How to Inspect a Used Car for Purchase

Transcript

00:00

Hey guys, ChrisFix here,

00:01

today, I’m gonna show you how to inspect a used car before you buy it.

00:05

I just drove by this car for sale on the side of the road,

00:08

so I’m gonna go take a look at it and show you everything that I normally look at

00:12

when checking out a used car.

00:13

Now there’s no owner to open the doors, so I can’t go for a test drive or anything like that.

00:18

I literally just saw this on the side of the road,

00:20

and I’m seeing this car for the first time with you guys.

00:23

So I’m gonna show you how to figure out if it’s worth

00:25

the time and effort to call up the owner and go for a test drive.

00:28

Now the best part is, anybody could inspect a used car,

00:31

you don’t need to be a car expert.

00:33

You just need to know what to look at,

00:35

and I’m gonna show you all of that.

00:36

So let’s begin.

00:37

Now when inspecting a used car,

00:39

there are five main things to look at.

00:41

The first thing you need to look at is the For Sale sign.

00:44

It gives you a ton of information, such as mileage and price,

00:47

sometimes that price is so ridiculously high it’s not even worth your time,

00:50

cause you’ll never negotiate it down to your buying point.

00:53

If all of that checks out,

00:54

the second thing you’re gonna look at is the body.

00:56

You’re gonna look at dents, scratches,

00:58

rust, and stuff like that.

00:59

The third thing we’re gonna look at, are the wheels and tires,

01:02

because tires and wheels could get expensive,

01:04

and it’s definitely important that your tires are in good shape.

01:07

The fourth thing we’re gonna look at, is the interior.

01:09

Since we can’t get in the car,

01:10

we’re gonna look through the window.

01:12

But we’re gonna look for stuff like rips, tears,

01:14

and any options the car has.

01:16

And number five, the last thing we’re gonna look at,

01:18

is underneath the car.

01:19

You’re gonna look for any rust, leaks,

01:21

and any damage to the frame

01:22

that indicates that it might have been in an accident.

01:24

This might seem like a lot to remember,

01:26

But I made it really simple for you,

01:28

and in the description is a link to my

01:30

to my how to buy a used car checklist.

01:32

This way you can print this out, keep it in your car,

01:35

and you wont forget to inspect anything

01:36

when you see a used car on the side of the road.

01:38

It’s all right here,

01:39

and you can even take notes,

01:41

so let’s get started.

01:42

The for sale sign is gonna give you tons of information.

01:45

You wanna look at the year, which is an ’04;

01:47

this is an X-Type;

01:49

this is the 2.5, cause they did make a 3.0

01:52

The mileage is very important,

01:53

and then it gives you some information.

01:55

It says it runs great,

01:56

needs nothing, all-wheel drive, navigation, sunroof.

01:59

Over here it says text and call,

02:01

and you always call, I’ll show you how to do that,

02:03

at the end of this video, I’ll explain the best questions to ask ’em,

02:06

and then he has his original price crossed off,

02:08

and then it says reduced to 3,000.

02:10

Now this is a little trick people use

02:12

cause then you feel like ‘Okay, I don’t have to negotiate,

02:14

I already got 500 dollars off,’

02:16

but don’t fall for it.

02:17

Just focus on the actual price,

02:19

which is three grand.

02:20

And if they don’t include a price on their for sale sign,

02:22

then don’t even bother with the car.

02:24

Think about it,

02:24

would you shop in a store that doesn’t have prices on its items?

02:27

No!

02:28

So don’t waste your time,

02:29

that’s one tip I’ve learned after looking at thousands of used cars.

02:32

So now that we’ve looked at the for sale sign,

02:34

let’s go look at number two, the body of the car.

02:36

Alright, this is what everybody’s good at,

02:39

inspecting the body of the car.

02:40

You’re just gonna be looking at the bodywork,

02:42

to see if there’s any damage.

02:43

So let’s start at the front here,

02:45

right away something that grabbed my eye is this scratch right here.

02:47

Unfortunately, even a little scratch like this,

02:50

could cost you a lot of money.

02:51

So this brings up the important point of

02:53

you have to figure out what you’re looking for.

02:55

If blemishes like this don’t bother you,

02:57

scratches and dents can significantly drop the price of the car,

03:00

cause people really focus on looks,

03:01

and that ends up working in your favor.

03:03

And don’t think that fixing scratches and dents is easy.

03:06

Even to remove a dent like this,

03:08

could be up to 100 bucks.

