It doesn’t matter what car you are looking to buy, you could be looking at a two thousand dollar Honda Civic through to a high end luxury vehicle such as a Mercedes Benz or Range Rover, there are key aspects to check on used vehicles that apply to all motor vehicles.
Theses things should be checked before purchasing any used car.
1. Service History.
Short of having actual dated invoices and tax receipts there is no real way of confirming one hundred percent if a vehicle has been regularly serviced. The second best measure of this is the service books for the vehicle. Be mindful with these that it is very easy to forge the dates and kilometres in service books. Keep an eye out for the same level of fading in service stamps on all pages and the same coloured pen. If it looks like it was all filled out on one day it probably was. A vehicle with no service books is a red flag. Whilst its possible these have been legitimately lost its not common. Majority of vehicle owners never remove these from the vehicle, therefore it’s a very difficult item to loose. A used car with no service books is not something we advise buying.
2. Government checks.
The RMS (New south Wales government body that governs roads and automotive things) offer comprehensive checks on all vehicles registered in New South Wales and in many cases vehicles no longer registered. The RMS does charge a fee for some of this information but its money well spent and we strongly advise getting these checks done. They include, but are not limited to
– Written off vehicle check
– Finance owing
– Registration details
– Stolen vehicle, engine or suspicious indenting numbers
All of this information is important
3. Value
Unsure about what you should be paying for the vehicle?
Various websites offer a valuing system for vehicles. The site we use and recommend is Red Book. It is important to note that this site only offers a guideline and should not be strictly followed. It will however, give you a rough estimation of what the vehicle you are looking at is worth. Redbook.com.au
4. Pre purchase inspection.
This is a must. If you only bother to do one of our listed things. Make sure its this one. NRMA do offer a vehicle inspection service however our experience shows that the accuracy of this inspection depends upon the technician carrying out the inspection. We advise that you use your independent motor mechanic. Arrange to take the car for a drive and explain to the seller you want your mechanic to look the car over. If the seller refuses, absolutely walk away.
Any decent mechanic will do a though inspection and should take a hour to two. You will have to pay this workshop for the time but this will easily be the best money ever spent. A few hundred dollars now could save you buying a lemon. Even if you have to go through this process a few times you are better off losing a thousand dollars getting five different vehicles inspected than buying something that needs the transmission replaced.
GDL Offers a comprehensive pre purchase inspection for $165. Call us on 99795933 to book this in. Please note we will require the vehicle to be dropped to the workshop for this service. The vehicle to be inspected will need to be road tested and inspected on a hoist. A comprehensive inspection can not be done without the vehicle on a hoist.
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