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How to check a used car before you buy
Before you hand over any money, get the car on a hoist. A good inspection takes thirty minutes and tells you more than any logbook.
Start with a cold start. Smoke, knocking or a rough idle on cold start often means engine trouble the seller won't mention. Check the oil colour too.
Paperwork First
Walk around the car in daylight and look for panel gaps, mismatched paint and overspray on rubber trims, these are signs of accident repair. Rust bubbles under the doors and in the boot floor are expensive to fix and often hidden under carpet. Check that all four tyres are the same brand and wear evenly, uneven wear can point to suspension or alignment problems. Open and close every door, bonnet and boot to feel for stiffness.
Bonnet Check
Pull the oil dipstick and check the colour, dark and gritty oil means poor servicing. Look for oil leaks around the gasket and sump, and check the coolant for a milky colour which can mean a blown head gasket. Listen for knocking or ticking when the engine idles. Switch on the aircon and every electric window, mirror and light. Small faults like these are cheap to fix but tell you how the previous owner looked after the car.
Test Drive
Walk around the car in daylight, not at dusk. Check panel gaps and paint colour match at the doors and boot, since uneven gaps often mean past accident repair. Rust around the wheel arches and sills is common on older Gauteng cars and costs more to fix than it looks. Push on each corner of the car. If it bounces more than once, the shocks are tired. Lastly, check all four tyres for even wear, which tells you if the wheels are aligned.
Cursus aliquam
Get the car inspected by an independent mechanic before you pay a deposit, even if the seller says it is not necessary. A good workshop will put the car on a lift and check the underbody, brakes and suspension bushes in twenty minutes. Ask for a written report you can keep. The small inspection fee is nothing compared to the cost of a gearbox or engine problem you only discover after the sale.
Take the car on a proper test drive, not just around the block. Brake hard once on an empty road to feel for pulling or shaking. Listen for clunks over bumps and whines in reverse, which can point to worn CV joints or a tired diff. Check that the aircon blows cold within a minute, since regassing isn't cheap. Ask to see the service book before you commit to anything.
