How to Check a Used Car before You Buy it - Part 1

Here is a tips from Knut Holt about buying a used car. Please enjoy, hopefully this is useful for you.

A used car has always faults that reduce the comfort of using the car or that must be repaired before using it comfortably and safely. This is all right, as long the prize you pay is not too high when you also add the prize, time and efforts for subsequent repair and adjustments. Here are some tips for checking a used car before any purchase.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSING A CAR BEFORE YOU BUY

The basic principles of assessing a used car before you buy it are:

- Look at everything.
- Test everything.
- Check the car's history.
- Write down what you find.

Before you begin checking the car, make sure you have ready something to note down your findings upon.

If you only remember these four depicted principles, you will probably make a good assessment even without any more detailed plan. However, in the following a plan for the assessment is presented. It is not always possible to do it exactly as described, but try to follow the procedures as well as you can.

LOOK IT ALL OVER

Before starting the car, you should watch the whole car externally and internally in a systematic manner:
- Go around the car and watch every point. Look for broken windows, unclear windows, unclear or broken mirrors, bumps, rust or damaged painting.
- Then look especially well at the channels on the sides. Look for any rust and injuries.
- Try to open and close all doors. Look around the doors, both at the doors themselves and the frames around the doors. Try the locks in every door.
- Look at the wheels and the wheel suspensions.
- Look under the car. Look especially for rust, broken parts or unsymmetrical parts.
- Look into the luggage room. Look under carpets and covers. Look especially for cracks, rust or unsymmetrical parts. Such symptoms can indicate that the car has been subjected to an injury.
- Look into the motor room. Check for loose parts. Does everything seems solid and in place? Is there much rust? Are there signs of oil leakage? Is it very dirty, and what kind of dirt is present? Some dirt is normal, but extreme and unusual dirt should give you something to think about. Do you see any cracks or any asymmetry? Are there any signs of repair work done? Such symptoms indicate that the car has been through an accident.

• Try the suspension by bouncing each of the corners of the car. They should bounce only one or two times in every corner, and without any cracking noise.
• Look to see if the car has spare wheels, standard tools for repair and wheel shift, and both summer and winter wheels present.
• Then turn the key so that the electric systems are activated.
• Look at everything in the cabin. Look under the carpets. Sit down in all seats. Try all regulatory possibilities of the seats.
• Try all electric windows, electric mirrors and other commodities that are electrically operated.
• Try out all lights, including the signal lights and the serene. If some of them do not work, set in a new bulb, to see if this is the only problem.
• Try the radio, car computer, music equipment and any GPS navigation unit.