Tips & Info, how to buy a second hand car!!!

Technical 12 Point Test
Plan on taking every car you're considering for a good long test drive. But don’t forget, used cars are sometimes not insured. So you are responsible if any accident happen, not the dealer.

1. Check the steering.

With the front wheels pointed straight ahead (and the engine on with the car in park for power steering), stick your head out the window and watch the front tire as you slowly turn the steering wheel. The tire should begin to move as you begin to turn the wheel. If the steering wheel has to turn more than two inches before the wheels start moving, the car's steering system could need some repairs.

You can check the power steering when parked by turning the wheel all the way to the left and then all the way to the right. If the car screeches loudly or surges and bounces as you turn the wheel, the car might need fluid, or a new power steering pump, or it may need repairs to the power steering system.

2. Check the exhaust.

While you drive, check your rear-view mirror and note whether any exhaust smoke is coming from the tail pipe. Blue smoke indicates that the engine may need an expensive overhaul. If it's black, the car may simply need a tune-up or carburetor adjustment ore replace some sensors or other parts of the electronic fuel injection system. If it's white as you start up but stops after a while, it could be water vapor that had built up in the engine and is nothing to worry about. If the white smoke continues throughout the drive, water from the radiator may be leaking into the engine.

3. Check the brakes.

After the engine warms up, stop the car and push the brake pedal down as far as you can. It should go no more than one and a half inches to the floor. Keep the pedal down for at least a minute. If, during that period, the pedal seems to sink lower, the car could have serious brake problems (master brake cylinder could be faulty or a leak in the break system).

When it's safe to do so during the test drive, step on the brakes hard enough to slow down quickly without skidding. If the car dips forward excessively or pulls to one side, it probably needs brake or suspension work.

4. Check the alignment.

When it's safe to do so, let go of the steering wheel on a level, straight road to see if the car pulls to either side. This pulling could mean something as simple as improper tire pressure or as serious as steering linkage out of alignment. Caution: Be careful in conducting this test, because if the car is severely out of alignment, the wheels could turn sharply.

5. Listen to the engine.

When you're on the highway at cruising speed, listen for unusual sounds of stress and strain. Even if the weather is very cold or very hot, drive with the window rolled all the way down in order to hear any clanks, groans, or other sounds that could signal expensive repairs down the road. As you accelerate, the engine should not feel as if it is laboring. Listen for a pinging or tapping from the engine. This sound may disappear by simply using a higher-octane gas, or it may signal the need for a major engine overhaul. Have your mechanic check it out. Even if you cannot identify the sounds, report anything unusual to the mechanic who inspects the car for you. Don’t forget to inspect water hoses and engine belts (including T- Belt).

If you test a” frontwheel drive car”, check also engine mounts. Usually after 2 years they are gone. Start engine, put position "D" (Drive), and dont drive, just step on the brake turn Air Condition on! If engine vibrates, or even the whole car is shaking then the their mounts are broken. Don’t forget: 4 cylinder engines are much rafter than 6 cylinder engines….

Inspect water radiator and hoses for leaks. Make sure engine not overheat, and check electric fans works correctly.

6. Listen to the engine idle.

Pull over and let the engine idle while the transmission is in park. It should run smoothly. If you notice any acceleration, hesitation, or uneven performance, the problem could be something as simple as an idle adjustment or as serious as a carburetor overhaul. If the car has a EFI System it maybe need a proper check by a qualified mechanic. You shouldn't hear any loud tapping noises coming from the engine. If you do, the car may need expensive valve work. If you hear some light ticking or tapping noises, the car may simply need an adjustment. In either case, be sure to put these noises on your mechanic's checklist.

After you've listened to the engine for a while, turn off the key. The engine should stop immediately; if it continues to run for a few seconds, the car might need a carburetor overhaul, or it may simply require a tune-up.

7. Listen to the transmission.

With your foot on the brake, move the shift lever from drive to reverse several times. If you hear a soft thump or no noise at all, the transmission is operating properly. However, if you hear a loud clank, that's a sign that the car may have a major transmission problem.

In general, the automatic transmission should shift smoothly from gear to gear. Any whining of the transmission, jumping, or irregular performance could indicate big transmission problems down the line. If it seems that the car drops temporarily into neutral while shifting from one gear to the next, your transmission is probably slipping and in need of repair. Don't forget to check the transmission while the car is in reverse. You should drive the car for at least fifty yards in reverse to make sure it runs smoothly and doesn't jump.

