These are few of the things you must check before you purchase a used vehicle:
Besides the tips below here is a nice video which takes you step by step on things required to be checked before buying a used car.
1. Car Body: Taking a walk around the car will give you the first impression of how well the car has been managed. You can look for possible dents, corrosion,faded mirrors etc. you can ask the dealer or the owner to either fix these or reduce the price accordingly. It takes around 15-20 minutes to inspect the entire body of the car. You can look at the body lines by seeing the reflection of a nearby object on the car. If it has not been in a crash the reflection will be straight and perfect. However if the car has been in an accident the reflection will have ripples.You should also check few other things in the car body of a used car.
Look at the paint of different areas of the vehicle. If it has been in an accident or there has been a shoddy job done on it the paints wont match. Check for the gaps in the car between the different body panels. If the gaps are notably different it will give you a good idea if the car has been in any sort of accident.
Take a magnet and check on the normal spots where corrosion begins like the lower door panels, near the wheel arches. If too much body filler has been used the magnet wont stick and you can know that the part is heavily corroded. Do not go for such vehicles as it would have worse corrosion effects on the more important parts like the brake lines and all along the vehicles underneath.
2. Tires: Take a good look at all the tires. Whether they are from reputable brands like bridgestone, goodyear etc or some no name product. Check for bubbles or cuts in the tire. If you find any of these instantly ask them to be fixed or deduct the price for having new ones.
3. Check the vehicle manufacturer label: Check the exact date when the car was produced. It is possible that sometimes a car which is labeled as a june 1994 model is being sold as a 1995 model. You can find this on the driver's door side.
4. Interior: This is one of the chief places to look for. Any vehicle whose interiors are not well maintained would surely have huge problems in other parts. Check the seat belts, check if the locking unlocking can be done easily. Open and close the doors, see if they can open and close freely. Check if there is some excessive use of air freshener. This could be to block some bad odor. See if the "check engine" lights are on after the engine is started. Ask what the problem is exactly. Sometimes repairing these can be very costly affair.
5. Electrical features: Check for the electrical features closely. Test the power windows lock, the windshield, the wipers. If there is a sunroof check if it works properly. Also test the cd-player, you might find it expensive to fix later on.
6. Heater and air conditioner: Check these two very nicely. They are not only very expensive to fix but will also indicate that the car might be involved in some other trouble.
7. Flood damage signs: If the car has been flooded it would slowly develop very expensive to fix problems. The main reason is that water would have gone in compartments where it shouldn't and this will cause big problems afterwards. You can find this by checking underneath the carpet, you will find moisture. Check the door speakers, the diaphragm could be damaged by flooding. Coffee with milk color of the engine oil or the transmission fluid would show that there is presence of water.
8. Engine: It is important that the vehicle goes through regular oil changes. Even the best of the engine will not last if regular oil change has not been done. You can find if the engine has been taken proper care of by looking under the hood. If the engine is extremely dirty, has smell of burnt oil, the battery terminals are corroded, or if there are oil leaks it will show that proper care of the engine has not been taken. Check the engine oil. This will show you the current state of the engine. Pull out the engine oil dipstick and wipe it nicely and then insert it back again. If the level of oil is between the "LOW" and "FULL" mark and the color is brownish it shows the engine is good however if the color is blackish or is below the "LOW" level it would show that the engine has not been maintained properly. Start the car and if you see blue or black smoke coming out it can be the result of excessive fuel combustion. Follow these tips to check the engine fully.
9. Automatic Transmission: It is very common that problems with automatic transmission would be there. Although you might not be able to guarantee that the automatic transmission is good without going to a proper mechanic you can still try a few things yourself. The first thing is to check the automatic transmission fluid. If it has a burnt smell it means that the transmission already has a problem or will develop one soon. Another important thing is the delayed engagement. Once the car is in a "P" position start the car and put it in a "R"(reverse) position. There should be a easy transmission without a jerk or a delay. If the delay is more than 1 second it would mean that there is a problem with the transmission. Again while doing a test drive shift between different gears. The transmission should be smooth without any jerks or shuddering.
10. Manual Transmission: During your test drive test all the gears. There should be no jerks while shifting of the gears. Try to accelerate from the 2nd gear, in this situation the clutch should not slip meaning that the engine rpm would increase however the overall speed of the vehicle would remain the same. If this happens the clutch would need to be replaced.
11. Test Drive: This is the most important part. Try and do as many miles as possible to get an overall feel of the car.
Check if the steering is good.
The engine should not make any irregular noise of any kind.
Check if the car is stable at highway speeds.
There should be no jerks, shuddering, of any kind while shifting gears.
Both acceleration and braking should be easy.
Check if the car is a bit "Bouncy".
Try and test drive another vehicle of the same model. You will have a good comparison platform between the two. You can check out these test drive tips for used cars.
After doing all these steps if you are not satisfied do not hesitate to get it inspected by a local mechanic. Although it might cost you a bit but in the long run you would be saved from many expensive repairs.
Besides this do not forget to see the vehicle history from "CARFAX". They will help you gain exact knowledge if the car has been in serious accidents, flooded, rental use, high mileage etc.
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