Before you put any money down on a new car you must do a mechanical inspection to find out if there are any problems which need to be dealt with. If you don't have the skills to do this yourself then you should take the car to your auto repair shop and ask then to do a pre-sale inspection. Make sure that during the car inspection your mechanic or technician has done the following checks.
Engine. Check the oil pressure and inspect if there are any oil leaks. Through a compression check, the condition of the cylinder and rings are determined. During idling of the engine, determine whether it is running smooth or it has the tendency to buck around. This is a warning sign of ignition problems or irregularities in the fuel system.
Transmission. The most important thing is to check for slipping. If the car is a standard transmission (has a clutch), then the clutch should be let out slowly at a stop sign. Observe if the car immediately starts or the engine revs up before the car can even move. This is a sign of a worn clutch which will cost you $500 to $800 for repairs. If the car has an automatic transmission, kick it into passing gear and observe if you get a good response or if the engine races. If there is a problem, rebuilding an automatic transmission will cost you $1500 to $2000. Also, check if there are leaks and make sure that the drive line is tight.
Steering. Observe what happens when you are going down a straight road slowly with no crown. When you lightly loosen up your hold on the wheel, does the steering wheel try to pull one way or another? It is normal when you experienced a slight drift towards the right which is to guard against head-ons in case you suddenly fall asleep, but it should not pull. Also, when you are driving and there is a bump, observe if the front of the car is moving up and down once or the oscillation is longer. If the front of car is bouncy, this is a sign that that the car has bad struts and you have to pay $500, or more, to repair it.
Rear End. Is there a growling noise when you go around corners? This can be a sign of bad wheel bearings. For a car with a front wheel drive, this is not a big problem but may still cost you some hundred dollars to repair.
Brakes. There should be good wear left on all brakes. You can get the specs out of the repair manual for that particular vehicle. A brake job may be advertised for $79.00 but when you get to the shop they always find more wrong and you end up paying a much bigger bill.
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