To some people buying a used vehicle is overwhelming at the best of times. Truthfully, there is no reason for a person to feel overwhelmed with this task. Although the information I am posting here is correct and accurate it still should still be taken to a dealership in person. At a dealership you are having a trained tech look over the vehicle in question. While inspecting the vehicle yourself is fine you will not be able to get a good view of the underside.
I am going to break down a used car inspection into four areas...
Cabin (interior)
Exterior or body
Under the hood
Under the vehicle
Cabin
Most items in the cabin are straight forward and easy to check just use your eyes. The condition of the interior gives you are good idea as to how the rest of the car was taken care of. Someone who kept the interior in mint condition most of the time took care of the rest of the vehicle. The main areas I focus on on the inside are the heater mode switch (moves airflow to different vents), the temp switch, fan speed and the rear defrost. If the mode switch is not working it could be something as simple as an unhooked vac line on the back of the switch. However, it could also be something more costly to repair. As for the temp switch the temp of the air exiting the vent should move smoothly from hot to cold as you move the switch from hot to cold. If this switch is not working you may need a blend door motor which is not that expensive just hard to install in most vehicles. As for the fan speed it is very easy to check turn the heater on and make sure the fan works on each setting from low all the way to high. If the fan will only work on high there is a very good chance that the heater resistor is bad and will need to be replaced, unless you are OK with the fan only working in high. When it comes to the rear defrost all you have to do is get some one to breath on the rear glass and turn it on. It won't take long before you see the grid in the window clearing the steam. If the rear defrost is not working you will need to take it to a shop or if you are into fixing things yourself then you will have to check fuses and check the switch.
Now for the most important part of inspecting the inside of the vehicle. Get in the vehicle and close the door, start the engine and allow it to run for five to ten minutes and check to see if any warning light are on. This is the part of the interior inspection that you need to pay attention to. If the check engine light is on I would not buy the vehicle until you know why. A check engine light could be something as easy as a loose gas cap. However, it could be something bad which could cost you thousands to fix. Secondly, if the air bag light is on you may not want to buy the vehicle until you know why. Restraints systems are complex, expensive and should only be serviced by a trained professional! Working on these systems yourself could cause sever personal injury or death!
MORE TO COME...THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!!!