03:09

And then if there’s a scratch where you need to do some paintwork,

03:12

matching paint, especially on an older car, is difficult.

03:15

So just keep stuff like that in mind.

03:17

Now if you care about scratches, and you saw this,

03:19

I’d walk away from the car,

03:21

because this would be an expensive fix.

03:22

Even though for this purchase I don’t mind some scratches,

03:25

these are pretty bad.

03:26

And speaking about scratches,

03:27

here’s a really useful tip;

03:29

when you’re looking at the body of the car,

03:30

never inspect a wet car.

03:32

Whether it’s from rain, or the car’s just been washed,

03:35

water’s gonna hide scratches and dents.

03:37

Now if we come around to the passenger side,

03:39

there are some scratches here on the door, that have been touched-up,

03:41

but they didn’t match the paint very well.

03:43

And then if you’re looking at the rocker panel here,

03:45

looks like there’s a hole covered by Duct Tape.

03:47

Yeah, that’s a hole.

03:48

And there’s a dent here.

03:49

But that hole is pretty bad, and it’s gonna need some repair work.

03:52

And then there’s a dent right up here at the front quarter panel,

03:54

which stands out pretty good,

03:56

I noticed that when I first saw the car.

03:57

Even worse is this front bumper,

03:59

which they really should have just left alone,

04:01

looks like they tried to glue it or something.

04:03

And that’s gonna be a pain to fix.

04:05

So overall, the body’s just in fair condition.

04:08

It’s on the edge of what I would purchase,

04:10

but I think these problems will help me knock down the price,

04:12

and just because this is gonna be a commuter car for the city,

04:15

it’s not a deal breaker for me.

04:17

Now that we’re at the front of the car,

04:18

the next thing to look at are these headlights.

04:20

You can see these are all hazed up,

04:21

and these headlights can get expensive.

04:23

But you know I have a permanent fix,

04:24

which is pretty cheap, so this isn’t a big deal.

04:27

Now’s also a good time to check out the glass.

04:29

Look for any cracks or chips,

04:30

because glass could get expensive.

04:32

On this jag, it costs over 500 dollars to replace the windshield.

04:35

While you’re inspecting the glass,

04:36

be sure to look at different angles,

04:38

because sometimes chips are hard to see.

04:40

And since we’re looking at the glass,

04:41

check the inspection sticker,

04:42

because that’ll give you an idea if the car needs to get inspected soon.

04:45

Also, if the inspection is not up to date,

04:47

there could be a problem with the car,

04:49

or the car has been sitting for a while.

04:50

You could also check out the brake rotors to see if the car has been sitting.

04:53

On this car, you can see the rotors are shiny,

04:55

which means it’s been used recently,

04:56

but if you see rusty rotors,

04:58

that could indicate that the car has been sitting for a while.

05:00

And I look for this, because cars are designed to be driven,

05:03

so if they sit for a long time,

05:04

they could develop problems that might not pop up on a test drive.

05:08

Now that’s how you check out the body of the car,

05:09

we did a great job covering everything,

05:11

we have a good idea of the condition of the body of this car.

05:13

So let’s go look at the next thing;

05:14

the wheels and tires.

05:16

So we’re gonna see how much life the tires have left;

05:18

but before that,

05:19

let’s make sure all four wheels and tires are the same,

05:22

and not damaged.

05:24

So the first thing we wanna do is make sure all four tires are the same.

05:27

In the front we have BF Goodrichs,

05:29

I checked the other side, and it’s the same.

05:31

Now I checked the rear, and both rear tires are the same;

05:34

but they’re a different brand from the front.

05:35

Now this isn’t the greatest setup,

05:37

but as long as the tires are all the same size,

05:40

and as long as the tires in the front match,

05:42

and the tires in the rear match,

05:43

that’s okay.

05:44

What you don’t want to see, is a different tire on each corner.

05:47

Next make sure all your rims are the same.

05:49

I had a friend who bought a car,

05:51

and there were two of the same rim on one side,

05:53

but on the other side the rims were different,

05:55

and he didn’t even notice this,

05:56

until I pointed it out after he bought the car.

05:59

Now I don’t know about you,

06:00

but these wheels do not look good on this car,

06:02

at all.

06:03

On top of that,

06:04

these wheels have a ton of curb rash,

06:06

all around the rim, and the paint is chipping off,

06:08

so this right here is a big expense.

06:11

The last thing to check

06:12

is how much life do the tires have left,

06:13

since new tires are expensive.

