Do not buy a car you have not researched. You don't need to dig in to the complete maintenance history, but you should at the VERY least do a search for "Make/Model/Model year known issues" and if you find issues, make sure they're ones you're comfortable dealing with. I was comfortable dealing with the ABS issues on my 91 Jeep, but I would not be comfortable dealing with head gasket issues on a 2006 Subaru. I was comfortable dealing with electrical issues on my friend's 2012 Tacoma, I would not be comfortable dealing with electrical issues on a 2008 Hybrid Saturn Vue.
If you are a first-time car buyer, you may not be comfortable working on ANY issues yourself, but you should know how much it costs to solve the kinds of problems that can come up with the car you're looking at. Electric cars can be a lot more expensive to fix than gas cars, for example. A car with known transmission and engine issues is going to be a lot more expensive to fix than a car with vacuum system issues.
You can usually spot red flags with a quick internet search, but if you want to go more in-depth you should search "Make/Model Forum - Known Issue" and search for videos on resolving the issue on YouTube. Forums are one of my favorite things about car culture because you can learn SO MUCH both before and after buying a car.
If you are just starting your search and you don't know what to look for, as a first-time buyer the first thing you should care about is reliability. If you haven't been driving long or you don't drive much, you may not be able to recognize early signs of mechanical issues so it's a good idea to get a car that is known to be boring and reliable - in the US this would be the dullest ten-year-old Toyota Camry or Corolla you can imagine.
You want to focus on extremely widely manufactured, popular cars that have a long history with that model line, something that has years and years of options to choose from. Don't buy a car from a defunct manufacturer (I love Saturns, I would not tell a first time buyer to get a Saturn because it is a PAIN IN THE ASS to get parts for one and they've been out of production for so long that it's hard to get reliable answers on what's normal from anyone other than people who own Saturns. It's way, way easier to find a mechanic who knows a Ford Focus inside and out than a mechanic who can help you with your Saturn Sky)
Look up "frequently stolen cars" and try to avoid those, also anything that turns up a ton in a search for "Stolen Catalytic Converter."
Consider your lifestyle, what the car will be used for, and where you live. My dad has been complaining to me that I need to get a bigger car than my Yaris (which was a tiny 2-door) because it was really hard to get more than 2 people in the car, especially if they had luggage. But I don't think I've ever needed to drive more than 2 passengers and my dad and sister are the only ones who get in my car with luggage, and that happens 2-3 times a year. What happens a lot more is that I need to park at a Trader Joe's in LA, so what's more important to my lifestyle is a car that can fit in a compact parking spot when surrounded by people with zero situational awareness. These two needs are not mutually exclusive, but both mean that it would be a bad idea for me to get a 1962 Ford F-250.
Consider maintenance and running costs. The model of car that I'm looking at has a Turbo option - I would not consider getting a turbo because that would mean buying high octane gas, which is not something I want to build into my car expenses budget. Check car forums for PDFs of maintenance manuals and look up what kinds of work needs to be done at what mileage with the vehicle you're considering. You're going to need regular oil changes, you're going to need fuel (or electricity costs, which will be less than fuel), you're going to have to think about the cost and lifespan of tires and when fan belts wear out and what the 50,000, 100,00, and 150,000 mile maintenance routines look like. If you're buying an older car, you SHOULD check and see if there's documentation of that kind of maintenance - there may not be, but if there is that's a good sign!
Consider insurance costs. If you're going to get a car loan - which I recognize that many people have to - in the US you would be required to carry full coverage insurance, which is fuck-off expensive. But even if you don't have a car loan, you may find that liability insurance is more expensive for SUVs than coupes, or more expensive for sports cars than trucks.
Take the car to a mechanic or have a mechanically competent friend come with you for the purchase to check out the vehicle before you sign anything (YMMV; your friend has to be VERY mechanically competent for you to trust a curbside inspection and a test drive). Find a mechanic who offers pre-purchase inspections first, then find a seller, then make sure that the seller knows that the inspection is going to have to be part of the deal. If someone is above-board, they should be fine with this. It will cost you something extra for the initial purchase and it may be an annoying filter for a lot of sellers, but if you don't know cars very well, this is non-negotiable.
Take a skeptical friend or family member with you to the point of purchase. You want a car. You are in need of a car. You have found something that seems like a good deal. Take someone who is less emotionally invested to be a cooler head because they feel less pressure to make the buy and more pressure to make sure their friend doesn't get fucked.
Know what kind of regional environmental damage you might be dealing with. I live in California. I will not buy a car from Minnesota. Cars from places where it snows have rust issues that are totally alien to me. If you're from a dry place and you're buying a car that has been in a humid place or a place with lots of cold wet weather, make sure to check for weather-specific wear and damage.
IF you are considering an auto loan, do NOT go to the dealership without a loan pre-approved. Look at cars that you are interested in and think will be trustworthy, look around in the local market to get an idea of pricing norms, take this information to the bank and ask THEM for a loan because your bank is going to give you a better rate than any dealership. Also a bank isn't invested in selling you a car. Some dealerships will approve anyone for anything; your bank (or, especially, your credit union), will not approve you for a loan that you're not going to be able to pay. A bank isn't going to give a college student a forty thousand dollar loan on an 84 month term at extortionate interest. Plenty of car dealerships WILL do that. And you don't want that. That's a terrible choice. Please, please, don't get screwed by the dealer finance department.
If you do have to get financing from the dealership, do not buy a car based on what you can afford each month, buy a car based on what you can afford as one lump sum. Your budget is not "your monthly budget for this bill" it is "this is as much as I am willing to pay for this car including taxes." Have an actual number in mind. Calculate the taxes first. Build in 5-10% for various kinds of dealership fuckery. The price of the car is going to be is sticker price, plus local taxes (look them up and do the math), plus interest, plus 10% - if your budget is $7000, you are probably looking for a car with a sticker price of no more than about $5000. If you are at a dealership and you say your budget is $7000 they are going to show you cars starting at $7000 and at an 8% dealership interest rate with no down payment because you're broke and 10% taxes you're going to end up paying $9500 for that car with interest. And if you say "oh, $7000 is too high, that's not in my budget" they're going to say "well we can adjust the loan term and bring down your monthly payment and at a five year instead of a three year loan your payment goes from $265 to $170, so you're saving $100 a month" but over the life of the loan you're paying like $800 more and your $7k car has become a $10k car because the dealership worked with you to "fit it in your monthly budget." So don't even fuck with that. Calculate your total budget ahead of time and tell them that the principle cost is your total budget. Here's a loan calculator that makes it easy.
Damage reporting and title requirements vary - I would not consider buying a car that had been in a serious accident as a first-time buyer but I wouldn't be put off by some minor cosmetic damage. If you are a first time buyer and you are looking at a salvage title or equivalent, I'd pass if you have ANY other options. If you're paying out of pocket, you may not have other options in which case you need to do what you can to find out what specific kind of damage totaled the car.
DO NOT buy a car if the person selling it can't get you the title during the purchase. You don't own that car until you have the title in your hand.
Have fun and be yourself. But, like. Seriously. A car is a major purchase and you want to make sure that you get something that is reliable and will suit your needs, but if there's an option that has a stereo you like better, or has a paint color you find more fun, or a model year with styling you like better (as long as it doesn't have model year specific issues), try to get the car that you're going to like the most.
I think that's all for now. I know it's a lot. Good luck!
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