A vehicle is an important asset that one buys after saving up for it. Since this involves spending a sizable amount of money, it is important to ensure that what you spend money for is worth is. I have bought many cars in my lifetime. I must admit that none of the cars purchased were brand new from the garage. In my part of the world, you get access to used vehicles from countries like Japana, Singapore and so on. Sometimes the cars are not that old, could be 2 years or even younger. Whenever you go out to buy a car, it is important to watch out the considerations you make in the process. You can not judge a book just from its cover. Learn to look beyond the color of the car.

Considerations:

- Year of manufacture - How much life is left in the vehicle. Always buy a car which is 10 years of younger. Cars deteriorate with every year that goes. I have noticed that most people who experience breakdown are driving vehicles that are way over 10 years old. Do not be duped, always check the original year of manufacture which is sometimes on the seat belt.

- How much mileage has the car achieved - You could have a car which is 5 years old and yet it has done 300,000 miles while a car which is 8 years old has done 40,000 miles. It is also important to note that people do play around with these mileages even for digital dashboards. Never trust the mileage of a used vehicle.

- Parts availability - Is there a local dealer who can provide the parts necessary for the vehicle? If there is none then avoid importing such a vehicle. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a nice car you can not service owing to lack of service part or service kits.

- Engine capacity - How much fuel does it consume? Some people buy cars with huge engine capacity for prestige purposes but suffer in silence as they spend more time looking for fuel. Engine capacity is an important consideration. I have a friend who enjoys saying "My car is a V6 or V8 Engine". The same friend of mine is always looking for money to get a few liters of fuel into his car. Always have a small vehicle which is economic in saving you fuel.

- Availability of technical people to service (skills) - Who knows how repair and maintain the vehicle. The parts may be available but it maybe tragic that no one knows how to accurately and effectively put them in the car. In my country there are very few engineers who can service a car such as a Mercedes Benz hence people drive their vehicles to neighboring.

- What do you need the car for - Always look at your need and find a car that meets that need. If you have family of 6, find a family car that fits all the members. You cannot have a 2 seat vehicle as the only family car. I remember my dad would always insist for me to buy a truck instead of the a sedan which in his own view "could assist in transporting coffins should there be a funeral"

- Dependability or reliability - Have you read about this car in independent journals. What are other people's experiences with the same vehicle. Consider those. Do not always agree with all you read. Some of the journals favor certain vehicle or are written by people selling the vehicle hence they will speak well of the vehicle you ever want.

Rabison Shumba is a writer, businessman and philanthropist. Writer of the book The Greatness Manual which you can preview on http://greatnessmanual.wordpress.com. Founder and CEO of Infotech Solutions and Greatness Factory Trust. Rabison speaks about success, leadership, motivation and inspiration. His trust works with disadvantaged school children supporting them with school fees and general livelihood. He also helps to network artists (musicians of all genres) to facilitate information sharing and building of future celebrities. Rabison is well traveled having been to Asia, America, United Kingdom and all over Africa. He is married to Jacqueline Edwards and they have two children. They reside in Harare, Zimbabwe, Southern Africa.

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