checking out a (cheapish) used car

What's your itinerary?

Me? Given the experiences I've had, this is the basic looking over I would give it:

1) pull oil dipstick - look for yogurt, indicative of blown intake or head gaskets. Could also look for metal particles.

2) pull tranny dipstick. If fluid is black or close, or brown and not clear, I'll probably walk. Most used cars these days have brownish fluid, it's unavoidable. Needs to be clear though mostly IMHO.

3) look under car for leaks, excessive rust.

4) look at coolant. One car I saw recently had green and orange coolant mixed. Gag. WATER IS A NO NO. Unless perhaps it there isn't excessive rust.

5) test drive of course. See if it shifts properly or gives any indication of a failing/slipping tranny.

6) look at fluids again after driving. I don't know, seems to make sense. Once everything is mixed up.

Care to add anything? Clearly tires matter, lots of things matter. But a strong engine and tranny matters most.

On Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:45:22 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

>What's your itinerary?
>
>Me? Given the experiences I've had, this is the basic looking over I would give it:
>
>1) pull oil dipstick - look for yogurt, indicative of blown intake or head gaskets. Could also look for metal particles.
>
>2) pull tranny dipstick. If fluid is black or close, or brown and not clear, I'll probably walk. Most used cars these days have brownish fluid, it's unavoidable. Needs to be clear though mostly IMHO.
>
>3) look under car for leaks, excessive rust.
>
>4) look at coolant. One car I saw recently had green and orange coolant mixed. Gag. WATER IS A NO NO. Unless perhaps it there isn't excessive rust.
>
>5) test drive of course. See if it shifts properly or gives any indication of a failing/slipping tranny.
>
>6) look at fluids again after driving. I don't know, seems to make sense. Once everything is mixed up.
>
>Care to add anything? Clearly tires matter, lots of things matter. But a strong engine and tranny matters most.

I'm always buy an engine/trans that has a proven history and
preferably that I'm familiar with. All GM. Because I know what to
expect.
Used to be 350's. Since '91 it's been 2,8/3100/3.4.
Also had GM 2.0, 2.2, and 3300 as second cars.
Stuck with them because they're good values.
The checks you mentioned are good, but you should know the
engines/trans weaknesses if possible. Some cars are to be avoided.
Good ears help a lot. Or you might have a mechanic you trust check it
out.
If you're looking at post 2000 cars, all the GM's and Fords are
probably good cars. but not their rebadged foreign cars.
Jap cars are expensive. That's about all I know about buying cars,
but I've had pretty good luck. Never been stranded.

On Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 2:44:11 PM UTC-5, Vic Smith wrote:
> On Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:45:22 -0700 (PDT),
> wrote:
>
> >What's your itinerary?
> >
> >Me? Given the experiences I've had, this is the basic looking over I would give it:
> >
> >1) pull oil dipstick - look for yogurt, indicative of blown intake or head gaskets. Could also look for metal particles.
> >
> >2) pull tranny dipstick. If fluid is black or close, or brown and not clear, I'll probably walk. Most used cars these days have brownish fluid, it's unavoidable. Needs to be clear though mostly IMHO.
> >
> >3) look under car for leaks, excessive rust.
> >
> >4) look at coolant. One car I saw recently had green and orange coolant mixed. Gag. WATER IS A NO NO. Unless perhaps it there isn't excessive rust.
> >
> >5) test drive of course. See if it shifts properly or gives any indication of a failing/slipping tranny.
> >
> >6) look at fluids again after driving. I don't know, seems to make sense. Once everything is mixed up.
> >
> >Care to add anything? Clearly tires matter, lots of things matter. But a strong engine and tranny matters most.
>
> I'm always buy an engine/trans that has a proven history and
> preferably that I'm familiar with. All GM. Because I know what to
> expect.
> Used to be 350's. Since '91 it's been 2,8/3100/3.4.
> Also had GM 2.0, 2.2, and 3300 as second cars.
> Stuck with them because they're good values.
> The checks you mentioned are good, but you should know the
> engines/trans weaknesses if possible. Some cars are to be avoided.
> Good ears help a lot. Or you might have a mechanic you trust check it
> out.
> If you're looking at post 2000 cars, all the GM's and Fords are
> probably good cars. but not their rebadged foreign cars.
> Jap cars are expensive. That's about all I know about buying cars,
> but I've had pretty good luck. Never been stranded.

