow the service guidelines recommended in the owner's manual. This will keep you from accidentally voiding your warranty in any way.
According to the Mazda online owner's manual, your new Mazda should be serviced at 12 months or 12,500 miles, again at 24 months or 25,000 miles, and a third time at 36 months or 37,500 miles.

Read more: Mazda Maintenance | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/way_5403620_mazda-maintenance.html#ixzz1yTGSiJKS