If you plan to buy a car at a used car lot, a car auction, or through an
individual, it is unlikely that you will get completely honest answers to all your
questions. Let me give you several weapons that you can use against the
automobile industry.
Get A Paint Meter
With one of these paint
meters, you can detect paintwork or factory original tape. It will also show
bondo-body puddy or replaced metal. And very few car salesmen will even know
what you have!! At the very least, the salesman's eyes will bug out when you ask
him why the car you are interested in was painted. Was it because of an
accident or just repainted to make it look good.
Remember that 99% of all
salesmen do not know what goes on behind closed doors - otherwise known as the
business end of the auto business. They are there simply to sell a car for
every penny that they can squeeze out of the public buyer.
Why do I suggest that you get
a paint meter? Because repainting a car is a very prolific practice in the auto
business. I cannot prove it, but if I had to make a guess how many cars sold to
the open market via dealership have paint work done to them, I would guess at
LEAST 40%. Every week, I personally see thousands of cars lined up at the
"paint shop" to be repainted. This "paint shop" is located
on the auction grounds and is otherwise known as the recon-facility.
Not every car is being fully
repainted. Most are having their bumpers repainted. It makes sense to have the
bumpers repainted because, though the rest of the car is flawless, the bumpers
are often scratched up pretty badly. Next time you visit a dealership, notice
how many of the bumpers are flawless - not a scratch on them even though the
car is three years old.
The problem comes in with the
dealers. Many retail dealers have the audacity to lie and claim that their cars
are original. And people believe them because the work is just too nice to have
been repainted. Do you know what the average price is to have these bumpers
repainted? A mere $200. Perceived value by the public and exploited by the
retail dealers? Thousands of dollars.
Well, if you have a paint
meter, then you will know the truth. So, what is my policy on repainted
vehicles? If the car was properly repainted and done so professionally - a
factory repainted process - then I have no problems buying the car. A professional
paint job would make the car look the way it did the day it rolled off the
assembly line.
The point of the paint meters
is to give you more inside information than what Carfax discloses. Just because
it does not show up on Carfax does not mean that the car is free of any
negative history.
Determine The Warranty Time
You have to determine the
correct warranty time and can do this by checking the drive side door and
seeing when the car was manufactured. It will give a date like 5/11/99.
Let's say you are interested
in buying a 2000 Nissan Maxima with just 22,000 miles on it and it is currently
September 29, 2002. You ask the salesman or the neighbor that you are buying
the car from what the factory warranty is and he tell you 3 years or 36,000
miles. What many people fail to realize is this: a 2000 model is actually 3
years old!!!!
Don't believe me? Let's count
the years: 2000, 2001, and 2002.
I see people making this
mistake over and over. And to make matters worse, when you open the driver side
door and it says manufactured in 5/11/99, the warranty starts within 3 months
of THAT date!! So really, what you have is a warranty that started in the
middle of 1999!!!
And then you need to check to
see whether the warranty even transfers to you at all. Some manufacturers allow
up to triple transfers of owners with the warranty intact and some do not. The
best way to check is to call the dealership and find out. You can also have
them run a VIN check to let you know the status of the warranty on that car.
Open the Oil Cap
This is good for everyone, but
especially for those of you buying an older car. Open the oil cap and look at
the cap carefully. If there is sludge (thick black goop) on the back of the oil
cap, it means the oil never got changed---or not often enough!! Do NOT buy the
car!!
If there appears to be a
caramel color syrup goop on the cap, it means that the anti-freeze is leaking
into the engine. This is terminal cancer to an engine, so do NOT buy the car.
The problem with this tool is
that most dealers know about this, too, and know to clean up the cap and change
the oil so that everything "looks" fine.
Ask For a Cold Start
When coming to look at any
car, request to be able to start the car cold. This means that the engine has
been at rest for a minimum of 12 hours, but preferably 24 hours.
Why? When starting cold, a lot
of problems with the motor can be seen and heard. If you hear any sounds that
are not "normal, like loud clanking or scraping noises, that go away when
the car gets warmed up, do NOT buy it without a thorough check by YOUR
mechanic.
If you see a lot of blue smoke
on a cold start, this means that the car is burning oil. If it blows out white
smoke, then there is anti-freeze in the engine. These are NOT good signs!!
Check The Compression of the Engine
You can check the compression
of the engine simply by revving the engine while in neutral and looking at the
RPM's. A RPM's of a car with good compression will go up quickly and back down
quickly. If the car has trouble getting the RPM's up or when they do get up
come down very slowly, then the engine is losing compression. Do NOT buy it!!
Know The Loan Value On The Car
Finding out what the loan
value for the car you want from the current year models to 5 year old models is
essential to knowing what a good wholesale price is. Call the bank to get the
loan values. This helps you to determine what price you want to pay.
You also need to get the
appropriate mileage deductions built in. The mile deduction is 12,000 per year.
So, if a car is 5 years old, then the mileage deduction is 60K. If the car is 3
years old, then the mileage deduction is 36K.
Always try to buy cars with
the appropriate mileage deduction on them. Knowing what the loan value is lets
you know pretty closely what the dealer paid for the car.
Be Sure That The Vehicle's
Body Is Straight
Stand behind the vehicle and
check to see if the rear wheels line up squarely behind the front wheels and
that the body is angled properly. If the car seems slightly off-center or even
crooked, it's a sure sign that the car was in an accident and its frame is
bent.
Check For Water and Flood
Damage
According to the American
Automobile Association, there are thousands of used cars on the market that
have been victims of floods and other types of water damage. So:
*Check for dried mud in cracks
and crevices under the hood or behind trim panels inside the car
*Notice any damp or musty
odors in the vehicle
*Look for any newly replaced
carpeting or upholstery.
These are all clues of water
damage.
Look Under the Vehicle
Check for any fluids that
might have leaked out onto the pavement. If you see a small puddle or damp spot
of oil, water, or some other fluid, the car may have expensive-to-repair
mechanical problems.
Check The Odometer
The "normal
allocation" is 12,000 to 15,000 miles per year. If the car has unusually
high mileage for its age, you may want to consider another vehicle.
If the car has unusually low
mileage, you may have reason to be suspicious. Odometer tampering is a
widespread and difficult-to-prove crime.
Have Your Mechanic Inspect The
Vehicle BEFORE You Buy It
Your mechanic will be able to
tell you what repair work the car needs now and what repair work it may need in
the future. Having your mechanic inspect the car before you buy it is one of
the best things you can do to insure that you're not getting a
"lemon." If the seller won't allow your mechanic to look at the car,
you should be highly suspicious.
By purchasing a used car you
can save a lot of money. You may be able to buy a loaded model with all the
bells and whistles that you couldn't afford had you bought a new car. However,
buying a used car can be a gamble. You can breathe easier when you follow these
tips.