06:15

To do this, if you have some loose change,

06:17

grab a penny,

06:18

and use the top of Abe Lincoln’s head,

06:20

and put it in the groove of the tire.

06:21

In the front, Abe Lincoln’s head is covered by the tread,

06:24

so there is plenty of tread left,

06:26

but in the rear, you can see the top of Abe Lincoln’s head.

06:28

Which means you need new tires.

06:30

And if you don’t have a penny,

06:31

there is a wear indicator band

06:33

in the tread of the tire.

06:34

So when that band is touching the edge of the tread,

06:36

that means you need new tires,

06:38

right away.

06:39

Now these rear tires here, would be dangerous to drive on

06:41

in the rain or the snow.

06:42

Make sure you go ahead and check each tire,

06:44

and on this car, the front tires are in good shape,

06:46

but the rear tires need to be replaced.

06:48

Tires are very important for safety,

06:50

and they can get expensive,

06:51

plus most people don’t think about checking tires on a used car.

06:54

Now that we’re done looking at the wheels and tires,

06:56

let’s take a look at the interior.

06:58

Since the owner isn’t here to open the door for us,

07:00

we’re gonna have to look through the glass,

07:01

but there’ll be plenty to look at,

07:03

so let’s take a look and see.

07:04

So you’re looking at anything that stands out.

07:07

The first thing i look at

07:08

is to see if the car is an automatic or a manual.

07:10

This is an automatic, which is what I’m looking for.

07:12

Then take a look at the seats,

07:14

and see if there are any rips or tears.

07:16

These seats look like they’re in great shape,

07:18

next look at the steering wheel,

07:19

and see if it’s worn out.

07:20

And again, this looks like it’s in good condition.

07:22

Also, check out the headliner, to see if it’s sagging anywhere,

07:25

and in this case it looks good in the front,

07:28

and in the rear.

07:29

And the rear seats and carpets

07:31

look like they’re in good shape as well,

07:32

except I do see a cut along the middle of the seat.

07:35

So that pretty much covers the interior.

07:37

Now, for the last thing we’re gonna look at,

07:39

let’s check under the car.

07:40

I’m starting at the front of the car,

07:42

and the sub-frame looks straight,

07:43

and it isn’t rusted,

07:45

next I’m looking for any leaks over by the engine,

07:48

and there aren’t any visible leaks.

07:50

Which is good.

07:51

So now we’ll go from the front of the car,

07:52

to the side, and we’ll work our way around.

07:55

These jags are known to have problems with rusting

07:57

right under the rocker panels.

07:59

So let’s see if there’s any rust underneath,

08:01

and looking over here, this looks surprisingly good

08:04

I actually checked out one Jaguar where I touched this,

08:06

and the metal broke off in my hand.

08:08

So if you have an interest in a particular car,

08:10

definitely do a little research,

08:11

so you know what to look for while you’re inspecting the used car.

08:14

Now the other thing is, make sure you look at the frame,

08:17

and that looks straight, and there’s no rust on that either.

08:19

Looking towards the center of the car,

08:21

everything is rust-free, and it all looks really good.

08:24

Now let’s move to the rear.

08:26

Under the rear, a good thing to look at

08:29

is this spare tire carrier,

08:30

because if the car was in a significant rear end collision,

08:33

it’s really hard for body shops to unbend this metal,

08:36

so there would be obvious crumples or damage to this piece of metal if it was hit hard.

08:40

Looking at the exhaust, it’s rust free, which is great.

08:44

The rear suspension looks really good,

08:45

there’s no rust, the shocks aren’t leaking.

08:48

I don’t see any oil or grease anywhere.

08:50

Where the differential is, I don’t see any leaks.

08:53

And looking at the other side, everything looks good there as well.

08:56

So let’s quickly check out the other side,

08:58

and this side looks good, with no rust,

09:00

everything looks straight and solid,

09:01

and the underside of this car was pretty good compared to some of the other cars I’ve been seeing.

09:05

Alright, and that covers the five main areas you should look at

09:09

when inspecting a used car.

09:10

Hopefully the video was helpful,

09:12

and if you have your own tips, leave them in the comments section below,

09:15

because I’m sure there’s gonna be a ton of people looking for all the tips they can get.

09:18

Stay tuned for the next video,

09:20

where I show you what questions to ask when you call the owner up on the phone.

09:23

I’ll also show you all the tips and trick I have,

09:26

for when you take the car out for a test drive.

09:27

And also, don’t forget,

09:28

you can download the ChrisFix used car checklist,

09:31

with the link in the description.