A Women’s Guide to Buying a Good, Cheap Used Car (Sexist Salespeople Despite)
Having been married to a car dealer for many years, and having also worked extensively in the auto industry, I can offer you some advice that you will find very useful if you want to buy an inexpensive used car that should give you decent performance. value for money from it.
Don’t go for a flashy model
Flashy cars that have a cool image have likely been torn apart by kid racers and other pond life. Choose a make and model that may be unattractive and boring, but has likely been well-handled and properly cared for..
How many miles? Think of a number and triple it
Frankly, looking at the number of miles on the clock is a complete waste of time. As much as it’s illegal and all, there can’t be a used car dealer in the world that hasn’t given the cars a “haircut” – trade lingo means the mileage reading has rolled up upside down. You are more likely to calculate the age of a car by evaluating a combination of factors. (See below)
Mileage: a high one is not necessarily the end of the world
If the car you’re looking for has been a company car and was driven by members of the sales force, for example, there’s a good chance that most of its miles have been accrued on freeways (high-speed highways) and serviced. regularly. Within reason such a car may be a better bet than a very low mileage car that has been driven to the mall and back once a week at high revs in low gear and only serviced when the engine it was burning blue smoke.
state of the interior
Although the interior might have been “dusted” – British slang means cleaned well – you’ll still be able to see signs of wear on the dash, center console, steering wheel and also if the seats feel and look like pancakes. soaked That will give you more information about the age of the car than the exterior which might have been repainted (see below).
Condition of the interior – pedals
Considering the general appearance of the interior, check the pedals. If they’re as worn as the interior, that’s fine, but if they look very new, it means they’ve been replaced. Pedals, interior condition, and mileage must agree with each other; if not, be careful.
Bodywork – full surface paint job
Let yourself be guided by common sense. Too shiny and new-looking, it’s probably been resprayed, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if done correctly. Open the doors and see if the color is the same at the ends of the panel, and check the inside of the hood (hood) for any discrepancy. You can also see evidence when you look inside the engine compartment.
Bodywork – paint job here or there
Especially if the car is red or a metallic color, it is often very easy to see if a part of the bodywork (for example, a fender) has been repainted, suggesting that some damage caused by an accident has been repaired, because the colors almost never match exactly. The odd panel that is slightly different shouldn’t be a concern because if you’ve been hit, a panel suggests a minor collision. However, there is more than one panel, and you should think twice: trunk (trunk)/hatch and both rear quarters suggest a heavy rear impact, and bonnet (hood) plus both front quarters, front panel, etc. suggest a front-ender. See engine (engine), below. Another reason to partially respray is that the panel or panels in question were badly rusted; avoid it. Rust returns quickly.
Bodywork – stuffing
If the paint job appears to be suffering from mild cellulite, the damage and/or rust may have been “stripped” (slapped with things that look a little like the products you use before painting the walls) and repainted. This means that because the metal underneath is damaged, moisture can get into the cracks and rot the panel under the infill. There are two ways to check for padding: 1) tap around the panel with your knuckles or a blunt jewel. The sound will be different in the filled areas. 2) Take a small magnet with you to see the car. It will stick to the metal but not the filler.
Bodywork: holes, folds and wobbly parts
This is where you can really scare the seller away because unless you have a fairly thorough understanding of post-accident damage repair, you won’t know what the heck you’re doing. Then SMILE. Walk slowly around the car. Stand at one end and look across the ceiling to the front. Can you see any teeth or slight creases? If it can, it may mean that the car was in a serious collision and the structural integrity could have been compromised. Check the sides of the car for any wavy or wobbly sections that may have been caused by the same. Then look at the gaps between the panels, for example, on both sides of the hood. Are they the same in width? If not, it suggests that the bonnet (hood) has been removed. Why? Because of painting, or because of an accident? Similarly, check the clearances on either side of the trunk (trunk) or tailgate. If they’re uneven, that suggests a not-so-good repair. Watch out for driver and front passenger doors that look loose on their hinges, especially on a 2- or 3-door car. They will eventually fall and can be quite expensive to fix.
Drive behind him if you can
This sounds silly, but if you can convince the salesperson to drive you down the road with you following in your own car. Make sure you or your passenger have a square view of the used car. If it looks like it’s going crooked or crab-like, don’t touch it, its chassis can twist after a heavy collision that can even be dangerous, no matter how much tire wear at light speed. Also, as you drive behind the car, you’ll see if it’s burning oil (blue smoke, suggesting a worn engine) or overheating (white vapor), suggesting more mechanical issues.
Engine bay (engine)
Common sense is key here and you don’t have to be a trained technician to figure out that an engine bay (compartment) that is covered in dirty oil and grime has probably been around the block a few times. Take a soft piece of paper, pull out the dipstick and take a look at the oil level. If it is very low and/or dirty it suggests abandonment. Engines that run on low and/or dirty oil don’t last long. While under the hood (hood), check the sides and rear area for evidence of recent buckling or welding; basically, if one part looks different than the rest, be careful.
Have a “mechanic” check it out, is it worth it?
this depends. If you’re only paying a relatively small amount for a used car, one of these all-dancing automobile association checks this or that will cost you a lot of money and really just point out all the little inconveniences you’d expect from a car that age. in any case. If you want to buy the car and you’re in the UK, it’s worth saying that you’ll have it conditional on it passing the UK MoT test, even if you still have time to run the old one. That will catch any errors in your emissions that might be expensive to fix, and check your brakes and other safety issues.
Check that you are not in financing or leasing
If the car appears to have only one set of keys and (in the UK) the V5/logbook and other papers are ‘missing’ then this could be because it is a finance or unfinished lease. If you buy a car under these circumstances, you could find yourself without the car and no response from the dealer. Although it may not be worth spending money to check the car mechanics, if you have any qualifications on the keys and paperwork, don’t touch it without first checking with a company like HPI in the UK, who charge around £20 ( USD around $32.00), and there are even free services available. Find the best one for you by googling “how to check if a car is on financing.”
Good luck and happy driving!
