What to look out for when buying a first car?

fiveub

fiveub

fiveub

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Insurance is obviously top, and the budget for the car also. However, what should I check or do before when buying a first car?

Also, what are good things to buy for the car, for example de-icer, map etc.

I am just creating a list of things I need to buy and look out for, hope you can help. :)

Check:
Bring someone knowledgable with you when buying a car
Insurance
Budget for car
Rust
Dents
Tyre tread
Cracks in windows
Unusual noises (idle)
Brake pipes
Quantity and colour of coolant
Check the oil light goes out after engine start
Turn on ignition and open throttle a bit.. make sure there's no black/blue smoke
Check smooth operation of clutch
Gear crunching
Check shock absorbers by pushing down on bodywork - car should rebound just the once.
Rock the steering wheel - there shouldn't be any delay between steering and wheels moving
Break pedal should offer good resistance
Full MOT
Full Service History
HPI Check
Emulsification of the oil


Buy:
Breakdown cover
Map
De-icer
Scraper
Sat Nav
 
- Brake pipes
- Engine (dirty engine = car hasnt been looked after well)
- Quantity and colour of coolant
- Check the oil light goes out after engine start
- Turn on ignition and open throttle a bit.. make sure there's no black/blue smoke
- Check smooth operation of clutch
- Gear crunching
- Check shock absorbers by pushing down on bodywork - car should rebound just the once.
- Rock the steering wheel - there shouldn't be any delay between steering and wheels moving
- Break pedal should offer good resistance
 
Nitrojan said:
Engine (dirty engine = car hasnt been looked after well)
Click to expand...

So what you're saying is:
- If an owner serviced his car regularly
- Repaired faults as soon as it was discovered
- Regularly changed worn out tyres
- Really looked after the car
Then the above doesn't mean much because the engine is dirty?
 
Ricochet J said:
So what you're saying is:
- If an owner serviced his car regularly
- Repaired faults as soon as it was discovered
- Regularly changed worn out tyres
- Really looked after the car
Then the above doesn't mean much because the engine is dirty?
Click to expand...

If he looked after his car then he would have cleaned the engine bay :)

No.. Im not saying that.. but that is the rule I generally follow.
 
HPI check it

- Full MOT
- Full Service History

Mileage and details all match up.

Take someone with you who knows a thing or two about cars.

I wouldn't let something like tyre tread sway my decision. That would be very low on the list of things to check. However cheap ones may give an indication of the type of owner the car has had.
 
Nitrojan said:
- Engine (dirty engine = car hasnt been looked after well)
Click to expand...

This really doesn't mean that much, in the Volvo my engine bay looks like new after a bit of Pbw APC, my car is waxed every couple of months and polished once per year, it may look okay on the exterior but I can assure you I don't look very well after it mechanically, I trash it about and love hard accelerating, braking and cornering and I fix things when they break, not because the service manual says so.

The last owner on the other hand did not care about the engine bay ( the silver cover of the engine war more, erm, black) yet the car was well maintained mechanically... 20k km of trashing further ( aside from 3 long holiday drives and the odd drive in the weekend I pretty much only drive short 15-30 minute drives which are killers for a car) and I spend 21€ on things that broke ( a thermostat and a couple of nylon bearings for the gearstick ).



However, from my last experience:
Buy a car that is a-ok mechanically, no things that need doing...
Has a service history including say a bill from the last service.
Fresh MOT would be nice but better, ask if you can take the car to a garage and pay a garage 20 quid to check it over if you're not familiar with things.
Test drive, if they refuse then go away, see if everything feels right.
 
Last edited:
Sone said:
do not want a pristine engine either, steam cleaning is bad, mmmmmmmmmmkay?
Click to expand...

Did mine no harm. :D

But certainly, don't want to be looking at a normal car that has a steam cleaned engine when for sale, likely there is something wrong with it and they've cleaned it to hide this fact. On something that is interesting or prestigious then I'd prefer to see the engine bay clean and see that it's a case of the car having been looked after.
 
Amoeba said:
Joking aside, if I see an engine bay that is filthy then yes it does put me off the car. It isn't hard to keep the bay clean really :)
Click to expand...

Depends on the conditions you drive in and the car, mine gets dusty and filthy very easily and needs a regular wipe down with a rag and some WD40. I'd rather see clean oil, coolant, brake fluid and PAS fluid rather than a shiny engine bay. Such is the case with my car :)
 
And do you regularly wipe it down? I'm not talking sparkling clean here I just mean not thick with congealed oil full of dust and mess.

Quick wipe over the rocker cover with a rag and over any other facing surfaces is enough to keep me happy :).
 
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