GUIDE:CHECKSBEFOREBUYINGAUSEDCAR
HpiCheck
FirstofallitisveryimportanttoperformaHpiCheck.
Thiswillcostyou£20fromwww.hpicheck.com
Inthelongrunthis£20wouldprobablythebestinvestmentyou’dmake.
Alternatively,youcouldalsoperformthischeckforcheaperbytextingthecarregistration
numberto83600.Thisservicewillonlycostyou£2.50andwillonlyprovidebasic
informationi.eHasthecarbeeninvolvedinanaccidentwhichresultedinatotallossby
insurers,hasthecarhadanycolourchanges,wasthecareverreportedstolen?Mosttraders
orregularbuyerswouldusethischeaperHpicheckinsteadofacomprehensivecheck.
Exteriorchecks
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Checkthebodyworkforaconsistentpaintfinish–thepaintshouldbethesame
shadealloverthecar;ifnot,it’sprobablyhadsomedamageandarespray.
Makesurethegapsbetweenthepanelsarethesamewidth–ifnot,thecarcould
havebeencrashedandrepaired
Checkthedoorsandthebootopenandclosesmoothly,andexaminetherubberseals
forpaint–itcouldpointtoares-pray.
Pressdowncarefullyonthecarateachcornerandrelease;thecarshouldreturn
smoothlytoitsnormalheight–ifitbouncesbeforesettlingthesuspensioncould
needwork
Bubblingpaintworkindicatesrustandismostcommonaroundthewheelarches,
bumpersandwindowframes–checkeverywhere,particularlyareasregularlyin
contactwithwater
Checkthecar’sVehicleIdentificationNumber(VIN)forsignsoftampering.TheVIN
isrecordedonametalstripatthebaseofthewindscreen,underthebonnetor
beneaththecarpetonthedriver’sside.
Checkthetyresandthesparewheelwithatreaddepthgauge,whichareavailable
fromcaraccessoryshops.Theminimumlegaltreaddepthis1.6mmacrossthewidth
ofthetyre,butmoreisbetter
Makesurethetyreshaveevenwear–morewearononesideofthetyreindicates
thesuspensionortrackingalignmentneedsadjusting–itcouldalsopointtocrash
damage
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Underthebonnet
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Checkthecar’sVINisthesameasrecordedinthelogbook
Checkforoil,waterorotherfluidleaksaroundtheengineandothermechanical
components,aswellasonthegroundunderneath.Asktheseller,howlonghasthe
carbeenparkedatthatspecificplace?Ifthecarwasparkedtherelongandhadany
leaksthenyou’dbeabletonoticesomethingonthegroundaftermovingit.
Removetheengineoildipstick,wipeitwithaclothandreplaceit.Removeitagain
andchecktheoilisonoraroundthe‘max’level;theoilshouldbegoldenandfree
fromdebris–ifnot,theoilwillneedchangingandcouldindicateneglect
Checkthetopoftheengine(youmayneedtouncliptheplasticenginecoverfirst)
andunderneaththeengineoilcapforawhite,mayonnaise-likesubstance,which
couldindicateadamagedengineheadgasketandoften-irreparableenginedamage
Checkthefluidlevelsfortheenginecoolant(large,oftenroundtankwithascrewcap
filledwithpinkfluid)andbrakefluid(smallbottle,oftenattachedattherearofthe
enginebay)areatthecorrectindicatedlevelwhentheengineiscool
Checkthebatteryterminalsandconnectorsontopofthebatteryarerust-freeandin
goodcondition
Insidethecar
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Themileageontheodometerinsidethespeedometershouldbeconsistentwiththe
advertandcar’sdocuments
Checkwearontheseatsandsteeringwheelareconsistentwiththecar’smileage–
highmileagecarswilloftenshowwearonthesidebolstersandthesteeringwheel
mayhaveashinyappearance
ChecktheVINforsignsoftampering.TheVINisrecordedonametalstripatthebase
ofthewindscreen,underthebonnetorbeneaththecarpetonthedriver’sside.
Makesureeverythingworks,includingtheairconditioning,allelectricwindows,
sunroof,adjustableseatsandeventhefuel-fillerandbonnetrelease
Lookfordamagetothesteeringcolumnandignition–damagecouldindicatethecar
hasbeenstolenatsomepoint
Checktheseatbelts,thepassengersideofthedashboardandthesteeringwheel
cover–frayedseatbeltscouldindicatethey’vebeenactivatedinacrashanddamage
tothedashboardandsteeringwheelcouldmeanthecar’sairbagshavebeen
activatedinacrash
2 Howtobuyapre-ownedvehicle Paperworkchecks
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Lookforacarwith1or2previousowners.Thelessnumberofownersvehiclego
throughgenerallythebettercondition.Ifthecarhasahighermileagethenmakesure
thereisafullservicehistoryandmaintenancerecord.
