Mechanical guide to buying a second hand car locally

Most people dont really know what to look for when buying a second hand car so I have made up some pointers especially for first time car owners. Here are some key issues to consider when buying a second hand car:

BODY

Almost everything else in a car can be easily replaceable but the body and chassis is not something you replace at the snap of the finger. Watch out for rust, excessive filler, inconsistent gaps at the panels and door. Also equally important be on the lookout for a bent or twisted chassis.

ENGINE  

A car is not a car without an engine so this is the most important thing to note. To check if an engine is still in good working condition there are a few things you have to look at i.e.

a) run the engine and check if there’s any some smoke coming from the exhaust. White smoke can be caused by the engine burning coolant. This can be caused by the coolant leaking into the engine due to a leak in the head gasket, a damaged cylinder head or a cracked engine block. If you see black smoke that means that your engine is burning too much fuel. This could be due to the fact that there is inadequate air getting into the engine due to a clogged air filter. It could also be due to other factors like damaged sensors, fuel injectors and the fuel pressure regulator. Another reason for the black smoke could also be a blocked clogged fuel line. Blue smoke is an indication that the car is burning engine oil. This happens when the piston rings are worn out and oil is leaking to the combustion chamber where it is burned together with the fuel. For a turbocharged car, the smoke is a sign that the blower is in need of replacement. Burning oil can cause rough starts due to the fact that it can ruin a car’s spark plugs. Grey smoke can be due to the car burning oil or a bad turbo charger. It can also be due to automatic transmission fluid getting burned up in the engine. This would most probably be caused by a faulty transmission modulator leading to transmission fluid getting into the engine and subsequently burned up.

After checking for any signs of smoke while running the engine open the oil cap and see if the engine is spitting some oil if so just know that engine will take you to the mechanic many times. 

There are many other things to check like oil leaks on the sump, tappet cover, cylinder head and engine block that you should also check.

GEARBOX

After the engine the gearbox is the other important thing to note as well. Like the engine you also check for oil leaks on the gearbox too because a leaking gearbox will lead you into spending time and money at a repair shop. The simple test is to first check if all the gears engage smoothly without any jerking sound from the gearbox (the GUU sound). After you have checked if all the gears are engaging smoothly for automatic cars gradually accelerate not pressing hard on the accelerator and see how the car shifts up the gears. A good gearbox depending on the engine size and number of gears the gearbox has usually shifts up between 1600 rpms-2000rpms, the upshifts are at lower rpms for cars with a higher number of gears like the 7 speeds but most automatic gearboxs are 4/5 speed. If this checks out out with no jerks between gear changes well you have a good gearbox but as we know there are no guarantees with a second hand car.

SUSPENSION 

Now with our bumpy and pothole infested roads the suspension of the car gets to pay the price. Here’s my African way of testing shocks. Go at each corner of the car where the shocks are and push it down as hard as you can and release very fast and see if the car bounces, if it bounces that shock is gone if the shocks are good it will just go back to start position without bouncing up and down. And a basic drive on a bumpy road will also help with testing the suspension. If you here any sounds or squeacks from underneath the car just try checking to see whats wrong and find out the price of fixing it because suspension problems are not that much of a big deal. Lastly try as much as possible to avoid cars with air suspension if you are not willing to break your bank buying new airbags.

COOLING SYSTEM

This one is a bit tricky to test but very important because an overheating car can be a headache. Personally I just run the car with the radiator cap open and give it it some revs to see if the radiator splashes water if not we might have a good working water pump and radiator then obviously if you can test drive the car giving it some revs as much as possible and check for any temperature changes on the temp gauges

ELECTRONICS

This might not seem that important but some people will realize after finalizing the deal that the left back window does not open or it opens but it doesn’t close. Buying a car is exciting and electronics are often neglected by so many only to later find out that just fixing a window can be anything above 2000. A good check for all the electronics is important to avoid unnecessary costs

In conclusion this guide is not rock solid or perfect but its just some of the things to help you avoid being surprised after spending hard earned money. Also this guide can be used to negotiate on the price of the car, if you can’t walk away from the car atleast negotiate a lower price pointing out all these issues to the seller. Lastly there are no guarantees when buying second hand cars.

Stay away from VW, AUDI and BMW when buying them second hand cars if you are not willing to spend money at the mechanics because these cars are notorious for so many problems and are not cheap to fix.

AUTHOR: Dennis