Buying A Used Car
Author: Adeel
As few of our readers may be bit bored with repetition of our advice to do home work, most of you will agree that buying a car is not a everyday routine but a one off investment, which will stay with you for years if not whole life. Buying a used car may sound like a frightening experience but if you make note of everything given below, you will be able to find your dream car like a professional.
HOME WORK
Make sure you have arranged for your finances.
Number on car’s VIN plate and Engine plate should match with registration documents.
a. Must test drive.
b. Always carry out hpi.
c. A car’s average mileage is 10,000 miles per year, so calculate to find out if car has spent a tough life.
d. Always try to make an approximate price of your prospective car.
e. Shop around from a variety of sellers.
f. As a standard myth, British are not very tactful when it comes to haggling. But be ready to haggle. Haggling is compulsory and everyone in car industry expects you to haggle. So if you don’t haggle, you are sending wrong signals. But never haggle aggressively. Bit of humour is best way to be a successful haggler.
g. If car is more then 03 years old, check it has current MOT certificate.
h. When checking service history, compare details of mileage etc with current readings.
i. Ask for a valid power of attorney, if seller is not title holder of V5C doc and check their ID also.
j. Never leave without V5C, so before leaving your home, ask seller to confirm they have logbook.
Now you have to look out for following signs of wear and tear, make a prudent judgement considering life of car.
Rust
Check your car in good day light. Rust can easily be spotted on wings, sills and under bumpers. Now if this rust produces a cracking sound, it is evident of corrosion. If any brake pipes have signs of rust, they will mostly like to be replaced.
Look out for signs of rust on back of under bonnet, corners of windscreen, around door frame and on back of under bonnet area.
Accident Damage
See your car from all sides. Most common signs are different doors and wings. If paint work is looking different, that’s why it is advised to view car in dry weather, water drops alter view. Steering should be straight with no tendency to pull right or left.
Carry a magnet to find out if any filler has used to fix rusty areas.
Mileage
A possible sign of odometer tempering is out of line numbers. You can guess about mileage by looking at general condition of car, brake pedal, gear level, steering, loose belt are strong signs of age.
If condition is too good along with unusual low mileage and it (if owner tells you or not) may be unused for long times or used for shorter journeys. You may be surprise to know that this kind of car usage can also cause engine malfunctions.
Transmission Function
Clutch is supposed to operate smoothly engaging all gears with ease. If gear change function gets stiffed at higher revs, clutch may have been worn. Also to make sure clutch doesn’t get, drive the car up a hill in top gears. When you test drive, change from one gear to next upper gear and see how car reacts. Also coming down from higher speed to lower change from highest to lower step wise. If gears are crunching / baulking or gearbox is whining, car may require a new gearbox.
Tyres
Always check spare tyre also for correct tread (lesser then 1.6mm is illegal) and sidewalls which should be from any sign of damage or bulges.
Any uneven wear suggests steering tracking or suspension issues.
Suspension
Push down the car at its corners and leave, it will adjust to normal in no matter of time after rebounding if everything regarding suspension is working worn bushes, joints and shock absorbers can be spotted by imprecise handling or if suspension knocks on uneven roads.
Steering
Unbalance wheels can cause steering wheel go wobbly. Turn steering gently and ask someone to see wheel move simultaneously. It is compulsory they do move at same time otherwise this car will be a MOT failure. Low or high tyre pressure can cause steering function vaguely.
Under Bonnet
A dirty engine is evident of neglected car which has not been serviced properly. Now if you come across a sparkling shine engine it may have been steam cleaned to disguise problems. Be careful.
Check oil level and colour before you start engine, if it is low or sludgy/ dirty, check when it was last changed with service schedule. Look for beige “mayonnaise” on oil filler neck or cap and on oil breather pipe (pipe which connects air filter to oil filter), this is sign of head gasket leakage.
Coolant should look like anti-freezer not rust-coloured. An engine that has been run without anti-freeze can have problems.
Make sure no oil is leaking from engine.
Switch on engine and see oil light goes out soon after it starts. There shouldn’t be any knocking or rattle noises.
Rev engine briefly from idle and lookout for blue or black smoke which are evident of problems.
Watch out for overheating on temperature gauges.
Brakes
Brake pedal should feel solid and never sink before functioning, check a brake servo is working easily, pump pedal several times, then hold pedal down and start engine, pedal will go down as engine starts.
Look for car juddering which shows distorted front brake discs.
Make sure brakes hoses (under wheel arches) are not swollen or leaking.
Car is not supposed to veer when brakes are applied hard, even suddenly from high speed. If this happens then seizes or leaking wheel cylinders or callipers may be causing this.
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