Linux Tips and Tricks

Ok, just 3 days ago the only thing I knew about cars is how to drive them. Looking at buying a new car got me thinking – how about a nice long checklist on what exactly to check when buying a car. This checklist should help any used car buyer to verify the state of the vehicle they want.

First of, on meeting the seller you should ask for a few things (some of these, if you can live with them, should be able to help you negotiate a better price)

1. Do they hold the MOT history (or at least the last 3 years of MOT)? If not, can they login online and show you the online version? This way you will know if the car had any serious faults in the past. Ask if they hold any fixing receipts. This will also help you see what you need to check in the car.
2. Have they got a proof of mileage and full service history?
3. How many previous owners has the car had (visible on V5 document by the way)?
4. Why are they selling?
5. Has the car had any accidents, engine, transmission or other repairs?
6. Last (and preferably second-last) MOT emissions test results – has it passed emissions cleanly or barely?

Now that we asked a few questions and we know the background, let’s go to the car checklist. It’s a very extensive checklist that will allow you to verify the car A-Z before you make the purchase

1. Visible rust/scratches/dents on the outside? Is there a lot of it?
2. How’s the suspension? Try pressing the car on each side of the car a few times quite hard and see how it comes back? Does it make any noises? Does it come back nicely to previous positions or does it go up and down like a rocking chair (which means that the suspension is “gone”)?
3. How’s the boot of the car? Is the spare wheel there? Are the tools there to change the spare wheel? Is the spanner of the correct side to match the bolts?
4. Is the exterior line straight and not lowered? Are the gaps between the doors and between the wheels on both sides of the car the same?
5. If there is a trailer hinge, ask if the car was used for towing?
6. Does the car sit level?
7. Are the tires much worn? Are they equally worn (if not, wheels not aligned – extra cost)? Are they all of the same size or mismatched?
8. Is the upholstery/chairs good or much worn out?
9. Does the dashboard seem to work (speedo, oil, all the lights, etc)?
10. Do ALL the buttons in the car work? (make sure you check ALL the buttons from left to right, up to down. Check radio, CD player, air con, air blower, literally all the switches)
11. If windows/mirrors are electric, do they work correctly?
12. Check if aircon gives properly cold air, check if blower blows air in with good pressure
13. How are the pedals? Feel they loose, or good? Is the clutch very heavy, does the brake go only about 50% in, or almost all way in (which is bad)?
14. How does the gearbox feel when clutch not pressed? Any bad grinding noise or trouble shifting gears? Is it smooth?
15. Open front mask and see the battery and engine. Clean? Too clean or too dirty? No “stuff” around the battery connectors (shouldn’t be any)? Overall look good?
16. Check engine from sides. See any oil leaks?
17. Look under the car. Any visible leaks? How much rust? Any visible repairs/welds/paint, etc? If so, question it.
18. touch the engine. Very hot? Dont’ turn on and test. Offer to wait up to 30 minutes for the engine to cool down as you need to test it from cold. If it’s hot, someone has pre-heated it to give better experience for the viewer.
19. Check if you see any stains inside. If there are any, it could be leaking when it rains!
20. Check the steering wheel. Are there delays between steering and tires moving? Is it free move? loose steeering?
21. Turn car on and go to the engine. Listen for any weird sounds. All good?
22. Check the exhaust, any blue or black smoke? If so, not good. Blue smoke especially – sign of oil burning together with fuel.
23. Put the foot down quite fast on the acceleration (while outside the car) and rev up to around 3000 rpm while looking at the back of the car and listening to the front. Any ruttling sound from engine or blue/black smoke now?
24. Let go of acceleration after about 10/15 seconds and go to the engine side. Check if you see any leaks. Look underneath, check for visible leaks there.
25. Move off a bit (so that you move off the place that the car was on). Get out of the car and check on the road – see any marks indicating that there was any fluid dripping?
26. Take it for a drive:
    1. When moving off (and throughout the test) observe if the engine doesn’t make rattling sounds
    2. When moving off and driving observe if it’s smooth drive.
    3. After a while stop and check if it’s smooth on neutral (idle)
    4. How is the clutch and gearbox performing?
    5. How is the steering wheel? Feel it’s pulling to left/right? Or is it correct? Feel unsafe/loose or quite steady?
    6. Observe if speedo and all other meters work on dashboard.
    7. If you got a MPG counter, how is the fuel economy?
    8. Turbo kicks in under heavy foot? Or broken? ANy delays in the “kick” when trying to accelerate fast?
    9. Does it pull to a side when accelerating fast?
    10. How are the breaks and seat belts?
    11. How is gearing when you push it hard?
    12. How does it behave on sharp turns and corners? How does it behave on normal drive and how when you doing up to 70mph?
    13. Can you hear wind gushing noise while driving fast even though windows closed? Maybe hole somewhere?
    14. Reverse working as expected?
    15. After the drive, open the front mask and check the oil on dipstick. Did you “splash” a lot (it should)? Colour will tell you if it was services recently, level will tell you if it’s taken good care of and if it smells of metallic smell – don’t buy.

And as you should, look professional. They should think you know a lot about cars!

Ok, that should help you ensure that the next car will not be a completly misserable mistake Hope it helps.