Take a magnet with you, look for Bondo.

wrote:
> What's your itinerary?
>
> Me? Given the experiences I've had, this is the basic looking over I would give it:
>
> 1) pull oil dipstick - look for yogurt, indicative of blown intake or head gaskets.
> Could also look for metal particles.
>
> 2) pull tranny dipstick. If fluid is black or close, or brown and not clear, I'll
> probably walk. Most used cars these days have brownish fluid, it's unavoidable. Needs
> to be clear though mostly IMHO.
>
> 3) look under car for leaks, excessive rust.
>
> 4) look at coolant. One car I saw recently had green and orange coolant mixed. Gag.
> WATER IS A NO NO. Unless perhaps it there isn't excessive rust.
>
> 5) test drive of course. See if it shifts properly or gives any indication of a
> failing/slipping tranny.
>
> 6) look at fluids again after driving. I don't know, seems to make sense. Once
> everything is mixed up.
>
> Care to add anything? Clearly tires matter, lots of things matter. But a strong engine
> and tranny matters most.

Good list. You really can't tell much more without diagnostic equipment.
Alignment rack to see if it has been wrecked (tires won't tell you).
Gas sniffer at the radiator opening. Can't tell if it burns oil or water since
the CAT will eat it.
Laptop hooked to OBD2 while driving for real time readouts.
As others have mentioned, do a thorough Google search for problems with that vehicle.

I'm a GM fan also. I steer a little shy of the 4 cylinder models lately, maybe has to do w/certain horror stories I've heard lately. Not suggesting they aren't solid though. Had an 88 4 cyl Baretta, 2.8 Baretta, 3.4 Lumina (NOT!), 3.1 Lumina (a marvel), and a 3.4 Venture (oi vay). The 3.4s and supposedly the 3.1s even are prone to gasket failure, to the 3.4 I can personally verify, but now I hear that also w/the 5.7 LT1!!! I guess you just got to know how far certain engines can go before a partial (top engine) overhaul is required.

Good stuff Paul. I'll be adding that stuff to my list when practical.

On Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:45:22 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

>What's your itinerary?
>
>Me? Given the experiences I've had, this is the basic looking over I would give it:
>
>1) pull oil dipstick - look for yogurt, indicative of blown intake or head gaskets. Could also look for metal particles.
>
>2) pull tranny dipstick. If fluid is black or close, or brown and not clear, I'll probably walk. Most used cars these days have brownish fluid, it's unavoidable. Needs to be clear though mostly IMHO.
>
>3) look under car for leaks, excessive rust.
>
>4) look at coolant. One car I saw recently had green and orange coolant mixed. Gag. WATER IS A NO NO. Unless perhaps it there isn't excessive rust.
>
>5) test drive of course. See if it shifts properly or gives any indication of a failing/slipping tranny.
>
>6) look at fluids again after driving. I don't know, seems to make sense. Once everything is mixed up.
>
>Care to add anything? Clearly tires matter, lots of things matter. But a strong engine and tranny matters most.


Good list but I don't see much value in pulling dipsticks and looking
at the fluid after driving it. Ideally you can hear the COLD engine
start. If it cranks for more then a few seconds or if it shakes for
the first several seconds before settling down I worry.

The amount of grunge on the engine should match the mileage. I've
seen engines/transmission/rear ends with what is clearly WAY too much
grunge for the claimed mileage on the odometer. Less of a problem now
that mechanical odometers are mostly gone but still, if the engine is
grungy and it's less then 10 or 15 years old (100K to 150K) it's a
red flag.

I always look for repaint indications too. Mismatched color, poor
masking, over spray, etc. Not necessarily a deal killer depending on
what was hit and how hard. Also, if the owner says he's had it 6
years and the repaint looks 2 years old and you ask him "has it ever
been wrecked" and he says "No", what else is he lying about?

Pay for the CarFax. Or the equivalent, there's another good place out there, I forget the name.

I failed to do this last time, at a dealer, and it turned out to be a bad mistake.