HOW TO BUY A USED CAR

Chances are that the average first-time buyer already knows most of what Olney has to say; however, those who find haggling an embarrassing or fearful prospect--and, especially, young people who don't want to look foolish--can probably profit from his repeated message: the car salesman is an adversary, never a pal. Specifically, there are pages of warnings (don't shop at night, don't allow the dealer to arrange financing and insurance if you have any other choice, be ready for the ""take out man"" who'll try to jack up the price you and the salesman agreed on) and several extensive checklists (one for the ideal test drive, one for an on-lot inspection, one for the dealership itself). Olney mentions independent diagnosis centers only in passing and assumes that his readers are engine-wise enough to tell a knock from a ping, so this is primarily for the teenager who knows cars but needs a crash course in the rudiments of horse-trading.