Buying A Used Vehicle

Tips On Buying a Secondhand Vehicle

Shopping for a car or truck? What to look for in a secondhand vehicle?

Make This Your First Inspection

The Most Gainful Test and time saver is to inspect the inside of the exhaust pipe at the end of the vehicle. Check the color, it should be clean, sometimes a neutral light grey and void of any oil. The cleaner the better! Black and sooty reveals a poor burn, resulting in poor gas mileage and poor performance. This may the only test you need to make before walking away from the sale. Black dirty looking exhaust pipes usually indicatesl worn piston rings, damaged valves or worn valve stems, a costly repair item! If the exhaust test checks out, then follow up with these other tests. Check the Exhaust pipes and muffler- visually inspect for rust and holes.

Tires
tire wear can tell you a lot, are they wearing evenly across the tire? Rough driving and rough roads can cause front end damage which may or may not be able to be corrected with an alignment.

Go Further
If the exhaust pipe is black inside, more tests are in order. Remove the spark plugs one by one and note the condition of each one. The color tells us a lot about the health of each cylinder. Follow up with a compression test of each cylinder, the readings should be consistent with each other.

The Other Things To Look For
Shocks- you can do a basic test. First do a visual inspection, there should not be any oil on the outside of the shock. Try rocking the car back and forth above each tire, one at a time. The car should quickly stop bouncing. If the car continues to bounce after you let up, they may need replacing.

Steering Wheel Play- try turning the steering wheel left, then right while watching the front wheel on the drivers side. If there is excessive motion in the steering wheel, before the wheels move, it could be an indication of worn tire rod ends. Worn tie rod ends cause vehicles to wander on the road.

Under the hood- visually inspect everything, looking for leaking fluid. Check the radiator for rock damage and check the radiator hoses, look for cracks. Try squeezing them in your fingers, they should feel rubbery, not hard. Check the fan belts for cracks and damage.

What A Good Eye Can Tell You
Have a really good look at the wear of the steering wheel and the rubber on the brake, clutch pedals. If the speedometer says 80,000 kilometers and the wear indicates otherwise, the odometer may have been turned back. Also uneven spaced numbers of the odometer, indicate they have been turned back.

Last but not least if possible take the vehicle for a road test, listen for scraps, knocks etc., and no sound is best! Try the brakes, hand brake, turning signal, windshield wipers, lights and horn. Take the vehicle down a long hill, let it coast then at the bottom of the hill step on the gas, a blue cloud behind you indicates worn rings, cyclinders and valve guides.

By locating any of these problems you will be able to bring it to the attention of the seller. You might be able to get them to lower the price in order to have the necessary repairs done. On the other hand you may avoid a major headache.

Interior Checks
1/ check all instrument operations
2/ check air-conditioning operation
3/ check blower operation on all speeds
4/ if vehicle has power antenna, check its operation
5/ check radio, tape player, CD playe
6/ check for owner's manual in glove box
7/ check in glove box and on door post for any maintenance records
8/ check seat belts for condition and retractability
9/ check action of window action; manual or power
10/ check windshield wiper action and windshield washer action
11/ check cigarette lighter action
12/ check any other power outlets
13/ check clock
14/ check map, dome lights
15/ check any alarm systems
16/ check door locks (proper key operation) manual or power
17/ check remote control of locks
18/ check window tint film
19/ check mirror action, manual or power
20/ check window wiper action
21/ check rear window wiper and defrost
22/ if convertable, check operation and condition of top
23/ if sunroof check seal and condition
24/ check operation of seat operation, manual or power
25/ check console condition
26/ check glove box condition and action
27/ check action of emergency brake
28/ check release action for fuel door and hood
29/ check trunk release
30/ check condition of floor mats

Trunk Inspection
1/ check for proper key operation
2/ check hatch-lid fit and weather seal 
3/ check gas-assisted trunk/hatch struts operation
4/ check paint match of trunk to body of car
5/ check condition of trunk floor mat
6/ check condition of spare tire and for inflation
7/ check condition of jack and tire changing tools
8/ check for any rust under floormat
9/ check condition of trailer wiring, if any
10/ check for any thing which would indicate collision damage
11/ check action of the trunk coutesy light
12/ check to see if the vehicle has a dashlight trunk open indicater

Fluid checks under the hood
1/ check level and condition of engine oil
2/ check fluid level of brake master cylinder 
3/ check fluid level of clutch master cyclinder
4/ check fluid level of power steering reservoir
5/ check transmission fluid level
6/ check radiator fluid level

Under the hood visual inspection
1/ check drive belts conditions
2/ visually inspect vacuum lines and fittings
3/ visually inspect electrical wiring, corroded, missing insulation etc.
4/ check battery visual condition, battered, cracked etc.
5/ check battery connections for corrosion
6/ check battery containing box for rust and corrosion
7/ check battery hold-down bar for rust and corrosion
8/ check condition of distributor cap and spark plug wires
9/ check condition of air filter
10/ check windshield reservoir condition
11/ check radiator overflow reservoir condition

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