This is a detailed list of instructions on what to look for during an inspection of a used vehicle. It was written by Fuelforthesoul1999, now PRD2BDF

Instructions for inspecting a car or truck you may be interested in


You’ve found a car that you like. It is time to inspect the car to ensure it is suitable to purchase.

The first step is to read about and research the car. A good website is http://www.carsurvey.org where owners discuss their opinions and problems they’ve had with their cars. Then run/request a Carfax. Review the history. Beware, the Carfax will not tell you the way the car was treated nor completely recorded the car’s history. Make a checklist of the items discussed here. Take it with you with a flashlight and pencil. It is easy to forget items when you are looking at the beautiful, shiny car that might be yours soon! Also keep this in mind: be courteous, and plan ahead. Realize that a thorough examination of a car is going to take at least an hour. Treat the seller as you would like to be treated if you were selling your car. If you don't want the car, or have no intention of buying it, say so. "I have to pass this one up - I need to find one in better condition." Don't lead the seller on by saying you will call after you talk to your wife, when you have no intention of doing either. If you call to make arrangements to look at a car, and your plans change and you cannot make it, or you know you will be late, call the seller and tell them. Thank the seller for taking time to talk to you, or show you the car. If you don’t feel comfortable doing the following inspection, it is a good idea to find a reliable mechanic to perform an inspection.

The second step is to analyze the body.
• Looking over the body should be done with the engine idling. The engine needs to get good and warm because bearing noise and low oil pressure often do not show up until the engine is hot and the oil has had a chance to thin out. Never buy a used car at night. Most cars look best in the evening. The low angle of the sun enhances a new wax job and conceals scratches and imperfections in the finish. The next morning you may ask yourself: "How did I miss that?" There is no substitute for direct daylight to reveal body panel alignment problems, color mismatches, scratches and dents, fading clearcoat, etc. It may be possible to take the car to a very well-lit area for a close examination, but artificial lights will not always show problems that the sun will.
•Look for consistent color.
•Run your finger along the edges of the hood, fenders, doors and feel for rough edges. If rough edges are felt, it can indicate a repaint.
•Open the doors, and look under the doors. Most cars begin to rust there. Check the trunk lid and hood as well.
•Look for rock chips, rust, and dents. In most cases, you can use those as a bargaining tool and get the price lowered or the damages repaired.
•Look for consistent gapping of the body panels. If the gaps are not consistent, this can indicate the car has been in a wreck, check Carfax to see if it’s mentioned.
•Make sure that the car has all of its trims and moldings still on the car.
•Make sure that the car has all of its lug nuts securely on.
•Check the trunk; look under the spare tire and at the trunk corners to see if any evidence of water leaks is present.
•Make sure everything that is needed to change a tire is there (spare tire, jack, handle)

The third step is to get on your back and lie down.
•Look under the engine and see if you see any wetness (try to do this when it’s not wet outside.) You may find engine oil, transmission fluid, coolant from the water pump, power steering fluid, or brake fluid. In most cases, the source can be identified. Example in point- if there’s brown fluid directly underneath the oil pan, 99% it will be the engine oil.
•Look for rust, keep in mind the car will most likely have surface rust all over the underchassis but look for excessive rusting such as this:

This can be very dangerous and I strongly advise you to move on to another car. Look under the rear bumper and the battery for signs of rust.
•Look for loose exhaust components, such as the muffler hanging off or missing straps that support the exhaust system. Again, this can be used to bargain for a lower price or get repaired.
•Check steering parts without raising car by grabbing each front tire at 3 and 9 O’clock and moving the wheel back and forth forcefully while you watch the steering wheel. Should be tight with little or no play between your movement and the steering wheel - if loose - bad tie rod.
•Check ball joint for "ready to fall apart" condition without raising car by grabbing tire at 12 O’clock and pushing and pulling hard, feeling for any looseness. Snap, click or discernible looseness is probably a bad ball joint.
•Check the suspension components, like the shocks, struts. Look for leakage of the shocks or struts. A leaking shock/strut looks like this:

Note the wetness on the shock body, which indicates it’s worn and needs to be replaced. This can be used as an effective bargaining tool. Check strut function at all four corners by bouncing car up and down and watching damping action of struts. New struts will stop bouncing quickly. Old, weak struts will bounce longer. Learn what good struts feel like by bouncing a car with new struts. Struts often weaken this way with no evidence of external leakage.
•Look at the tires, look for even wear (if the tires are not brand new), this will indicate proper alignment and proper tire pressures. If it is low tread in the middle but has good tread on both ends, it indicates it was overinflated. If it has good tread in the middle but nearly bald treads on the sides, it shows it was underinflated. The picture below shows both under and over inflated tires.

