Posted by: sajhamitra December 9, 2014
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I would also like to share a good article which I copied from reddit related to buying used car. I find it very useful.
First and foremost, LEARN TO BUY A USED CAR:
You need to see it on a lift, remember suspension holds the wheels on and can cost between $1500-$5000 to replace.
To check the shocks and struts: Open car door, stand on the jam, give it a bounce, it should travel down and back up ONCE. if it does anymore the car is riding on springs, this is a $1500 right off the bat, not fixing it will ruin tires and the springs.
Find an area to drive the car in tight circles, listen for any creeking this generally indicates bad ball joints (which can kill you) or bad bushings which will degrade handling significantly.
Look at it on a lift: Almost any component of the suspension that is a joint has a bushing, make sure the plastic bushings are not cracked, make sure any rubber boots are intact as well, a boot is seen where axles meet their wheel/differential, it looks like a rubber accordion and it holds oil to lubricate the joints inside, if they are cracking or damaged the oil will eventually drain and that joint will overheat and seize.
Don't be afraid to pop the hood, make sure the engine bay is clean, check the oil, pull the dipstick and tap it ever so gently onto a paper towel, the oil will soak in and the dirt will sit on the towel, if there is a lot of dirt sitting on the towel it's a good bet the oil hasn't been changed regularly. Make sure fluid levels are OK, some used cars go right to the lot and off fluid levels are signs of improper maintenance. Proper maintenance correlates directly with engine life.
Listen to the engine with the hood open, you don't want to hear any rhythmic ticking or knocking, you will however hear the mechanical flutter of the valves. No squeals should be heard either.
Speaking of the engine while the car is on the lift inspect any hoses you see, if they are moist and dirty looking the car has been leaking something, be it brake power steering coolant or oil. Leaks are generally cheap fixes but seeing tons of them is a sign the car was poorly maintained.
Inspect the body and underside for rust, non-painted items will rust like the brake rotors etc. This is fine as they are designed to or are eventually maintenance replaced parts, the body shell however shouldn't be rusting, if it is you're in for trouble down the line.
Make sure all the electronics in the car work during your test drive, most of all be thorough.
Anything you find wrong (and with used something always will be) is a point where you can talk down the price, don't worry about having looked at other cars you can still bullshit them by saying "I was looking at a fairly clean and solid civic for X but I like this car more, although I see the bushings are going, that's a pricey fix can we get that fixed at an X discount before buying?"
If they won't put it on a lift open the hood or let a mechanic of your choosing inspect the car say no, these are generally crooks who want to sell you a lemon and laugh all the way to the bank.
If you are looking at cars in the $15,000 range you are probably looking at fairly new CPOs, why not just buy a new compact car and ensure the maintenance is done properly from the beginning? You can get a civic in hatch non hatch coupe or sedan in the 17-23 range? The only reason I ask is you honestly don't save much and can often talk a dealership down when financing a new car to almost where a CPO car is priced, they are less likely to budge down a lot on the price of a CPO or used car, the non-CPO used car market is pay way too much for a piece of shit because cash for clunkers took a lot of good used cars out of existence, as well as parts since all those cars were all scrapped.
Seriously if you buy new and stay dedicated to changing the oil ever 6K miles, tranny fluid 36k and every 18k after, coolant and brake fluid yearly, and power steering with the tranny any modern car will make 100K miles and 6 years without needing serious maintenance, AKA you will pay it off before you start replacing serious parts. Think about a 6 year loan on a new car with 5K down rather than looking at used, just some food for though, if you plan on owning the car for 10 years you'll be ahead of the pains of a used car.
edit: Seriously consider new, here's an example of how fucked the used car market is: A '99 civic in my area are selling for $8000 with 80k miles, that's 20K away from cooling system rebuild, timing belt replacement, shock/strut replacement, as well as rotors and drums and most likely not maintained well. A 2010 civic sedan Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) are going for $16,000 with 15-25K miles on the clock, brand new custom ordered and delivered base-package hondas are $18,165. So let's look at our civic options:
$8000 Civic: About to need roughly $3000 in maintenance in 2 years time, so it'll cost you 11-12K before you wish you bought a new car.... It's also going to eat through gas, at 100K you generally loose 3-5 MPG off the sticker and well older cars eat gas anyways. A '99 civic will be getting you 17 city and 25 highway. The v-tech has some seals that start to go in it as most variable valve systems do, the ECU adapts but the low-end torque always sucks once the v-tech looses it's youth, and that's what you use most unless you do nothing but highway miles.
CPO: 16,000 for a slightly used newer vehicle, chances are you won't talk them down too far on the price since they put money into it certifying as well as most likely it being a lease someone didn't want to buy after the terms were up, they probably made 5 grand off it and want to turn a profit on finally getting rid of the thing.
New: 18,000, very negotiable as you can say "Well I was looking at a new subaru that is 17,500 that I like more" and you can really haggle when buying new, plus the dealer makes more off financing a new car than anything else, they'll take a 2K loss on the car to make 5K back. You could also order the car custom built with your favorite color paint and interior etc. you can make a spreadsheet and maintain the car correctly and get 15 years 250K miles out of it easily, plus all the modern standard amenities like bluetooth aux ports built in nav heated seats and mirrors etc.
