How to buy a used car in Florida (Gainesville) - perspective of a student

-Search for a car. Some of the points that need to be considered:

(a) brand, (b) type, (c) CC, (d) years, (e) mileage, (f) price.

-Brand - either it is Japanese car (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Suzuki, Acura), Korean (Hyundai, Kia), United States (Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, Infinity), or European (Mercedes, Volvo, BMW, Volkswagen, Mini). Some people said that Japanese & Korean cars are cheaper to maintain, but not the European & United States cars.

-Type - either it is a coupe (2 doors), sedan (4 doors), a wagon (looks like a sedan but with long body at the back), a minivan (it is a van), or, a truck (there is a load space at the back). What type do you prefer?

-CC - this is the engine displacement, bigger CC would have more power, but would consumed more gas (eg. 1500 CC vs 3000 CC).

-Years - Latest years might give least problem to the buyer (eg. old car vs new car). But this is not necessary true.

-Mileage - some people would choose a car with low mileage, which is not more than 200,000 miles. (eg. 50,000 miles maybe better than 150,000 miles?).

-Price - for a student, this is the most crucial part, for sure, a student would choose the least expensive car. But, it is better if you could consider the combinations of some of the points above.

-Next, mechanical inspection – Some people might come along with their mechanic to look at the car before buying. You could also ask the seller to bring the car to a workshop (that you know) to do inspection. Consider the cost of repair (if any), either it is worth it to buy the car.

-Driver license – You must have a valid Driver License to drive / register a car under your name. My experience, I use International Driver Permit (IDP) from my country to register for a car.

-Buy a car from owner – If you buy a car directly from the owner, after payment, you might have to bring the car certificate (TITLE) to the Tax Collector Office. (You may need a car insurance too, for examples you may get an 'Auto Insurance' from company like Geico or Progressive, via online through their websites). 

-Next, The Tax Office will do a transfer of ownership and register the car under your name. You might need to pay the new TITLE, TAG (license plate) and TAX (6%). After getting the TAG (a metal plate tag), then only you can drive the car home. (eg. what would you pay, the car price is $3,500 + title, tag & tax about $650).

-Buy a car from dealer – If you buy a car from a dealer, this will involve dealer fee/extra service charge (besides the car price, title, tag & tax) (maybe 300 to 500 more?). But the dealer will do all documentations for you. The dealer will provide a temporary tag and you may drive the car home after payment.