Buying a new (or used) car

[99LS1]

I thought it'd be good idea for people who have advice on buying cars to post them here, as sort of a reference. It's hard to remember everything to look for/do when shopping, so a sort of FAQ on the subject might be interesting :shrug:

[Craig K.]

1) Look under the oil fill cap for alot of moisture
2) Look at the dip stick to see if there is a large heavily caked on brown area towards the bottom, this can happen from not changing the oil on time.
3) Look for rust (especially if it could have been a northern car) usually under the wheel wells behind the tires.
4) Look for body ID tags on the body panels, if they are missing, those panels could have been replaced (this is only on passenger cars from 1992 up as I recall?).
5) Look for rewelded areas on the front cowl by the radiator attachment, if the car was ever in a front end collision, this panel would most likely be replaced.
6) Check for body panels lining up in a decent manor, make sure the gaps are parallel to the mating panel, and do not form a V or A gap.


Those are just some items I look for.

[94five0]

don't buy a car offline, without first looking at it.
don't buy a car in the dark, rain or other adverse conditions.
:jester:

[94five0]

if you can drive the car, check all the amenities. lights, player, seats, windows, guages..

get car up to operating temp to check for ping or knock. have someone watch as you pull away to check for smoking.. if in a manual, get enough road to run out all the gears to check for difficulty engaging drivetrain, trans transaxle...

check brakes for fade, chatter, roar.. overall condition of tires, uneven wear.


never offer what they're askin..

[FastRedPonyCar]

well, based on shopping around for the rsx, we managed to haggle about $2000 off their initial price by showing them in black and white how we could go to carsdirect.com and get the same car delivered to our driveway for cheaper than what they were offering all with the same financing and payments.

We basically told them that if they could make it worth our wait to go through all the paperwork and hassles of talking to the ins. company and financing company and what not then we'd buy from them. They ended up matching carsdirect's price and waiving the misc fees so we ended up saving money because if we'd have paid for it from carsdirect, we'd have had to pay a lot for shipping.

As for used cars, I think craig got some good points in there. main thing is to not buy a used car online unless you can drive it first or have a reputable source drive it and take it to a qualified tech for inspection. This was important last week when whitney was getting that volvo. the dealership let them keep it for 24 hrs to decide and they took it to thier volvo repair shop and the shop found about $2000 worth of repairs that needed to be done. So the dealership knocked 2G's off the tag before selling. :nice:

[ujslost]

Well this is one I ALWAYS do, I dont care if the dealer is riding with me
Beat the shit out of that car see if it will do what they say and if it will take that beating. I always do a burn out LOL. If it wont turn the tires over, I wont buy it usually, except my wifes Galant! Of course it wont turn the tires over. Do a good brake check slam the brakes on. DO NOT BUY ONE IN THE RAIN, even crap paint jobs look decent when wet! Check the brake pedal rubber cover for wear, this can indicate alot of stop and go driving. Can help you determine if a high milage car was driven on the long haul mostly or around town, long haul miles arent that bad really in my opinion as far as dependbility goes. Smell the oil and tranny fluids to see if they are burnt if possible. Most cars are bought during the day so ppl dont think to check and see if the lights work. I have seen this happen before, come night time ya turn the lights on and either they dont work or a few of them dont. That can get you a ticket.
Forget CARFAX IMO thats a load of crap. Like they know half the crap Ive done to my car.