What to look for in when buying used cars?

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mikebai1990

New member
What are some tips that you guys can give regarding the purchase of used cars? What are some main areas to look at that are crucial to buy a reliable car? How can one bargain successfully to get the best price for a used car? The things I can imagine are:



-Look at basic maintenance: belts, spark plugs, etc...



-Maintenance of exterior and interior (may reflect how well the car is taken care of): An autopian inspection of the exterior (dents, dings, scratches, swirling), interior (carpet/leather condition)



-Ask owner whether the car has been involved in any major accidents (in addition to a carfax report)



-Ask owner what type of regular maintenance has been done (oil changes, spark plug change, coolant flush, brake maintenance, interior/exterior protection)



What else is there?
 
There are SOOOO many. I won't even consider a car without maintenance records, especailly a car that is gonna be driven hard. Don't ask the owner, look at the records yourself. Check the maintenance records for the obvious stuff. The big clue for me in how the car was driven is when the brake pads and tires have been replaced. You beat a car and those two areas will show it before anything else does.



Drive two or three of the exact same model so you know what a beat one feels like and what a cherry one feels like. Carmax is a great place to narrow down what model you are interested in since they have so many cars on one location, then you broaden your search for that model once you have decided.



If you are a car guy, bring a checklist of thing to check. No matter how good you think you are, emotion takes over and you will miss things if you don't have a checklist. I have one with about 200 items on it, it takes me about an hour to check a car. If you aren't a car guy, find a good list and take it to a mechanic you trust.



Collision damage is another tough call. Most mechanics aren't that great at spotting it. Either you spot it or don't. Check all the panel gaps and look for overspray in there, compare it with the other side. Really good bodywork is very hard to spot and isn't that big of a concern. Frame damage is though, you may want to take it to a good body shop to check it out, the type that does frame straightening.



Carfax is ok to weed out the real lemons but it in no way is assurance that your car is trouble free. I've looked at a lot of cars that had serious body and frame damage that have clear carfaxes.



Stick to the facts, toss emotion out to the side. If you feel something is not right, move on. Used cars are like women and buses. Another one just like it will be by shortly :D
 
Ask to see it lifted up in the air so you can see the underneath of the car too...lots of secrets hide down there...and definitely have it checked out by a good autobody for frame damage, hidden things.
 
I occasionally do inspections for fellow enthusiasts who are looking to buy a car in this area and can't take the time or spend the money to fly in. Similarly, I've had others do the same for me when I bought out-of-state cars. Based on that experience, here's what I do when I go look at a car.



1.) Take a refrigerator magnet and use it all over the entire car. You'll be surprised where you can find body filler and the refrigerator magnet won't stick if there is anything more than just a smoothing layer.



2.) I have an Excel spreadsheet-based checklist that I print out and take on a clipboard. It covers everything you'd want to remember to check on any given car and I use it to make sure I don't miss anything. It has spaces on it for me to write comments so I can remember everything I've seen.



3.) Take a floor jack and jackstands. The seller may not have any and you do need to be able to get fully under the car to look at the mechanicals for leaks, worn boots, etc.



4.) A digital camera. Mine is 8 megapixel so I can take very detailed shots that will allow me to review what I saw later when I'm compiling the inspection report or, if I've purchased the car, starting the documentation folder on it.



5.) A good flashlight with an adjustable beam (I use a Mag-lite) so you can see in shadowed spots where rust or other wear indicators might hide.



6.) Shop rags to wipe off dirt (not on the body, of course) in order to see better what might be under the dirt.



I also ask the owner for service records, if available, and spend some time talking about what I'm looking for and why. During that conversation, I can usually develop a better sense of the owner and whether he/she is trying to hide anything.



The most recent one I did was on a 1961 Jaguar. I spent about an hour and turned up substantial body filler areas and some rust areas that prompted the buyer to pass on what he originally thought was a gorgeous turn-key car.



Eventually, I'd like to get a paint meter to replace the magnet but that's more for when I start buying cars at auction, as a friend has invited me to do.



If you'd like a copy of the Excel spreadsheet, PM me with your e-mail address and I'll be happy to forward it along.
 
