Used muscle cars for sale, especially when you find the exact make and model you are seeking, should come with a flashing neon warning sign. Like any emotional purchase, it can be too easy to overlook some glaring problems that might make you regret parting with your cash too soon.

There are many legitimate muscle car sellers but some certainly do their best to hide flaws and problems when a car is for sale and an eager buyer is in front of them with their hand on their wallet. Here are a couple of concerns to be aware of when looking at used muscle cars for sale.

Is there a shiny new paint job? That can be good or bad. What does that shiny new paint job cover? Maybe poor quality body work or surface rust that wasn’t properly repaired, same goes for a new vinyl top. A similar concern is the presence of new undercoating that can be applied to cover structural problems.

Repair time bombs such as leaks in the radiator or heater core, or trans, differential or other hydraulic systems that have been temporarily addressed with an additive can be hard to spot. Don't hesitate to thoroughly inspect the engine, engine bay and underneath of the car with a flashlight. Also look for tell-tale oil spots or other stains on the ground.

Engine or transmission modifications or upgrades are hard to verify until you do a tear down and see the hardware yourself. Unless you see clearly documented receipts, listen to modification claims with a certain amount of doubt.

Listen for title or registration issues that you will have to resolve if you purchase the car. This can turn a great find into a post-purchase nightmare. If the seller makes statements like "my state doesn't require a title/registration" or "the original owner passed away and I don’t have a current registration or title" that's when you need to get busy and find out the titling and registration laws for your state before you hand over money. Here's a handy link from SEMA that will give you all the information you need to register and title your muscle car in your state.

Nowadays most sellers are willing to tell you that the used muscle car for sale is a clone or "tribute" car, because these are not as de-valued in the market place as they once were. However, if it is important to you as a muscle car buyer to have the real deal, be sure to educate yourself on specifics of your target make and model so that you don't need to take a seller's word on it. Ask for documentation from the seller or pay to have an expert inspection done. By the way, the cost of an inspection will definitely be returned if you re-sell the muscle car with documentation in hand. Here's more info on muscle car inspections.

Similar to the previous item, some sellers try to pass off muscle cars as true mileage or numbers-matching when in actuality they don’t know or are taking the word of the previous owner. Cars of the muscle car era aren't recorded in Carfax or similar databases. Unless you have reasonable documentation from the seller to prove mileage or know enough yourself to verify original drive train components, you won't be able to know for sure. If this is important to you, be willing to walk away from used muscle cars for sale that don't meet this criteria.

How long has the seller owned the car? Why is this a good piece of information when checking out used muscle cars for sale? There is a huge difference in quality between a car that someone has purchased just to turn around and make a profit and a car that someone has owned and maintained for years.

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