Finding a used car without problems has nothing to do with luck, but with putting your research skills into practice. Knowing how to spot potential problems and determine how reliable a used vehicle is can save you costly headaches down the road. The following tips can help you avoid bitterness and find a good price-quality ratio.
No matter what you are buying, at this time the important thing is to minimize contact with other people to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
You can use services like Carvana, Tred or Vroom to manage most aspects of the sale without even knowing the seller.
No However, for most people, buying a used car is a face-to-face experience, either with an individual or at a dealership.
Do your research online and contact the seller by email, phone or text message. Keep in mind that some private sellers may not want you to test the vehicle or allow a mechanic to inspect it, so you will have to decide if you agree with that. If you take the vehicle in for testing, ask the seller to clean it thoroughly before driving.
Lastly, ask the seller how many parts of the process can be done online or over the phone. The more paperwork you can handle virtually, the less time you will need to spend at the dealership.
Read the window label
The Federal Trade Commission requires that dealerships post a Buyer’s Guide on every used vehicle they have for sale. It is usually taped to a window and should include certain information, including whether the vehicle is sold “as is” or under warranty and what percentage of repair costs (if any) the dealer is obligated to pay. The information in the guide overrides any provision to the contrary in your sales contract. In other words, if the guide says the vehicle is covered by a warranty, the dealer must honor that warranty. If changes in coverage are negotiated, the guide should be modified to reflect prior to sale.
If the sale is designated “as is”, it means that the dealer does not offer warranties as to the state of the vehicle, so any problem that arises after the purchase is made will be your responsibility. Many states do not allow the sale of a vehicle “as is” when the sale exceeds a certain price.
Inspect it carefully
It does not matter to whom You buy from him, always check the vehicle carefully and take it to a mechanic for a full inspection. Dress in old clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty and check the car from top to bottom.
Inspect it in daylight on a dry day as reflectors can make cars look shiny and hide defects in the bodywork. The car must be parked on a level surface and at least one hour must have passed since it was last driven before inspection.
Exterior
Body condition: Check each panel and roof for scratches, dents and rusted parts. Pay attention to panels with misalignment or large unevenness, which can indicate careless assembly at the factory or poor repair. Paint color and finish should be the same on all body panels.
If you think a dent has been repaired, place a small magnet over it. The magnet will not adhere to an area with body filler. If other parts of the car have been repainted, there may be paint adhering to the rubber seals around the hood and trunk lid.
Rust is a concern, so check the body for blistered paint or visible rust. Check the wheel wells, the panels under the doors, and the bottom of the doors.
Open and close each of the doors, the hood and the trunk. Raise and release each door slowly, particularly the driver’s door. If the hinges appear to be loose, the car has been used a lot or for a long time. Inspect the rubber seals to see if they are broken or rotten.
Glass: Look carefully at the glass to make sure it doesn’t there are large cracks or pitted areas. A small splinter from a stone may not be a cause for alarm, although it should be mentioned during negotiations. However, the cracks in the windshield will get worse and lead to an expensive repair.
Suspension: Walk around the car to see if it is aligned. Push down at each corner. If the shock absorbers are in good condition, the car should bounce only once, not bounce up and down. Grab the top of each front tire and pull it back and forth. If you feel a play or hear a metallic sound, the wheel bearings or suspension joints may be worn.
Lights and optics: Ask a friend to check that all the lights work. Make sure all light optics and reflectors are intact and free of cracks, not fogged by moisture, and none are missing.
Tires: Tires can say a lot. A car with less than 20, 000 miles, so to speak, you should probably still have your original tires. Be wary of a car with low mileage and new tires; Check that all four tires are the same. If there are tires of different brands on the car, ask why they were changed.
The wear should be uniform across the entire width of the tread and equal on the tires on the left and right side of the car. Ask if the tires have been rotated regularly. If not, wear is usually more important on the drive wheels.
Aggressive drivers tend to wear a lot on the outer side stripes of the front tires, at the edge of the sidewall. Assume the car has been driven roughly if that area shows increased wear.
Tires that have been driven over inflated tend to wear more in the middle than on the sides. Chronically under-inflated tires have more side wear. Cupped tires, which are those that are worn unevenly along the circumference of the tread, can be a sign of a problem with the steering, suspension or brakes.
Tires must have at least 1 / 16 inch of tread to be legal. Check the depth of the tread with a special tool for this, available in auto parts stores, or with a coin of 25 pennies. Insert the coin into the groove in the tread, Washington’s head facing down. If you can see the top of its head, you should change the tire.
Examine the sidewalls for scratches, cracks or bumps, and look for dents or cracks on each of the wheels. Make sure to verify that the spare tire is in good condition and that the correct jack and wheel wrench are present.
Interior
The interior of a car may be the most important thing for you because that is where you will spend most of your time while you are its owner.
Smell : When you open the car door for the first time, smell the inside. A musty or moldy smell could indicate water leaks. Pick up the mats and check for wet spots on the carpet. A strong odor may indicate that the car was used by a smoker. Check the lighter and ashtray (if you have one) to check. Some odors, such as mold and smoke, can be very difficult to remove.
Seats: Try all seats, you probably won’t sit in the back though. The upholstery shouldn’t be torn or heavily worn, especially on a low-mileage car. Test all the seat adjustments to make sure they are working properly and that you can find a good driving position.
Pedals: The rubber on the brake, clutch and accelerator pedals give an indication of use. A car with few miles should not show much wear and tear. If the pedal rubber is worn in places or is new, this indicates that the car was driven a lot.
