5 Pointers to Buying a Used Car

Posted by John on August 11th, 2016

If you are planning to buy a used car, most probably, it's going to be your first-ever car. Or even if it's one of your subsequent purchases, consider looking out for the following things so that you don't buy a lemon car.

Engine

If your prospective car's engine is not in a healthy state, it is going to be a headache later on. While it's difficult to tell the engine's condition by just looking at it, you will need to conduct some basic tests and examine the engine's state yourself. If you can locate the radiator in the car's engine, it's going to be quick and easy for you to execute the test. Open radiator's cap and check the coolant's level. If you cannot see coolant on the surface, up to the neck of the radiator, top it up with a little more coolant or water. Now ask the other person to start the engine while you keep a constant eye on the radiator's mouth. As the engine cranks and the coolant spills out, it's a clear sign that there's a leakage in head gasket or we can say the head gasket is blown out. A big NO to such a car.

Transmission

If you are buying a used car, which has already completed 100k miles, there are chances you will have to deal with a bad transmission later. When buying an old car, consider buying the one with manual transmission, because automatic transmission systems are prone to wearing out earlier than manual transmission. However, you can have a reliable Auto Transmission Specialist Sydney , like Kismet Mechanical to address your concerns should the need for transmission repair in Sydney arises.

Electronic Controls

Make sure to check if all the electronic controls are working fine. You must immediately bring it to the owner's notice should any of the controls doesn't work.

Self-Start Module

You must get behind the wheel and crank the engine to check whether self-start module works fine or not. If it's taking a little longer to crank, there's some problem in the armature coil. If you buy this car, you may need to shell out some amount to fix this issue in the near future. This may require a repair or armature coil replacement.

Test Drive

Test driving a car can reveal a lot about the vehicle's actual state. Check for the suspension as how they perform on a bumpy road and sharp turns. A bad suspension system would make unusual noises on turns and speed breakers; stay alert for such noises and if you hear one, don't consider buying that car. If you don't feel confident enough to drive, take someone, who is experienced, along with you.