How would you buy a car?

[theory816]

Lets say you had to buy a used vehicle- what things would you check for in order to green light the vehicle as something you would purchase?

• This topic was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by theory816.

[admin]

In rough order of importance to me:
1) look for signs of accident repair by looking for wrinkles in the unibody. Look carefully around the radiator mounts, in the engine compartment, the floor of the trunk, and get underneath
2) See the service history of the car. If the car has less than 100 k miles, it probably has only needed regular oil and filter changes. Make sure this maintenance was don on-schedule and with the proper oil. If the owner only use synthetic oil, that is a plus. If the car has over 100,000 miles there is a lot of extra maintenance and service required. Look at the maintenance section of the owner’s manual and find out if everything on it was done
3) If brake fluid has not been flushed at least every 4 years, that is big minus.
4) If the owner used a remote starter to warm it up on cold mornings, I would not buy the car
5) Remove the oil fill cap and look for signs of sludge. Sludge is an indication of a lot of short trips or insufficient maintenance
6) The engine should start, run and idle smoothly and the only sound you should be able to hear at idle is the fuel injectors. Listen both after a cold-start and after a drive.
7) Garage-kept is a major plus
8) another check for any major accident damage is to either follow the car in your car while it is driven and look for dog-tracking (the front wheels not following the rear), and any signs of blue or black smoke from the tailpipe

Good Luck!

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by admin.

[theory816]

(1)Why would a wrecked car be bad if its still driveable?
(3)Isn’t the brake system still fairly cheap to replace if it gets worn out from not replacing fluid?

[admin]

A car that has been in an accident may have repaired well-enough to look undamaged, but hidden damage to the underlying unibody, like wrinkled or bent structural parts, will not be as strong as they were originally. More importantly, the car may be more subject to corrosion because the repair parts are likely not as well-protected as the factory parts. Factory body and chassis parts may be zinc coated and /or phosphated before painting. The other thing to consider is that the suspension geometry might be altered in a crash and, therefore the car may be difficult to align after a crash. It is difficult to know how much value a car loses from being in an accident and then repaired.

Old brake fluid doesn’t wear-out the brake system it causes corrosion throughout the system. The corrosion can lead to leaking seals and frozen pistons in the calipers. Replacing the calipers will be expensive (parts +labor).

[theory816]

Ah I see. Very cool info.

(1)So what do you think about salvage titled cars, especially ones with water/flood damage? My brother has bought a few of them and thinks he gets a good deal. (2) Why would corrosion to the body be a big deal since suspension parts aren’t coated and they get rust like crazy?

(3)I have not bleed the brakes on my hybrid in over 10 years because I didn’t know much about cars at the time. But I have been looking into it but my car is a Toyota hybrid and it requires some type of software to bleed the brakes. Is there a way I can get around this or whats the best way to bleed hybrids?

• This reply was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by theory816.

[admin]

1) I would buy a flood damaged car before I would be a crash-repaired on. The 2 problems with flood-damaged cars are mildew in the carpets and upholstery, and electrical problems due to water. The first one is east to assess, mostly based on smell. The electrical system of modern cars is pretty waterproof, so if the car has had enough time to dry-out and everything electrical and electronic works properly (no engine codes), there should be no future failures due to the water.

2) I know how difficult it is to bleed the Prius brakes. If you do not have the Toyota diagnostics hookup to open the valves that allow bleeding, there is a work-around. Look it up on PriusChat. You could also purchase an OBD2 diagnostic tool with TechStream. TechStream software should allow proper brake bleeding. 10-year old brake fluid will come out brown.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by admin.

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