What Are the Most Common Early Warning Signs of a Faulty Used Car?
Looking around for used cars to purchase can be very cumbersome. Of course, it is not possible to inspect every used car for sale out there because of their sheer number. Thus, it is important for you to learn the tell-tale signs of a faulty used car to make shortlisting the candidates easier.
With this knowledge, you can now avoid wasting precious time, money and effort in inspecting a car that is simply not good enough. Here are the most common early warning signs of a faulty used car that people seldom notice.
The Outside
A general inspection of the car’s body must be made. Look for dents on the exterior or hinges that are unusually difficult to move. For example, your reflections on the car’s exterior must not be warped, and the doors and hood must can be closed and opened with little trouble. In most cases, these are signs that a car ran into serious trouble in the past.
Even if a car was repaired, reconditioned, and restored after a major collision, it can be easily detected by looking on a car’s body and checking for inconsistencies on your reflection on the car’s surface. No matter how good a car mechanic is, there are bound to be slight imperfections.
The main issue that used car buyers look out for in such cars is the possibility that it has suffered from much user neglect or, in worse cases, extensive damage in the past brought about by car accidents. There have been reports from Canada’s APA that some used cars that seem very attractive at first glance because of their low mileage, but are actually refurbished units that suffered extensive damage in the past – damage that greatly shorten a car’s lifespan.
The Inside
After the exterior, look at the interior. Fortunately, flooded vehicles – cars that were inundated by a flood – are relatively rare in Canada. However, one must check for poor maintenance on the previous owner’s end in order to know if there may be a possibility of more serious problems if you look deeper into it. If the car’s interiors look so bad, chances are, the previous owner might not have had the patience to take care of the engine too.
Poor maintenance of a car’s interior might also say something about the current state of a car’s electronics. This is true especially on the on-board computer for cars made after the year 2000. Some people tend to downplay the importance of this high-tech car component but automotive computers have become an integral part in every modern car.
Insurance companies declare a car whose computers were corrupted as a total wreck. The sad part is that most car models have their computers installed underneath the driver’s seat or on the dashboard. This feature makes them prone to liquid spills and the like – a good example of poor car care.
On a side note, there is also that little but serious problem about bedbugs. Relatively recently, there have been reports of widespread bedbug infestations in North America. These nasty bedbugs love to lodge themselves in upholstery – like the car seat. Check for signs of a possible infestation so that you will not unwittingly bring some back home.
And then…
After finding out that a car candidate is quite satisfactory, the next step is to conduct a thorough inspection of each major car part, along with the other car parts that are more difficult to see. Furthermore, checking a car’s UVIP is also a good idea.
Taking the time to go through the processes above will not guarantee a good car but will most definitely help.