Checkthecar’slogbookV5Document(Itwillsayonthefrontpage,howmany
ownerswereregistered),Servicehistory(Sellershouldhaveaservicebookstamped
bythegarageitwasservicedfrom,don’tbeshytocallthegaragetoconfirmthe
authenticityoftheservice,mileageanddateofservice),previousMOTcertificates
(thiscannowbecheckedontheDVLAwebsitebyenteringthevehicleregistration
numberandv5documentreferencenumber,simplysearch‘checkmothistory’in
google)andanyoldbillsandreceiptstoestablishifthecarhasbeencaredfor,
identifyrecurringfaultsandcheckingthecar’smileageisgenuine
LookateachMOTcertificateandservicingstamp–thecar’stotalmileageshould
increaseatasteadyrateateachMOTandserviceinterval
Onlyacceptoriginalpaperwork,andcheckforforgeries–thelogbookshouldhavea
watermark,andyoucancallthegaragethelastMOTwascarriedoutatandthe
previousownertocheckthecar’spast.
Buyingfromacardealer:Alwaysmakesureyouaskfora3Monthswarrantyin
writing.Nomatterhowmuchyounegotiatetheprice,adealermustprovidea
minimumof3Monthswarrantybylaw.
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Othercheckstoperform:
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Listentotheenginestartingupfromcold.Theoillightshouldgooutsoonafterthe
enginestarts,ifitdoesn'ttheremaybeenginewear.
Heavyrattlingorknockingnoisesshortlyafterstartupcouldindicatewearofthe
crankshaftandbig-endbearings.Listenforclatteringorlightknockingnoisesfrom
thetopoftheengine,whichindicatecamshaftwear.
Turnontheignitionandopenthethrottlesharply.
Checkforblackorbluesmokefromtheexhaust.
Bluesmokecomesfromburningoilandshowsenginewear,whereasblacksmokeis
un-burntfuelandhasmanypossiblecauses.
Whentestdrivingchecktheenginedoesnotmisfirebutpullsstronglyand
cleanly.Checktherearenopinkingsounds(i.e.metallicrattlingsoundthatoccurs
whenthethrottleisopen).Ifthecardoesmisfireandtheenginehaselectronicfuel
orignitioncontrolonlybuyitifthemisfireisputrightfirst.
Keepaneyeonthetemperaturegaugeorwarninglight,whichmayindicate
overheating.
Transmission
ManualGearbox:Checktheclutchoperatessmoothlyandallgearsengageeasily.If
thegearchangestiffensasrevsincreasetheclutchmaybeworn.Checkforclutch
slipbydrivingthecarupahillintopgear.
Putthecarin2ndGearandtrytomoveveryslowly.Agoodandhealthyclutch
wouldbeabletomoveoffthecarinslowspeedandhighRPMbutifthisresultsin
immediatestallthenyoumayneedanewclutchatsomepointinthenearfuture.
Startyourcar(onalevelroad)puttheclutchin,putthecarinto3rdgear,takethe
handbrakeoffandslowlyreleasetheclutch.Itshouldstallrapidly.Iftheengine
laboursforabitasyoulettheclutchout,triestopullaway,thenstalls,theclutchis
slipping.Also,havethecartickingoverinneutral,listencarefullyandpushthe
clutchin.Ifthereisarattlethenyouwillhaveproblemssoon.Ifyouhavearattle
thatgoesawaywhenyoupushtheclutchinthenthatalsopointstowearinthe
clutch.
Whendrivingchangedownintoeachgearfromahigherspeedthannormaltotest
thesynchromesh.Ifthegearsbaulkorcrunch,orifthegearboxwhinesexcessively,
gearboxoverhaulorreplacementaretheonlysolutions.
Checktheclutchbitingpoint–ifit’snearthetopthismayindicatethatanewclutch
isneededsoon.
4 Howtobuyapre-ownedvehicle SUSPENSION
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Checkshockabsorbers(dampers)bypushingdownhardonthebodyworkatthe
cornersandlettinggo.Thecarshouldreboundoncejustpastthelevelposition,then
gobacki.e.oneandahalfswings.Anymorethanthisindicatestheshockabsorbers
needreplacing.
Listenforknocksfromthesuspensionoverpoorroadsurfaceswhichcouldindicate
wornbushes,jointanddampers.Takeanoteofthecarshandling,ifitisvague,
"floaty"orbouncy,suspectworndampers.
Checkforfluidleakagefromthedampersorstruts.Slightweepingisacceptableany
moreisnot.
STEERING
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Ifthesteeringisvagueandheavythetyresmaybewornorunderpressurised.
Rockthesteeringwheelgentlywhilewatchingthefrontwheel,thereshouldnotbe
anynoticeabledelaybetweensteeringwheelandroadwheelmovement.Freeplay
accompaniedbyaknockwillfailtheMOTtest.
Checkforwheelwobbleatspeed.Thisisoftenattributabletounbalancedfront
wheels.Steeringwheelshimmyatlowspeedsindicateddistortedwheelrims.
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