First and foremost, LEARN TO BUY A USED CAR:
You need to see it on a lift, remember suspension holds the wheels on and can cost between $1500-$5000 to replace.
To check the shocks and struts: Open car door, stand on the jam, give it a bounce, it should travel down and back up ONCE. if it does anymore the car is riding on springs, this is a $1500 right off the bat, not fixing it will ruin tires and the springs.
Find an area to drive the car in tight circles, listen for any creeking this generally indicates bad ball joints (which can kill you) or bad bushings which will degrade handling significantly.
Look at it on a lift: Almost any component of the suspension that is a joint has a bushing, make sure the plastic bushings are not cracked, make sure any rubber boots are intact as well, a boot is seen where axles meet their wheel/differential, it looks like a rubber accordion and it holds oil to lubricate the joints inside, if they are cracking or damaged the oil will eventually drain and that joint will overheat and seize.
Don't be afraid to pop the hood, make sure the engine bay is clean, check the oil, pull the dipstick and tap it ever so gently onto a paper towel, the oil will soak in and the dirt will sit on the towel, if there is a lot of dirt sitting on the towel it's a good bet the oil hasn't been changed regularly. Make sure fluid levels are OK, some used cars go right to the lot and off fluid levels are signs of improper maintenance. Proper maintenance correlates directly with engine life.
Listen to the engine with the hood open, you don't want to hear any rhythmic ticking or knocking, you will however hear the mechanical flutter of the valves. No squeals should be heard either.
Speaking of the engine while the car is on the lift inspect any hoses you see, if they are moist and dirty looking the car has been leaking something, be it brake power steering coolant or oil. Leaks are generally cheap fixes but seeing tons of them is a sign the car was poorly maintained.
Inspect the body and underside for rust, non-painted items will rust like the brake rotors etc. This is fine as they are designed to or are eventually maintenance replaced parts, the body shell however shouldn't be rusting, if it is you're in for trouble down the line.
Make sure all the electronics in the car work during your test drive, most of all be thorough.
Anything you find wrong (and with used something always will be) is a point where you can talk down the price, don't worry about having looked at other cars you can still bullshit them by saying "I was looking at a fairly clean and solid civic for X but I like this car more, although I see the bushings are going, that's a pricey fix can we get that fixed at an X discount before buying?"
If they won't put it on a lift open the hood or let a mechanic of your choosing inspect the car say no, these are generally crooks who want to sell you a lemon and laugh all the way to the bank.
If you are looking at cars in the $15,000 range you are probably looking at fairly new CPOs, why not just buy a new compact car and ensure the maintenance is done properly from the beginning? You can get a civic in hatch non hatch coupe or sedan in the 17-23 range? The only reason I ask is you honestly don't save much and can often talk a dealership down when financing a new car to almost where a CPO car is priced, they are less likely to budge down a lot on the price of a CPO or used car, the non-CPO used car market is pay way too much for a piece of shit because cash for clunkers took a lot of good used cars out of existence, as well as parts since all those cars were all scrapped.
Seriously if you buy new and stay dedicated to changing the oil ever 6K miles, tranny fluid 36k and every 18k after, coolant and brake fluid yearly, and power steering with the tranny any modern car will make 100K miles and 6 years without needing serious maintenance, AKA you will pay it off before you start replacing serious parts. Think about a 6 year loan on a new car with 5K down rather than looking at used, just some food for though, if you plan on owning the car for 10 years you'll be ahead of the pains of a used car.
edit: Seriously consider new, here's an example of how fucked the used car market is: A '99 civic in my area are selling for $8000 with 80k miles, that's 20K away from cooling system rebuild, timing belt replacement, shock/strut replacement, as well as rotors and drums and most likely not maintained well. A 2010 civic sedan Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) are going for $16,000 with 15-25K miles on the clock, brand new custom ordered and delivered base-package hondas are $18,165. So let's look at our civic options:
$8000 Civic: About to need roughly $3000 in maintenance in 2 years time, so it'll cost you 11-12K before you wish you bought a new car.... It's also going to eat through gas, at 100K you generally loose 3-5 MPG off the sticker and well older cars eat gas anyways. A '99 civic will be getting you 17 city and 25 highway. The v-tech has some seals that start to go in it as most variable valve systems do, the ECU adapts but the low-end torque always sucks once the v-tech looses it's youth, and that's what you use most unless you do nothing but highway miles.
CPO: 16,000 for a slightly used newer vehicle, chances are you won't talk them down too far on the price since they put money into it certifying as well as most likely it being a lease someone didn't want to buy after the terms were up, they probably made 5 grand off it and want to turn a profit on finally getting rid of the thing.
New: 18,000, very negotiable as you can say "Well I was looking at a new subaru that is 17,500 that I like more" and you can really haggle when buying new, plus the dealer makes more off financing a new car than anything else, they'll take a 2K loss on the car to make 5K back. You could also order the car custom built with your favorite color paint and interior etc. you can make a spreadsheet and maintain the car correctly and get 15 years 250K miles out of it easily, plus all the modern standard amenities like bluetooth aux ports built in nav heated seats and mirrors etc.