MountainRunner
Member
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2014
- Messages
- 82
- Points
- 92
I've had several cars and like many people I see what I like and too often buy without in depth research. Do this at your peril.
Several years ago I bought a VW lupo. Lovely car cool style, hot hatch
A few years later the doors became very noisy when opening an closing, jolting and creaking. The hinges and strap had worn severely buckling the door pilar mounting. Soon the weak plastic inside door handle snapped off. The problem was a design flaw. Lupo doors were very heavy and the hinges very small and puny, result they wore down rapidly. It cost £300 to get new hinges plus welding at my local garage. Other than an EGR fault causing random stalling, (I disconnected the EGR controller) it was a great car.
I wanted more space so the next car was a 1600cc, 2004 Mercedes A class. Again beautiful spacious car but abysmal urban MPG with high tax £113 for only 6 months! If only I'd checked running costs. Plus changing a headlamp bulb was a quite in depth job, removing parts of the grill etc, not a job you want in a lay-by at 2am on a cold wet and windy night after being stopped by the cops!
My latest car a 2007 Fiat panda diesel bought for its excellent economy £30 tax a year and 50 mpg urban I was so happy to have a small cheap car until I learnt about the problem of rain getting into the filter and air intake wrecking the engine plus the complicated emergency start up for keys that fail. Not to mention the dealership (private) only gave me one ignition key, then an oil leak. I never thought to look for oil leaks in a 5 year old car with only 40k mileage!
So here's a non exhaustive list I've made for whatever make of car BEFORE you buy!
1) Check for oil leaks no matter how new the car is or how low the mileage!
2) Warning lights.
3) Running costs, tax and urban MPG. Ignore average MPG, You will do urban journeys the most!
4) Ask seller how many keys the car has It should have AT LEAST 2 KEYS! Getting a chip key copied will could cost upto £200. IF you LOOSE the one and only key, the car may need a new immobiliser and alarm system costing over £1000!
5) Is it tidy under bonnet? Look for any disconnected cables. May have been disconnected to cancel a warning light! Spend time here, look at everything.
6) Are all exhaust mounts present and in good condition, use a mirror to look underneath. Is exhaust rusty?
7) If its diesel does it have a DPF? Avoid these like the plague! A new DPF can cost £1000. It will fail MOT if you deliberately remove the DPF. Google (Diesel Particulate Filters) then you'll know what I'm talking about!
8) How easy to change a headlamp bulb? Imagine 2am on a cold night pouring with rain, in the middle of know where!
9) When was oil last changed? Get proof. You don't want to end up doing another 10k miles when it was actually changed 10k before that, and you've ruined your engine! Ask dealer to change oil+ filter if necessary.
10) Ask seller if you can take the owners handbook home overnight and service book to learn about the car. See if there's anything you don't like about it. E.g. No good if it suggests taking car to dealer to replace the headlamp bulb due to it being too complex. Or if immobiliser problems etc frighten you.
11) Does car start on instant you turn the key? If not could be sign of misfire or other serious problems.
12) Look for exhaust smoke. Could be sign of worn valve seals or piston rings. An expensive repair job
13) When was cambelt changed? Broken belt will wreck your engine.
14) Is the coolant clean and upto level. Dirty coolant is sign of cylinder head damage. Or cylinder block cracks.
15) Look for signs if cylinder head has been removed, such as scoring on bolts, silver circle around nuts and bolts on an otherwise rusty cylinder head. Could indicate a major problem has happened and if an aluminium head wasn't skimmed on reassembly you will,blow gasket after gasket!
16) Are door hinges strong enough for door? Spot a design flaw!
17) Check oil levels, oil warning light. Having to top up oil often, could mean worn valve seals or piston rings.
18) Ensure you will get AT LEAST 6 months WARRANTY its during this time problems will arise such as many of the points above.
19) Don't be afraid to contact previous owners garage that commonly serviced (look in the service book for address, the book you took home to read overnight) this car to ask about any thing you suspicious of. They could tell you the cylinder head blew, or other troubles.
Next Online research.
1)Does this model have any design flaws, such as water ingress into engine by badly designed air filter. Water in a cylinder can't be compressed and will wreck your engine check EVERYTHING then research those things! Different makes and models have flaws. Identify them!
2) check reviews for common problems. Again research and google any problem that comes up.
3) how reliable is the car?
4) are expensive repairs common?
5) are parts and servicing expensive?
6) what's the life expectancy of the car/ engine? Peugeot HDis engines apparently last forever.
7) any car ECU or immobiliser problems?
8) clutch! Do clutches often need replacing, in some cars they don't last long and can be very expensive to change. Especially in cars with dual mass flywheels. In most modern cars they can last upto 200,000 but some will go after as little as 20,000 miles!
Finally check sites like autotrader how many of the cars your interested in, are going well after 100,000 miles? If you can't find many of a certain age for a good price, question the cars life expectancy.
Consider getting the RAC, AA or qualified mechanic to check the car before you buy.
Yes you can buy extended warranty, but at £500 a year or more is it not cheaper just to buy a more reliable make or model of car?
Remember check research learn about car and check check again! A bad car is an expensive mistake, they depreciate and you will always loose money and pay out more when you change a car.