Thanks catvert, the PM is sent. Thanks to yakky and Invigor too. Great tips!



An additional question: Do you guys think that one is more likely to be ripped off if he/she buys the used car at a dealership? What I've heard is that owners of cars are less likely to be doing things like turning back the odometer, hiding big problems, etc.. Is this true?
 
Mike... I trust you're going to be getting a manual after all this time on SS, eh? :)



Hmm... dealerships. I think education is the important thing here. You should try to have an idea of what a car should be worth. Dealerships put some insane markup on their used cars because you can negotiate them much lower. And beware those "used car salesmen" heh.



good luck man!
 
mikebai1990 said:
Do you guys think that one is more likely to be ripped off if he/she buys the used car at a dealership? What I've heard is that owners of cars are less likely to be doing things like turning back the odometer, hiding big problems, etc.. Is this true?
Click to expand...





Unless you really *know* the seller (be it a dealer or an individual) I don't think you can generalize that one is better/worse than the other.



Noting that the dealer will probably have a higher price and that they often "recondition" used vehicles (in a not-good way), that might tilt things in favor of buying from an individual.



But I wouldn't trust an individual to tell me much either...seems that whenever I point something out they say "huh, never noticed that" or "oh yeah, that just happened yesterday" or something like that.



A *reputable* dealership won't put their reputation on the line over a crappy vehicle (they'll wholesale it to a crappy dealership ;) ). Some of the best used cars I've ever owned came from dealers. But finding those reputable dealers isn't always easy and when it comes to cosmetics, don't expect much from a dealership (except glaze and hidden marring).



IMO the *best* used vehicles will come from car-crazy individuals; anybody who bought one of my cars would be satisfied that they got a good one at a fair price. But even then, you have to ask yourself "if it's so great, why's he selling it?"
 
Another tip I forgot and often don't stick to though I should:



Its always worth paying a premium for a good car. Fixing one up will nickle and dime you to death as well as waste your weekends. Buy the best example you can afford.
 
Thanks again for the tips. Accumulator, you make a good point when you talk about "if it's so great, why is he selling it?"



paul34, yes, I am definitely hoping to get a manual when I get to drive. I'm beginning to constantly drill into my parents the reasons why I should get a manual. Today, my dad was driving the whole family around for parties, church, etc... and he was complaining how everyone else is happy except him because he has to drive everyone around. I replied, "Well, if you had a manual, you would enjoy driving around. Driving would be fun!" :) He used to drive a manual back in the day. The main reason we don't have one anymore is because my mom can't (refuses to) drive a manual and my parents often have to drive both cars interchangeably.
 
:har: Several good ideas to do is to look under the hood and trunk lid. Why?? look for over spray marks or look at the fender bolts to see if they had been moved. Look in the spare tire area below the trunk for water marks (rust or water stains). any other ideas, just give me a shout.. Danny
 
Great advice guys.



Here's my 2 cents:



I cannot emphasize the importance of a test drive. And i don't mean meandering around a school parking lot. Take the car out on the open road. And don't just sightsee, but pay attention to the vehicle's characteristics. Monitor comfort, noise levels, braking, acceleration, steering alignment etc. Put it through the paces.



Good luck.
 
Good info from all on here, my small advice, don't listen to the radio during a test drive, you should be tuned in to the car. ;)
 
captainkirk said:
Great advice guys.



Here's my 2 cents:



I cannot emphasize the importance of a test drive. And i don't mean meandering around a school parking lot. Take the car out on the open road. And don't just sightsee, but pay attention to the vehicle's characteristics. Monitor comfort, noise levels, braking, acceleration, steering alignment etc. Put it through the paces.



Good luck.
Click to expand...



I like to drive the car along a brick wall or some jersey barriers with the window rolled down at various speeds to hear the engine under load and during shift points. The sound reflects off the wall and this lets you hear noises you may not hear until its too late.
 
yakky, that's very interesting. I also notice that problems can be heard more easily when there is some sort of wall or line of cars to reflect the sound. For example, I realized that one of our cars had brake alignment problems, and it could only be heard when driving alongside a line of stationary cars.
 
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