| When it comes to buying a used car, nothing could be more important
than doing your homework. Everyone's great fear is buying a used or
pre-owned car and it breaking down the next day. Living in Virginia
Beach or Chesapeake, VA presents in itself a unique situation. Being on
the Atlantic coast, people in these areas own cars that may or may not
have been exposed to hurricane type weather, flooding and or other
weather related circumstances under which vehicles need to be carefully
inspected. Checking the engine compartment is another area that will
give you a good indication of the vehicle's service history and or
potential issues. While engine compartments tend to get cleaned up
before being sold, if you look closely and inspect a used cars engine
compartment in the corners and cracks, you may see patterns of large
amount of oil residue mixed with dirty. Such things are good indicators
for past oil leak issues or other problems that may have existed.
Certainly driving the vehicle, inspecting the way the transmission
shifts are standard operating procedures when checking out a used car.
Also check the transmission fluid. After you have test driven the
vehicle, while the car is running, put it in neutral, apply the parking
break and head for the engine compartment. Pull the dipstick for the
automatic transmission. This will tell you the level of the fluid as
well as the condition. While fluid level is extremely important, look at
the color of the fluid. Smell it. If it smells burnt or appears like
varnish, these are indicators the transmission fluid needs to be
changed. Automatic transmissions don't last very long unless they are
serviced in a timely fashion. Other areas to check are the fuse box,
both under the hood and in the vehicle.
Inspect for fuses out of place or the wrong amperage for what is called
for (i.e. finding a 20amp fuse in a 10 amp fuse block, etc.).
Look under the seats and under the dash for sand or other kinds of dirt,
an indicator for flood issues.
Inspect the preowned vehicle's underside, looking for dents, damage, or
other indicators that the vehicle would have run over something.
Inspect for cleanliness under the vehicle, keeping an eye out for oil
and other types of fluids.
Inspect the radiator fluid (before starting). Notice color and type and
compare to fresh looking fluid of the same kind.
Obviously when purchasing a preowned or used car everyone wants to
know if the vehicle has been wrecked. While Carfax or AutoCheck are good
places to start, if you really want to know what has been done, take the
vehicle for an extended test drive, stop by a body shop that you may
know and ask them to look it. A well trained body shop mechanic would be
able to spot imperfections rather easily. Ultimately a paint meter is
the best way to go as it measures the thickness of the paint, which is
the best indicator. Try the paint meter on various panels of the car.
Vehicle records are good indicators and overall cleanliness can
certainly be good indicators. Be sure to inspect tires, and not just
tread depth but also tire pattern wear. On the test drive be sure to
check for alignment issues and other factors that would create potential
tire wear problems. These are inexpensive maintenance items but are
necessary to maintain tire life. Brakes need to be inspect for pad life
and other issues.
There are certainly other items that can and should be inspected but
we have discussed alot here. |
Used Car Maintenance Tips Visit our Maintenance page to find out
what commonly maintenance items you should look to complete on a regular
basis. |
