If you have a child who is graduating from high school, you are probably have mixed emotions. It may seem like yesterday that your graduate was depending on you for every little thing. Now you have prepared your child to leave the nest and perhaps you have decided to give a car as a graduation gift. If you have decided to purchase a used vehicle, you can obviously save yourself a lot of money. Here are some tips on how to pick out the best vehicle.

Safety First

Do some research to find out which cars rated best in the safety department. You're looking for cars that did well in crash tests. In addition, some of the newer used cars even have crash prevention as a selling point. Even some smaller cars have done well in safety tests. A small car is not only going to be great for saving money for gasoline, but it will be easy to maneuver on a college campus.

Reliability Is Important

Of course, you want the car to look great when you present this great gift to your graduate. However, the looks of the car won't be that impressive if it has to go into the shop for repairs all the time. Look for a car that has never been in a major accident, as that can affect its drivability in the future. If you are purchasing the car right from its previous owner, find out what was done to maintain the car along the way. 

Get the Right Tires

If the vehicle you are buying already has brand new tires on it, you'll save yourself quite a bit of cash. Check the vehicle's tires to make sure they're the right ones for the car. If the car needs better tires, there are several things for you to consider.

• Besides making sure that the tires are the right size for the vehicle, look at the 3 speed rating for the tires.
• If your graduate will be driving a lot on highways, you'll want to select tires that will do well at higher speeds.
• Will your child be attending college where there will be freezing weather? Consider buying one set of tires for the summer and then replacing them with winter tires when it starts to get really cold. Even though it seems that this will double the expense of your tires, the fact that you are rotating the tires will make them last a lot longer.

Good luck in selecting the best car for your graduate! For assistance, talk to a professional like Collier Goodyear Car Care Center.