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(117 votes) Published: May 06, 2007 4:49 p.m. In 6 Favorites Lists Viewed 690 times
This egg will tell you how to filter out the complete shitbox vehicles from the diamonds in the rough with just a few key parts to look at.
Mechanical parts:
Look at the CV joints (constant velocity) they are the driveaxles for front wheel drive vehicles and basically just look like solid metal rods with black rubber accordians on them. They attach the transmission to the wheels so when you purchase the vehicle, turn the wheels in one direction, stick your head in the wheelwell and look at the driveaxles and what condition they are in. If they have external wear, a tear, grease on the outside, dryness, cracking, or a leak of some sort than its a sign that they need replacement. If they have any "junkyard" paint marker marks on them than its a sign that they arent the originals and the owner of the vehicle torqued the car up alot and didnt know how to drive. These will need to be replaced as a normal part of maintenance.
Theres no saying that a high mileage vehicle has an engine that is due for a tune-up or rebuild and theres also no saying that a low mileage vehicle has an engine that doesnt need repair or a rebuild. Don’t just buy it because of what the owner puts in front of your face, theres alot that they wont put in front of you for certain reasons.
Look at the tire wear and check to see if the tires are matching. It can be a sign that the owner ignored their scheduled maintenance if the rear tires are the originals while the fronts are the worn out soft pep-boys special. This will also tell you about how much cash the person had to put into their car to keep it running correctly.
It would be nice if you could just rip apart the engine before you make your down payment but it doesnt work that way. Open up the hood and look around. Even if you dont know anything about cars. You also need to act like you know a few things about cars. If the owner sees you as being vulnerable than the price will be jacked up. Dont ask him if he replaced the spark plugs and then learn that its a Jetta TDI (diesel) you also want to criticize and watch everything that the owner tells you about the car. I put the previous owner of my car to the test by asking him if the rear cv joints are in good condition. He fell for it. He told me that they were recently replaced despite the fact that a volkswagen jetta is a front wheel drive car.
Learn how the previous owner(s) drove:
Test drive the car. Feel if the clutch chatters or slips and also feel how sloppy the shift linkage is. If the transmission is an automatic than put the brake on and slightly touch the gas to feel how much it pulls to see what condition the torque convertor is in.
Excessive brake wear or squeal is a sign that the previous owner sped up to stoplights or simply just that they didnt replace the brakes like they should have. look through the rim to make sure that the brake anti-rattle clips are still there (mentioned in another one of my eggs).
Open up the hood and look at the WOT switch (wide open throttle) it is on the throttle body and enables the engine to pump in as much fuel as possible during full throttle operation. If the switch looks worn or overused than its a sign that the previous owner did alot of full throttle driving and acceleration.
Make sure that every gear works. I didnt learn that 5th gear didnt work until 1 month after i purchased my car. Sometimes it is just a shift alignment or shift linkage problem but if the other gears feel resistant or have strain than its time for a transmission replacement or overhaul.
Body:
Get one of your cheesy Captain Crunch Crunk refrigerator magnets and test the body of the car. If the body looks GRRREAT! from the outside, it can be decieving when you put the magnet up to it. I was in the middle of purchasing a car one time and i saw that there was a ripple in the paint so i put my refrigerator magnet up to it and it didnt stick to the body. I asked him if he did any body work or bondo and i asked him if it got into an accident. He told me no. I looked inside of the fender and the quarter panel was completely smashed in and bondo-ed to look nice. A very light magnet will stick to bare metal/painted surfaces but will give away surfaces that have bondo, fiberglass resin or any other body filler on it.
Get inside of the car and look at the windshield seal from the inside. If the windshield seal looks really goupy and inconsistent than it is a sign that it has been replaced. My friend purchased a car with a horrible windshield seal. He checked the vehicle accident report and the previous owner ran over a woman with a baby carraige crossing the street.
Chassis:
Get underneath and look at the subframe (crossmember/k-frame/enginecradle). It generally holds 1 or 2 motor mounts and will hold the steering rack. This goes on unibody cars and attaches the steering control arms as well. Make sure it isnt too rusted out. Get a level and check it for bends and straightness. You should also check the straightness of the steering control arms. They generally have a straight edge on the front to be an indicator to mechanics for when they need replacement. The bushings will generally go before the control arm itself will. But if the vehicle runs over large objects or gets into an accident than sometimes this isnt always replaced. They are generally inexpensive but are an indicator for the previous owner’s driving habits and how many accidents the car was in.
Checking the Brakes: Make sure that the brake has a good pedal. This means that you can completely step on the brake and the pressure itself stops your physical force from pushing to the floor. If the pedal goes to the floor with ease than there is a brake pressure/bleed/fluid problem. Brake proportionalizers can also be the source of this and usually just requires adjustment for the front/rear brake bias.
Checking the suspension: Press down on the body of the car really hard and see how much the vehicle bounces. If the vehicle makes a generic hydraulic sound than it should be fine. If it makes a scraping/sliding unusual noise than the struts/strut hat would probably need replacement. If the vehicle bounces alot than the struts/shocks would need replacement. If the vehicle seems to absorb the blow really well and doesnt bounce than you should now look up into the wheelwell for alteration. If the springs are cutby 1/2 or 1 coil so the shocks increase pressure and lower the car than the struts need replacement.
Checking the exhaust:
This should be very straightforward. With the engine running, first put a cloth over your hand and block the tailpipe. If your hand is pushed back significantly and the pressure is high than there probably isnt any leaks. During heavy acceleration, even the most minor exhaust leaks will be heard as a hiss. Decelleration will give away exhaust leaks easily because oxygen makes it into the piping and makes a popping/crackling sound when extra fuel is burnt off. To make sure that the catlytic convertor still works. Run with the car at a slow pace in 2nd gear. With the engine at around 1500 rpm, hit the gas and listen for a rattle within the exhaust. If it rattles than its a sign that the catalyst has broken loose within its casing. Also examine the general smell of the exhaust. Dont put your mouth on the pipe (unless you deserve it) but just let the car run for 3 minutes in one place and stand behind the car. If you smell rotten eggs or you smell the generic "old cadillac" smell than the catalytic convertor is blown/nonexistant.
General tips:
Look under the hood for low fluid levels and leaks. Make sure that the belts are all tightened to spec. Feel free to take apart and move a few things to look around. You can take out the air filter to look inside and see how dirty it is. Just make sure that the owner is telling you about everything that you ask them about. If you feel as though you got jipped and you paid alot of money than the government covers you. The lemon-aid law says that if you cant get the vehicle inspected within 7 days of the purchase and the repairs are equal to or greater than 10% of the initial vehicle price than you can demand a refund.
May 06, 2007 5:22 pm - trust me, theres alot of people who need to learn how to buy a car. For instance, anyone who purchases a dodge neon or geo metro obviously doesnt know how to purchase a car. The most common thing that somebody will say when they sell the car is this: "Well the car is low miles and these engines are known to last a couple hundred thousand". The seller will say whatever it takes to keep you satisfied and fill their wallet for them. Every car that you look at is going to seem like "the one" because the seller always gives you the information about things that he wants you to know.
May 06, 2007 6:53 pm - well what i meant was wear and tear literally. Not like generic damage. If you see rubbing or wear on it from the vehicle being overloaded than its a sign that it needs replacement. If it is torn or ripped than it is a sign that it was cracked or just damaged and wore from being over-torqued or just from hard use.
May 06, 2007 6:57 pm - i was talking about the rubber boot on the outside of the joint. It holds the grease in and flexes. If you see a ball bearing pop out or if the cv joint makes a clicking/knocking sound during acceleration than it means its fucked.
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