Instruments and controls: Turn the ignition switch on without starting the engine. You want to make sure that all the warning lights, including the check engine light, come on for a few seconds and go off when you start the engine. See if the engine is hard to start when it’s cold and if it shuts down smoothly. Then, test each switch, button, and lever.
With the engine running, turn the heater on high to see how much and how fast it heats up. Turn on the air conditioner and make sure it cools down quickly.
Sound system: Check the reception on the AM radio, FM and satellite. If your car has a CD player, try loading and ejecting a disc. Take your smartphone or MP3 player and connect or sync via Bluetooth.
Roof: Check the upholstery and interior trim from the ceiling to see if there are stains or sags and to check if water is seeping through poorly fitted doors or windows. Verify that the sunroof opens and closes properly and that it seals properly when closed. Inspect the top of a convertible for cracks when turning on a flashlight.
Trunk: Use your nose and eyes. Smell and look for signs of water ingress. Check if the carpet is wet to the touch or smells musty, and check the spare tire carefully for water or rust.
Under the hood: Related components the engine
It is better to do these checks with a cold engine. First inspect the general condition of the engine compartment. Dirt and dust are normal, but be wary if you see oil splatter around or underneath on the sidewalk. Also pay attention to a battery full of corrosion or to cables and hoses that are loose.
Hoses and straps: Tighten the various rubber hoses that go to the radiator, air conditioner and other parts. The rubber should be firm and flexible, not rock hard, cracked or soft. Feel the drive belts to see if they are worn.
Fluids: Your owner’s manual will tell you where to look to check all fluid levels. The engine oil should be dark brown or black, but not gritty. If the oil is honey colored, it has just been changed. If the dipstick has water droplets or has gray or foamy oil, it could indicate that the engine block is cracked or that the cylinder head gasket is broken, two serious problems.
Check the automatic transmission fluid with the engine warm and running. On some vehicles, the dipstick has two sets of markings to check when the engine is hot or cold.
Transmission fluid should be pink, not brown, and should smell like oil and not have a “burned” odor. The wand should not leave any visible metal particles on the rag, another sign of a serious problem. Brake and power steering fluids must be within the safe zone.
Radiator: Check the plastic reservoir that connects to the radiator with a rubber hose. The coolant should be greenish or orange, not milky or rusty in color. Greenish spots on the outside of the radiator are a clear sign of leakage.
Battery: Some “maintenance free” have a built-in charging indicator: Green generally means that the battery is good and yellow oo black usually means it’s running low. They reveal the status of a single cell and may not provide an accurate reading on the status of the entire battery. If your battery has filler caps, wipe the top off with a rag, then carefully lift or unscrew the caps to see the fluid level. A low level can mean that the battery has been working too long. Any competent mechanic can check the charging system and do a charge test on the battery.
Electric and hybrid vehicles: Make sure the battery is fully charged before doing a test drive, so you can see its expected range. For hybrids, check the car screen to make sure the battery is charging and discharging while driving.
Under the vehicle
If you can find the place where the vehicle is usually parked, look for marks of old puddles of gasoline, oil, coolant or transmission fluid. Clear water dripping from under the car on a hot day is probably just condensed water from the air conditioning.
Exhaust pipe: Touch it for debris. If it is black and greasy, it means burnt oil. The stain on the tailpipe should be dry and dark gray in color. Although some rust is normal, a lot of rust could mean that the vehicle needs a new exhaust system.
Below: If the vehicle is high enough for you to slide underneath, you will be able to review basic questions. Spread an old blanket on the ground and look under the engine with a flashlight. If you see oil droplets, oil leaks, or a green or red liquid in the engine or on the curb under the car, it is not a good sign.
Examine the CV joint sleeves, which are the round black rubber bellows on the ends of the axle shafts. If they are separated and dripping grease, consider the car has bad CV joints, another expensive repair.
If there are structural components with large kinks and dents on the vehicle floor or fuel tank, it means that an accident occurred in the past. A weld on the frame is an indication that a section could have been replaced or cut for repair work. A recent siding can hide recent structural repairs.
Take it to your mechanic
Before closing the deal, have a mechanic shop that usually do chores diagnostic check the car. The dealer should have no problem loaning you the car for inspection, as long as you leave an ID. If a salesperson tells you that you don’t need to do a separate inspection because the dealer has already done it, insist that your mechanic review it. If a private seller is reluctant to let you take the car to a workshop, suggest that the seller take it to the workshop and you follow behind.
A full diagnosis should cost between $ 100 and $ 150, but check the price in advance. Ask the mechanic for a written report detailing the condition of the car, specifying the problems found and the cost of repair. You can then use the report when you start negotiating with the seller.
If you don’t know of a mechanic shop, you can ask for the name of a good shop at a local auto parts store. If you can’t get references, look for a national vehicle inspection service, such as SGS (sgs.com) or Carchex (carchex.com), or the Car Care Council (carcare.org), an organization supported by the market sector. of accesories. Please note that there are no performance criteria for the shops listed on the site.
To check for complaints about the shops, research the companies on the Better Business Bureau website. Members of the American Automobile Association (AAA) may use one of their recommended facilities.
If you are going to a shop for the first time, look for certificates or window decals from AAA or the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). AAA certified shops must meet certain quality standards. ASE awards certificates to mechanics who pass exams in any of eight areas of expertise. The institute does not certify the workshops in their entirety, but if 75% of the employees are certified by the ASE, the workshop may bear the seal.
Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 150, Consumer Reports, Inc.
Consumer Reports does not have any financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports is an independent nonprofit organization that works with consumers to create a just, safe, and healthy world. CR does not endorse products or services and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 150, Consumer Reports, Inc.