Happy Motoring
Several years ago I bought a VW lupo. Lovely car cool style, hot hatch
A few years later the doors became very noisy when opening an closing, jolting and creaking. The hinges and strap had worn severely buckling the door pilar mounting. Soon the weak plastic inside door handle snapped off. The problem was a design flaw. Lupo doors were very heavy and the hinges very small and puny, result they wore down rapidly. It cost £300 to get new hinges plus welding at my local garage. Other than an EGR fault causing random stalling, (I disconnected the EGR controller) it was a great car.
I wanted more space so the next car was a 1600cc, 2004 Mercedes A class. Again beautiful spacious car but abysmal urban MPG with high tax £113 for only 6 months!
If only I'd checked running costs. Plus changing a headlamp bulb was a quite in depth job, removing parts of the grill etc, not a job you want in a lay-by at 2am on a cold wet and windy night after being stopped by the cops! My latest car a 2007 Fiat panda diesel bought for its excellent economy £30 tax a year and 50 mpg urban
I was so happy to have a small cheap car until I learnt about the problem of rain getting into the filter and air intake wrecking the engine plus the complicated emergency start up for keys that fail. Not to mention the dealership (private) only gave me one ignition key, then an oil leak. I never thought to look for oil leaks in a 5 year old car with only 40k mileage!So here's a non exhaustive list I've made for whatever make of car BEFORE you buy!
1) Check for oil leaks no matter how new the car is or how low the mileage!
2) Warning lights.
3) Running costs, tax and urban MPG. Ignore average MPG, You will do urban journeys the most!
4) Ask seller how many keys the car has It should have AT LEAST 2 KEYS! Getting a chip key copied will could cost upto £200. IF you LOOSE the one and only key, the car may need a new immobiliser and alarm system costing over £1000!
5) Is it tidy under bonnet? Look for any disconnected cables. May have been disconnected to cancel a warning light! Spend time here, look at everything.
6) Are all exhaust mounts present and in good condition, use a mirror to look underneath. Is exhaust rusty?
7) If its diesel does it have a DPF? Avoid these like the plague! A new DPF can cost £1000. It will fail MOT if you deliberately remove the DPF. Google (Diesel Particulate Filters) then you'll know what I'm talking about!
8) How easy to change a headlamp bulb? Imagine 2am on a cold night pouring with rain, in the middle of know where!
9) When was oil last changed? Get proof. You don't want to end up doing another 10k miles when it was actually changed 10k before that, and you've ruined your engine! Ask dealer to change oil+ filter if necessary.
10) Ask seller if you can take the owners handbook home overnight and service book to learn about the car. See if there's anything you don't like about it. E.g. No good if it suggests taking car to dealer to replace the headlamp bulb due to it being too complex. Or if immobiliser problems etc frighten you.
11) Does car start on instant you turn the key? If not could be sign of misfire or other serious problems.
12) Look for exhaust smoke. Could be sign of worn valve seals or piston rings. An expensive repair job
13) When was cambelt changed? Broken belt will wreck your engine.
14) Is the coolant clean and upto level. Dirty coolant is sign of cylinder head damage. Or cylinder block cracks.
15) Look for signs if cylinder head has been removed, such as scoring on bolts, silver circle around nuts and bolts on an otherwise rusty cylinder head. Could indicate a major problem has happened and if an aluminium head wasn't skimmed on reassembly you will,blow gasket after gasket!
16) Are door hinges strong enough for door? Spot a design flaw!
17) Check oil levels, oil warning light. Having to top up oil often, could mean worn valve seals or piston rings.
18) Ensure you will get AT LEAST 6 months WARRANTY its during this time problems will arise such as many of the points above.
19) Don't be afraid to contact previous owners garage that commonly serviced (look in the service book for address, the book you took home to read overnight) this car to ask about any thing you suspicious of. They could tell you the cylinder head blew, or other troubles.
Next Online research.
1)Does this model have any design flaws, such as water ingress into engine by badly designed air filter. Water in a cylinder can't be compressed and will wreck your engine
check EVERYTHING then research those things! Different makes and models have flaws. Identify them!2) check reviews for common problems. Again research and google any problem that comes up.
3) how reliable is the car?
4) are expensive repairs common?
5) are parts and servicing expensive?
6) what's the life expectancy of the car/ engine? Peugeot HDis engines apparently last forever.
7) any car ECU or immobiliser problems?
8) clutch! Do clutches often need replacing, in some cars they don't last long and can be very expensive to change. Especially in cars with dual mass flywheels. In most modern cars they can last upto 200,000 but some will go after as little as 20,000 miles!
Finally check sites like autotrader how many of the cars your interested in, are going well after 100,000 miles? If you can't find many of a certain age for a good price, question the cars life expectancy.
Consider getting the RAC, AA or qualified mechanic to check the car before you buy.
Yes you can buy extended warranty, but at £500 a year or more is it not cheaper just to buy a more reliable make or model of car?
Remember check research learn about car and check check again! A bad car is an expensive mistake, they depreciate and you will always loose money and pay out more when you change a car.
Happy Motoring
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