The thing I do when I buy a car

1. Visit the dealer and ask for a printout of the maintenance history. Ask nice as they don't have to give you anything. VIN needed.

2. Ask if all the recalls have been performed. Safety recalls are corrected free. My 88 Civic DX wouldn't start, I called the dealer and asked if all the recalls were performed. They said that the recall for the igniter was never performed and that it should be changed. I told them the car wouldn't start and they towed it to the dealer for free, installed the igniter and started it. They called me and picked me up also. You can find recalls listed at http://www.alldata.com/recalls/index.html# (choose year).

3. If a major component (ie.Transmission) has been changed, ask if it has a seperate warranty. (Never could spell)

4. Read history. This will tell you not only about the car but about how it was owned. If scheduled maintenance was performed on time it's a good bet the owner cared and other maintenance was performed.

Good luck with you new wheels.