Buying a used car can seem like a lottery. To give you more certainty when shopping for a car, check out this used car buying guide.
Preliminary inspection
Check the car’s registration number in the pictures of the advertisement. If you cannot find it in the pictures, and it is not mentioned in the ad, it may be possible that the seller wants to make it difficult to find the best car valuation information. In that case, ask the seller for the registration number immediately.
Ask the seller the following questions:
- Why is the car for sale? With the help of this question, you may find out how satisfied the seller has been with his car.
- How long have you owned the car? If the car has been owned by the seller for a long time, he has a long experience with the car and its history.
- What do you know about the car’s history, damages and the like?
- What is the condition of the tires, does the car have both summer and winter tires?
- When and where was the last service performed?
- Is there a maintenance book and inspection documents that support the mileage?
Does the car have a timing belt or timing chain and do you know when it was changed?
- If it needs to be changed within a short time, call the car service and ask for a quote so that you can prepare for the costs.
From Carfame (www.carfame.com) you can get, for example, basic and historical information about the vehicle. The service is paid.
Car inspection
- Best if the car hasn’t been driven recently when you look at it. Cars can have fault sounds and features when they are started cold, but which are not heard when the engine is warm.
Look at the exhaust fumes. Ideally, there should be no smoke at all, but a light vapor in cold weather is normal. Blue smoke when starting indicates engine problems.
- Check the body of the car. The difference in paint color between the two panels shows that the car has been repainted after the damage. Check the body for bumps or rust, as well as leaks or damage under the car.
- Check the windshield. Is it worn out? A worn windshield impairs visibility. Hit by a stone can cause the glass to crack, so the windshield has to be replaced.
- Check the condition of the tires – if the tread depth of the tires is less than 4 mm, it is high time to change them! The groove depth should be good over the entire surface of the tire. An unevenly worn surface indicates problems with the substrate.
Check that the lighting works, both inside and outside.
Are all the car keys safe? Ordering new keys can be time-consuming and expensive.
Can you find all the documents related to the car? E.g. instruction manual, receipts, inspection papers and maintenance book? The maintenance book can also be in electronic form. Then ask the seller to log into it and show it – or contact the importer.
Under the hood
Check the dipstick. In addition to the level, pay attention to the color of the oil. Fresh oil is bright brown in color. Black oil is normal after a while, but then find out when it was last changed. Cloudy brown oil or a lumpy deposit on the stick is a warning sign! Then ask the workshop to check the car if you are still interested.
Inspect the drive belts for dry cracks. Check for leaks. The humidity is quite normal, but there should be no leaks.
Check the coolant level and color? The liquid should be clear. Today there are different colors such as red, green, orange and blue, but what they all have in common is that they should be bright. If there is slush or lumps in the liquid, it could be oil leaking into the liquid.
Check the brake fluid reservoir. A low level may indicate worn brakes. Brownish fluid may mean that it has not been changed for a long time.
Test drive
Turn off the radio so that you can more easily hear possible fault sounds.
See that no warning lights come on.
Drive on different types of roads and also at higher speeds. Tire imbalance can become apparent at higher speeds, and gearbox failure sounds may only be heard in the highest gear.
Follow the traffic around you so that it is safe to turn slightly left and right, and at the same time listen for a faint growling sound – in which case it may be the wheel bearings that need to be replaced.
- Accelerate properly through all gears, there should be no hesitation or jerking.
- Changing gears should be done without rushing and without forcing.
- The clutch should not vibrate or jerk when you release it.
Do a brake test. Drive 80 km/h on a flat straight road and make sure there is no car behind you. Hold the steering wheel lightly, but be aware that the car may pull in one direction. Brake decisively to stop. If you feel that the car auction pakistan is pulling in a certain direction, it may be the brakes that should be checked. (The car may pull a little to the right if the road is sloping to the right, which most roads are.)
Drive over speed bumps or bumps in the road and listen for squeals that indicate a worn chassis. All fault sounds are worth checking before making a purchase decision.
Leave the car’s engine running after the test drive and listen to see if the electric fan starts so the car doesn’t overheat.
Some companies have developed special insurance products for trading between individuals, which can be used to reduce the risk in trading. In practice, the products work so that the car seller takes out the insurance. Therefore, the buyer cannot separately insure himself against possible errors that occur after the transaction, even though the product protects both parties in the event of an error.
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