What do you check when you buy a used vehicle?

Beside checking Carfax or Autocheck, what else do you check or do when you are planning to buy a vehicle?

Checking underneath such as transmission, suspension, or else?

I would apprreciate for any of your information


Thank you very much

 

Take it to a trusted mechanic, and ask him/her for an inspection. Paying $75 for the inspection (before you make the plunge) is worth it.

[EDIT: carfax, et al., are worthless, imo.]

 

Frame, black smoke when starting, oil leaks, coolant leaks, locks, handles, switches, hinges, tires, dipstick.

But you can't beat an inspection.

 

My big thing is body work. Check lines and paint texture. Especially if there's nothing listed on the carfax.

 

I was always told to look at the tip of the engine oil dipstick to amke sure its not burnt... lol..

otherwise i would look for rust spots, found one on mine recently, /cry

 

If it is at a dealer, have them put it up on the lift so you can get a real good look at it. You will see any leaks from that position. If the dealer refuses, tell him to sell it to someone else.

 

Unscrew the oil cap and and look on the engine side of it for any signs of build up. Also, with the cap removed, look inside the engine as best as you can, stick a finger inside and try to scrape the valve covers (if you can) with your nail, again, looking for build up.

When I bought my truck, I was 18 and it was used, I looked at the underside of the oil cap and noticed sludge. I didn't think much of it but the engine ended up blown because of that and an extremely inept mechanic.

I have also heard of people checking and smelling the oil. Check if it's overly black and if it smells burnt.

I also try to study bolts and screws throughout the engine compartment to see if they show signs of having been tampered with. This could be good or bad depending on which bolts and the mileage.

Can't really think of anything else but take my advice with a grain of salt; I'm no pro.

 

is the tank full? if so, yer golden. duct tape, bailing wire and zip ties dont matter.

 

Im gonna take a buddy who has alot of experience on vehicle. Well I don't think he handled the truck or SUV before but he built numerous Toyota supra from front to rear with just a frame in his garage.

 

Check out an active forum for the car you want to buy. The forum usually has a maintenance section that lists all the known problems with the year of the car you are looking at. This will save you a lot of time in the long run.

 

milelage, scratches, dents, ect. any little thing make them take off a few hundred XD

 

i like to make sure there's no blood in the trunk, that's never a good sign

 

i was at the tire store yesterday gettin the girls matrix s roadworthy and met a guy who just bought a used f250sd from juarez for 1k. this was his comment: "it looks like 2 guys died inside it but other than that, its pretty nice." true story.

 

Always find out ahead of time where the VIN stickers should be and make sure all are intact (and match) when you see the vehicle. Carfax and Autocheck very often do not have records of accidents. Also, there are plenty of people out there who will sell a vehicle right after it is repaired from an accident before the records have a chance to catch up with it. If VIN stickers are there, look for any body work on the panels. If you really want to be picky, look at the labels on all windows, they should match. I like to know if a car has had a window broken, or windshield replaced.

After that, smell the dipstick(s). Make sure they dont smell burnt. Look under the car for ANY wet spots. Cracked or damaged CV's will be obvious, diff, engine, and trans leaks too. Look for battery corrosion all around the battery area. While under the car look for any signs the frame has any repairs. Cracked or flaking paint on the frame in just one spot is a sign that it was bent in that area.

I try to get a feel for how well the vehicle has been taken care of by looking at everything in general. There is no science to this, but if I look at a vehicle that clearly shows signs of wear, or broken tabs and stuff inside then I often make the assumption that the outside and engine have been taken care of just as poorly.

I usually dont go much further than that. I will look at the tires if I want to bargain a little, but I prefer to buy vehicles with bald tires so I can put on the tires I like.

I do almost all of my own work so very few things are deal breakers. Everything has a price, but often my price and a sellers don't line up. No problem, there are plenty of vehicles out there. Don't push through the wrong deal, and dont under estimate the amount of work you might put into a vehicle, especially if you are a little anal (like me).

Good luck to ya.

 

Me too, body work is always the biggie for me. Check around the car, looking at an angle to see if the paint is dull, or looks slightly textured, which means there's bondo.