Buying a Used Car in Illinois: What to Know
Photo by Timon Studler on Unsplash
Buying a used car in Illinois can sound like a daunting task, but the complexity, which might scare you, is in place to protect buyers from predatory sellers. Proper titling ensures that you aren’t buying a stolen car, or later being accused of stealing the car you rightfully bought.
Illinois also doesn’t want you buying a hunk of junk that can only make it off the lot before failing on you. With that in mind, let’s go over the process of buying a used car in Illinois from a dealership or a private seller.
Buying a Used Car From a Dealership
Before stepping onto a used car lot, there are a few steps you need to take. First, you need to figure out which car you want, and how much you should be paying for it. CoPilot can help with this step, letting you utilize the same software as the dealerships to see inventory near you, and provide you with an estimate of the real value of that vehicle in addition to the listed price. Remember, you can negotiate for a lower price if the dealership is asking too much, and you can always walk away if they won’t give you the deal you want.
Once you know what car you want to buy and how much you intend to spend on it, you should find a trustworthy lender with interest rates and policies that work for you. Unless you can afford to buy the car outright, you will need financing. A dealership will likely offer to either finance the car themself, or connect you to a local lender during the purchase process. While these financing options may be just as good, or even better, it is always best to secure financing you know you can afford before getting attached to a car and feeling cornered into just one option.
You should set up a pre-purchase inspection from an unaffiliated mechanic you trust. Some dealerships will allow you to take the car off the lot to bring it to an inspection site, but if not you will have to find a service that will travel out to the dealership. Even certified pre-owned vehicles that have passed a manufacturer’s or dealership’s inspection should still get inspected by a professional. A private inspection may reveal issues that are fine now but could deteriorate over time and lead to expensive repairs down the road.
One benefit of buying a used car from a dealership is that they will likely provide you with a vehicle and title history report. This will let you know if the car has been in any fender benders or has been totaled, or anywhere in between. It also lets you know if the car has ever been stolen or used as a police vehicle.
You should understand your warranty coverages. Depending on how old the car is, it might still be under the original manufacturer’s warranty. The dealership may also choose to sell a car with their own warranty program. But any used car from an Illinois dealership with under 150,000 miles on the odometer that hasn’t been rebuilt or recovered from a flood must come with a 15-day/500-mile powertrain warranty.
If the powertrain fails within that period, the dealership must take the car back and return your money to you if they can’t repair it. But be careful, this warranty can be voided by off-road usage, towing, racing, or any extra strenuous driving. If this seems unfamiliar from the last time you bought a car, that’s likely because the law was passed in 2018 to make buying a used car in Illinois safer for the consumer.
Once you have found the car you want, agreed to a price with the dealership, and agreed to buy it, your responsibilities should be done. Most dealerships will file the necessary paperwork to transfer the title to you and get the vehicle registered with the Illinois Secretary of State, and get all work out the sales tax. The dealership can charge you for these services, but, under Illinois law, that charge cannot exceed $300.
Once you have gone through that process, congratulations on your new car! The dealership has 20 days to submit your car’s sales tax and transfer of title to the Secretary of State’s Office.
THE BEST USED LUXURY CARS ON THE MARKET
Buying a used or CPO luxury car is one of the smartest buys you can make - you can get a lot of car for not much money. You can pick up a three-year-old luxury car for about half of what you’d pay new. Check out this list of the best used luxury cars on the market to find the best deals.
Buying a Used Car From a Private Seller
Luckily, much of the process is the same between buying a used car in Illinois from a dealership or a private seller. You still want to do your own research to make sure that the listing is being sold at a reasonable price depending on its model, age, mileage, condition, etc. You should also secure the best financing option possible beforehand (unless you plan to buy in cash), as a private seller is not going to offer you financing options on their own. And you should also get the car inspected by a mechanic. It’s especially important since private sellers don’t have to offer the same protections that dealerships do. But from here on, there are a few differences in the car buying process.
Once you are in contact with the seller,you will want to ask for the VIN number. This will allow you to search for the vehicle’s title history report on your own, through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, CarFax, or any other similar service.
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This is extra important since the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office will not issue a title or transfer a title for any car that has been deemed a total loss, or junk. It is important that you know this before you buy the car, as a private seller might not know about this, especially if they recently moved from out-of-state, and may unintentionally sell you a car that you can’t legally drive.
You also need to see the car’s title before buying it. Any alterations made to a title document will invalidate it, so on top of making sure that the VIN and the seller’s name match the title exactly, you have to make sure the title hasn’t been tampered with.
Once you have bought the car, immediately take the old license plates off. Past that, it is up to you to get the title transferred to your name and get the sales tax paid to the Secretary of State within 20 days.
THE BEST USED LUXURY CARS ON THE MARKET
Buying a used or CPO luxury car is one of the smartest buys you can make - you can get a lot of car for not much money. You can pick up a three-year-old luxury car for about half of what you’d pay new. Check out this list of the best used luxury cars on the market to find the best deals.
Get a Curated List of the Best Used Cars in Chicago
The CoPilot car shopping app is the easiest way to buy a car. Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll search the inventories of every dealership in your area to make you a personalized list of the best car listings in your area.
Only looking for newer models? CoPilot Compare is the search engine for nearly-new cars. Only see cars five years or newer with low mileage — CoPilot Compare is the best way to find off-lease, early trade-in, and CPO cars.
The best part? CoPilot is built using the same technology that dealerships use to buy and sell their inventories, so we have more info on each vehicle than competitors. CoPilot doesn’t work with dealerships, so there are no sponsored posts or other shady practices — just the most info on the best cars. Check out our About Us page to see how CoPilot works.