If the car has a manual transmission and the engine revs up when you step on the gas with your foot off the clutch and the car in gear, the clutch is slipping. You may have to replace it. If you hear a knocking sound from the transmission, press the clutch in. If the noise disappears, it's probably in the transmission; if it doesn't, there could be problems with the clutch.

Note: Any clanking sounds you hear when you're testing out your transmission could also indicate problems with the universal joint. For example, if you hear a clank each time you go down a hill, the car may have a worn universal joint.

If it's a “ front wheel drive car”, don't forget to check the drive shafts. Stop the car, keep in position "D" (Drive), turn the steering wheel fully left-, or right side, pull the gas pedal, start moving left- or right side and listen carefully. If they are rattle noise you need to change the driveshaft bearings.

8. Listen for clunks.

Take the car out on a very bumpy road, roll down the windows and drive slowly (five to ten miles per hour) to see if you can hear any unusual clanks or other sounds that may indicate you'll need to have some serious suspension work.

9. Check the heater and air conditioner.

Check the air-conditioning system. To check the air conditioner, run it through all of its cycles. The air compressor should thump slightly as it kicks on and off. However, if you hear loud banging or rumbling, that's an indication that the air compressor may need replacing. Put your hands over the vents to check the pressure and temperature of the air coming out.

10. Body check.

Check your car for rust especially on the lower body parts, like fenders, under body, etc.

11. Electrical checks

Make sure all lights, wipers (including wiperblades), electric windows, central locks works properly. Inspect the electric fans of the engine radiator an air condition radiator. It is important they work properly, otherwise your engine or air-condition can overheat and serious damaged. Inspect the floor carpet of the car, make sure the car was never flooded, because many electronic components, like computer box for engine management system, are usually under the seats, so they could be damaged. Today electronic problems are the worsteds and sometime hard to find. Maybe it’s need a Diagnostic Computer to locate the problem.

12. All together:

Used Cars in Thailand are not perfect as in Europe or USA. Used Cars in Thailand are more expensive than in Europe or USA, because Import Taxes are very high and labour is much cheaper than in Europe or USA. Therefore used cars can be repaired or restored for low costs. Insurance and road tax are much cheaper than in Europe or USA. So basically if we count all together, it is much cheaper to run a car in Thailand than in Europe and USA.

Low Mileage Used Car Driven

By Little Old Lady: Buyer Beware!!!
 

When young Jack Porter bought a beautiful 1977 Ford from his Aunt Maude, he figured it ought to be a really good deal. Having been driven only 23,000 miles in all those years, it should be in great shape.

To all outward appearances it was, and certainly Aunt Maude was honest. But Jack soon learned, the hard way, that a car that's been driven about 35 miles a week, little more than Sunday trips to church, can be filled with problems waiting to occur.

Consequently, driving the car the way it was designed to be driven, one thing after another arose. First it was the engine overheating. She hadn't had the cooling system flushed since Uncle Crandall died back in the mid '80's. "He always took care of everything," she lamented. Jack inherited the results of her ignorance.

Next, a ticking noise from the engine. It turned out to be a sticking valve lifter, the result of not having changed the oil in 4,000 miles. For most drivers that's a reasonable interval but for Aunt Maude it was more than two years of stop-and-go driving, the kind that can turn the oil to sludge. That sludge really messed up the inside of her engine and resulted in an expensive repair bill.

Also expensive was the replacement of the heater core, which disintegrated as a result of the neglected cooling system . . . not to mention a complete braking system overhaul because no one had looked at the brakes since before Maude and Crandall had taken their vacation trip.

Lucky for Maude that her neglected '77 Ford had not gotten her in some kind of trouble.

Jack has survived all of the fixing up and Maude now drives a new car which, thanks to the urging of her nephew, gets the more frequent service intervals recommended for her short trip, stop-and-go driving.

For anyone who drives relatively few miles a week, suggests the Intercar Customer Service, it's a good idea to turn to the SEVERE, or UNIQUE DRIVING CONDITIONS section of your owner's manual. It's maintenance recommendations, which include more frequent service intervals for drivers who do a lot of short trip driving (under 10 miles), should be taken seriously.

Brought to you as a public service by Inter Car Customer Service Department.

Please click here for Car Care Information

Please click here for Technical Support