|
Buying a used car always carry some risks - there is no guarantee that the car will be accident-free, has real mileage, and was properly serviced. There may be some hidden problems of concern. Here we have assembled few guilines that could help you be more prepared when buying a used car.
First, take a walk around the car and look for general appearance that is an indication of how well the car was taken care of. Mark down any defects you find: cracks on the windshield, scratches, dents, corrosion spots, broken lenses, faded mirrors, worn wipers, missing wheel covers (hubcaps), etc. Later you may ask the dealer to fix these problems as a part of the deal or negotiate the price down accordingly.
Look for signs of previous accidents or corrosion. I don't recommend to buy a car that has been involved in a serious accident, even if otherwise it seems to be in good condition. All sorts of problems may arise later as a result of previous accident - excessive tire wear, problems with the air conditioner, premature corrosion, alignment problems, noisy wheel bearings, etc.
The same is true about badly corroded cars; even if repaired, the rust will reappear again later.
Take your time; normally it takes 30 - 40 minutes to inspect a whole car body all around.
Look alongside of the car. The lines of the car body should be perfectly straight. Look at the reflection: it is perfect, no ripples and paint quality of all panels looks the same. Try to check the entire car this way. Ripples indicate possible body repair.
Look at the paint from a distance and from different angles. Does the color of different panels match? You can tell that by the difference in color of the door and the front fender.
Check the paint quality. Does one of the panels (door or fender) look shinier than the rest of the car? - Then it might be freshly painted.
Check all the gaps between the body panels. All gaps should be of the same width and even along the entire length. If any gap seems too narrow or too wide, go to another side of the vehicle and compare. Is it notable different? Does the car have lots of rusty spots? I wouldn't even look any further. Even if you repair these spots, the corrosion will reappear later. Plus, it's probably even worse underneath; brake lines, fuel lines and many other components might be badly corroded making the car unsafe to drive. To discover repaired corrosion spots try to stick the magnet at the most common places where the corrosion starts: around wheel arches, lower door panels, etc. If the magnet won't stick - there is no metal under the paint, only the body filler. Open the driver's door and try to lift it up on the hinges. The hinges should not have excessive free play.
Look for the trailer hitch. If the car was using for towing a heavy trailer, the engine and transmission may be excessively worn.
Tires
Have a close look at the tires. Are they of well known reputable brand like Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone, or "no-name" kind of product? Are they all the same or different? Look at the tread wear. The new tires for a passenger car have original tread depth about 10/32 inch (8 mm). When only 2/32 inch (1.5 mm) of the tread depth left, the tire must be replaced. Also the tire must be replaced if there is any mechanical damage like cuts (see the picture), bubbles, cracks, etc. Look at the wear pattern, irregular wear when one side (e.g. inner) is worn more than the other could mean alignment or suspension problems.
|
