You can tell a lot about a used car just by sitting in it. You don’t even have to start the car to notice some signs of wear and tear that should not exist in low mileage vehicles.

While shopping for low mileage used cars, always check the brake petal. If the rubber is very worn and you can see metal, the car has been driven for many miles. It takes a lot of braking to wear the rubber off a brake petal.

Peek under the floor mats, especially if the look new. They may be covering water damage from a flood. Also check for excessive wear around the accelerator petal. Some cars do have a lot of general wear and the price should reflect this.

If you believe the car has more mileage that the seller states, look at the odometer. Are the numbers in perfect alignment? Is the plastic cover scratched as if someone pried it off in an attempt to lower the mileage?

If you come across a car with excessive wear inside and very low mileage, the seller may not be honest. Skip the test drive and look for a reliable car dealer that doesn’t need to misrepresent vehicles. Good dealers have many high quality, low mileage cars to sell, they don’t need to resort to tricks to sell a vehicle.