Detailed pre-purchase vehicle inspection
This article will provide you with the understanding of what is required during a pre-purchase inspection. It is not a complete mechanical inspection, but rather a systematic process to reveal potential problems. There are many steps to follow if you are looking for a safe reliable vehicle. It starts out with getting as much information as you can before you see the car. You will of course want to be sure that the car has all the options and the kilometers is within what you are comfortable with. If you can get the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) from the seller before you see the car, you can run a vehicle history check. CARFAX provides a vehicle history with details obtained from many sources across North America . If you are concerned about owning a written off rebuild, or a flooded car, you will want to purchase a CARFAX report. You can get province/state registration history, emission test mileages, damage/claim history. Getting the vehicle’s history will be very good start to reducing the chance of getting caught with a vehicle that can be a regrettable purchase. CARFAX reports are available as a single report, or a 30-day unlimited report.
If the vehicle has been emission tested in BC, and having the VIN, you can run these numbers through the AirCare website to not only see the testing results history of the vehicle, you can see the mileage at testing. This will help you access the actual mileage. And this information is free. If the owner has service and repair records, compare the mileage recorded to the mileage from the CARFAX or AirCare reports.
Bring a flashlight, a rag, and a pen and paper. Check the mileage now so that you don’t waste your time checking the rest of the car. Is it miles or kilometers? Does it match up with what you have determined it to be from the records you have viewed? Ideally you should view the vehicle on a dry sunny day. Darkness and rain can cover up body damage and make the inspection process more difficult. Start by slowly walking around the vehicle. You are looking for differences in body color and door, hood and truck gaps that are not even. Get down along side the car, front and back, to view down the side of the body. The contours should be smooth and graceful. Ripples in body panels signal a poor body repair. Moldings should fit snug and not be coming loose. Look for rust along the lower and rear sections of the body. Stone damage can remove the protective coatings and allow rust to get a hold of the metal below. Also check along window edges for rust that is buried beneath the moldings, waiting to cause trouble later. Repairing rust is a very expensive and chancy repair. If the body shop isn’t diligent, the rust WILL be back, and bubble up through that nice shiny paint. The fender edges should be smooth and even as you glide your finger tips along them. If the edge varies in thickness, their may have been repairs to cover up rust. When the car manufacturer made the vehicle, all the lower parts; rocker panels and lower fender, looked as good as the top parts of the car. They may be dirty and dull, but should be solid when you thump them with your hand. Look for things like tail lights not fitting precisely. Moldings and door handles with paint on their edge are a sign of body repairs. If you suspect a repair was done, and if you can open a truck and pull the liner back, you may expose the ugly side of the repair. It’s obvious that the most important finish is the outside, so less time is spent on making it look good behind the truck liner or the lower part of the rocker panel.
1 2 3 4 5 Next » Back to Vehicle Tips & LinksAdvertisements
