A contract for a vehicle is sized by the people who use it as much as by the vehicle itself. When several adults drive one car, the questions that decide fit are who may bring it in, who can call for service, and whose name is on the paper. Write those answers down before you compare any two sellers.
Write the household list first
Make a short list on paper. Name each person who drives the vehicle, the person who keeps the registration, the person who usually books repairs, and the person who pays the shop. Note where the vehicle is kept overnight, and whether any driver is young, newly licensed, or lives elsewhere for part of the year. Each name on the list is a question the contract must answer.
Check the paper against the list
Read the contract for the words that name the holder, the owner, the registered keeper, or any authorized user. Find out whether a driver who is not the named holder can make a claim, or whether the holder must sign, call, or present the paperwork. Find out what happens if the holder sells the vehicle, moves, or stops driving it. Contracts differ on these points, and this guide has not read every seller's form, so the wording in the document you are given controls.
Match the use to the terms
Describe how the vehicle is used in plain words: short local trips, longer highway runs, towing, and any use for hire or delivery. Then find the clause that covers each type of use. Some contracts exclude or limit certain uses. A use the contract does not mention is a question to put to the seller in writing.
Questions to ask before you sign
Ask whether a second driver can authorize a repair. Ask whether a named holder is required before a claim can be opened. Ask what happens to the contract if the vehicle is sold, and whether the paperwork moves with the car or stays with the holder. Ask who chooses the shop in a shared household, and whether the seller must approve a shop before work starts. Keep the answers in writing, and check them against the signed page.
Where the state rules fit
Each state's rules differ on who regulates the seller and which statute applies. Once you know the state named in the contract, look up that state's rules on this site. Its page names the regulator, cites the statute or program, and says whether the state publishes a roster and as of what date. Use that page as a starting point, then confirm the details against the contract you are given.