Buying used car -> Tips for buying a used car?

Many thanks to everyone for your responses! I received lots of helpful tips and advice. Below is a compilation. (Please feel free to add on anything I missed.)

Record checking:

• - check Kelly’s blue book and Edmunds for pricing so you know what the going rate is.
• - check on the car you want to buy to see if they have major known issues and see if at least it has been repaired on that particular car you want to buy.
• - get the carfax if you can and if it’s a private seller, get as much information and documentation from that person as you [can].

Details to look at:

• - accident reported (none the better, else find out the accident details.. minor the better)
• - Number of previous owners (<= 2 preferred)
• - Type of owners (personal is preferred, commercial is not preferred as multiple people would have handled the car.. like in car rentals)
• - Salvage car – When you buy insurance, they will not sell full cover. Ask owner if this car is salvage or not. You can see salvage on car title.
• - Any car [with] 70K+ mile then check with owner for any maintenance done.
• - A general opinion is that Japanese cars are more robust, has better quality of parts being used & has better resale value. However in the recent past (after 2003/2004) all the car manufacturers have been manufacturing decent cars. Google to find out the origin of the makers.
• - Any car has a certain lifespan for which we are most guaranteed of its services. This is determined by 2 important factors:
• * Age of the car (< 8-10 years preferred)
• * Mileage of the car (< 80-100k miles preferred)
• If either one of these are exceedingly high, there’s a risk factor involved.

Physical checking:

• - Try drive test including on freeway to see how car can handling with high speed.
• - Check for the paint level throughout the body to make sure its uniform, especially the front quarter panels.
• - Under the car on the support bad check for any clamp marks (If the car has been in an accident where there was frame/unibody damage, they put it on a clamp and stretch it to bring it back to normal shape).
• - Under the hood, check for all the screws that mount different parts like hood,quarter panel etc,check for the wear on the screws. They should look old but should not have any signs of being removed and added back.
• - check engine to see any oil leak around the engine and hear any abnormal noise during engine on.
• - From each corner, press the car down once and it should bounce back only once and it shud not swing,that indicates a suspension problem.
• - Check for engine oil [when the engine is cold]. It should not be white (indicates head gasket problem). If its black it means some of the ignition coils might be burnt. It should not have any white filings. Smell the oil and it should not smell burnt.
• - Check for tranny oil [when the engine is hot]. It should be red. Other colors or filings not good.
• - Rotate the steering wheel all the way to one end and bend down at the tire to check out CV boots.The black cover should not be torn and no grease should be coming out.
• - Check for breakpads and rotors. When you brake, the car should not vibrate/shake which indicates bad pads and rotors. Touch the brake rotor when its cold to see if its smooth. If not, then they need to be replaced.

Other useful stuff:

• * The first one month of your car hunt, I would suggest you to simply check the various car listings in classifieds, you need not even buy! By this, you will get an idea of what’s the going rate of cars of your interest.
• * During the 2nd month, start filtering the cars you like & prepare a list. Schedule an appointment & test drive the car.
• * Once you are satisfied, you may buy a carfax account (you can go for a one month unlimited version) & check for the car’s history before finalizing on it.

Sites you may want to check out:
http://eagain.net/blog/2007/02/20/buy-a-car.html
http://www.edmunds.com
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/cta/
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/used.htm
http://www.kbb.com/
http://autos.aol.com/used-list/
http://www.carsforsale.com/
http://www.vehix.com/