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FINDING THE RIGHT car for your needs, lifestyle and budget can be a tricky process. We want to help streamline the search. As part of our Insights series, every week we’ll take a different car-buying question to the experts at the heart of the motor industry.
This week, we’re figuring out how best to judge if a used car is safe, reliable and suits your needs – all from a short test drive. We asked Philip Mallon, Director at Joe Mallon Motors in Naas and Portlaoise to weigh in with some expertise.
Here are six crucial steps to follow when test-driving a used car, according to Philip…
Before buying a used car, you’ll want to know where it’s been before. With a large, established dealer, you’ll get all of the history as standard, including details of services, repairs and any other vital information.
With a private sale, the seller might not be so forthcoming with the information, so be sure to request everything rather than just taking his or her word for it that the car is sound. If a car has been properly cared for, a private seller should have no problem handing the information over.
It’s important to judge general wear and tear before getting into the vehicle. With tyres, you can’t tell much by eye, but even running your finger along the inside of the tyres and feeling the tread depth can reveal a lot. If the tyres feel bald or don’t seem roadworthy, ask questions.
Do a full walk-around of the car and look for dents, badly secured panelling or any other potential signs of severe damage.
Larger, established dealers won’t put a car on the forecourt that unless it has been fully repaired and checked, but you can’t be as sure of that with a private seller. A good move is to look for recent NCT certificates. If a car’s NCT is out by a long time, that could be a red flag.
Don’t just take the vehicle around the car park. Bring it on a road where you’ll get a decent chance to drive it. As you’re moving, take note of the tracking. Is the car pulling to one side or is it driving in a straight line?
We do the same test drive loop with most customers. It takes around 15-minutes and features some main roads and a couple of roundabouts, which is usually enough to give an indication of performance.
Don’t ignore the dashboard lights. Modern cars are built to warn drivers if anything is wrong or needs fixing, so keep an eye out during your test run and get the problem fixed now, before you buy. Key ones to be mindful of include service lights, tyre pressure warnings and engine management lights.
With a private sale you may wish to ask a mechanic you trust to take a look over the car, to ensure everything is in order.
In general, if you need a second opinion, bring someone along on the test drive with you who has a good idea of how cars work and who also knows your needs. You want a car that’s safe, roadworthy, and suits your lifestyle now and in the long-term.
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Completely useless advises. When buying a used car wheel alignment, tyres or minor cosmetic dents should be the least of your worries (easy to spot and cheap to fix).
Here’s a few better ones that might save you from a really hefty bill at the local garage:
Ask the owner to keep the engine cool before the test drive, listen if the engine makes rattling sounds. Especially when starting. If the engine has been warmed up before you arrive you may not notice some issues (e.g. white/black smoke from the exhaust due to engine burning oil).
Check if the engine is not covered in oil, which might indicate a shot head gasket (pricey repair). Shinny and recently washed engine is also a red flag that indicates that some serious work might have been done under the bonnet.
Check for oil spillages in the engine compartment.
Check if the shock absorbers aren’t dead.
Check if all the windows are of the same make. If one or a few windows are different that might indicate that the car was in a serious accident.
Check for moisture and mold under the seats and carpets. If a car was in a flood it is beyond repair and the electric components will start failing within a year or two.
Check if all the appliances work, something like a dead air-con can cost a fortune to repair.
And the best advise: google the car you want to buy for issues plaguing this particular model (e.g. “Opel Astra 2015 issues”).
The online forums will guide you what to check specifically for the model in question.
@Termaz Fx: Thank you very much for your comment; the quality of most “motoring journalism” would leave you wondering how the advertising copywriters who work for main dealers have any work left to do.
@Termaz Fx: Excellent comment, thanks.
Also, who hasn’t gone with a friend only to find that the new mats in the floorwells are the only thing between them and the road?
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