•If the car is not hot or has not been driven yet, bang the catalytic converter and listen for rattling, if it rattles, it is time to replace it, this can be costly so this will serve as an effective bargaining tool. For those who do not know where to find the catalytic converter. Here is the typical location:

And a picture of an actual one (most of the time, it’ll be covered with surface rust):

•This would be a good time to quickly inspect for frame damage. Compare all of the frame components, if one looks different, inspect closely and inquire about it if it is not mentioned in Carfax.
•If the car is FWD, take a look at the CV joints and make sure the boots are not damaged or leaking grease.

The fourth step is to pop the hood.
•Take a look; if you see a weird horizontal line that looks dirty, that can indicate a flood car. It’s called a residual water line. Walk, or run away if you can. If there’s a light, even layer of dust all over the engine bay, that’s a sign of being used instead of sitting. Be aware that if the engine bay is very clean, it may mean it’s hiding something or the owner is keeping it clean. Follow your judgment.
•Check the radiator to ensure it has antifreeze in it. Find the overflow tank. If it is hard to find, just look at the neck of the radiator. There should be tubing that leads to the overflow tank. If both are dry or empty, that indicates a problem either with coolant ingestion or leakage.
•Make sure the visible connectors on the wiring harness are plugged in.
•Take a gander at the upper intake manifold and see if you see any leakage; if you do, it indicates that either the lower intake manifold gaskets or the UIM has given away. This can cost you the motor if not fixed.
•Check the battery and grounds for corrosion.
•Check the joints in the A/C system for oil and dirt accumulation that indicate leaking refrigerant, and look at the hood insulator and/or hood for signs of oil/dirt being thrown by a belt.
•If the car is supercharged, make sure it has the drive belt on the pulley, and smell the supercharger’s nose, if it stinks, the oil is old.
•Check all fluids - engine oil, brake, transmission (when the transmission is up to temp) - they should be topped off.
•Take a look at the drive belt, often called a serpentine belt, if it is cracked badly, it will need to be replaced.
•(If the car has not been started yet, start it now and let it come to temperature!) Listen to the engine and the transmission while it comes up to operating temperature. Keep an eye out for leaking under pressure particularly the cooling system (radiator, water pump, and hoses). Also, run to the back to where the exhaust tips are; look for blue, black or white smoke. It can indicate oil burning, rich running, or coolant burning respectively.
•Sniff the exhaust (but don’t sniff too hard), do you smell any oil burning, rich running or the sweet smell of coolant?
•When the car is up to temperature, check the oil pressure and make sure it’s in the correct operating range.
•Run the A/C regardless of weather and listen for unusual noises. The air should be cold and the compressor should be working quietly.
•Put the car through all the gears and listen for clunking or any weird noises.
•When the transmission fluid is up to operating temperature, pull out the transmission dipstick (it has a red handle and/or is marked “trans fluid”), wipe it clean and put back in and wait several minutes. Pull it out again and look to see if it’s in the operating range and is red. If it is a different color and gives off a burnt smell, it indicates the fluid may be original and burnt. This can indicate the car was used to tow heavy loads, or has been abused, among other reasons.
To help identify the color:


The fifth step is to look inside the car.
•Ask the seller: "Does everything work on the car?" and "Are there any problems that you know of - anything that is giving an indication that it might need to be repaired in the near future?" Many sellers will not volunteer information about flaws or problems, but when directly queried, will feel obliged to inform you. Sounds simple, but this may well save you from making a bad purchase. If you are buying from a dealer, ask for the name of the previous owner. Most dealers will not like to give this to you, but most will, if they think you are seriously interested in the car. If the salesman will not give you the name, don't buy the car. When you get the name, contact the previous owner and ask the questions above.
•If the car is a non-smoker, try to smell for mildew or moisture. Due to the hurricanes Katrina and Rita, not every car is labeled as a flood car and can be sold in other states without Carfax knowing.
•Be wary if the car has three new vanilla pine trees hanging from the rear view mirror or otherwise is heavily scented with air freshener. Remove the freshener if possible and try to discern if there is an underlying nasty odor. Cigar smoke in an evaporator, wet carpet, dead body in the trunk, etc. Also be leery if the owner/dealer says the carpet has just been shampooed and hasn’t had time to dry.
•Look up at the headliner, is it sagging? Are the sun visors working? Make sure the grab handles are firmly attached.
•Check the alignment of the seat backs and the resilience of the cushions. Heavy people can damage seats and cause the seating materials to wear prematurely. Check the steering wheel to make sure it is not bent or loose. Really. Some heavy folks use the wheel as a grab handle to hoist themselves out of the seat and bend the wheel as a result.
•Inspect the seat frames underneath to see if they’re surface rusty, which might indicate that water got in.
•Run the seats all the way forward and look underneath them from the back seat with a flashlight. Many detailers will not clean here carefully and you may get an idea of what the car was like before it was "cleaned up." If you find a lot of sticky, greasy, food, it may indicate how the previous owner took care of things. You should just find dust, car wash receipts, and maybe a quarter or two.
•Check the seat belts and shoulder harnesses for soil and wear. Cars that are used for many short trips will show a lot of wear. Short trips are hard on everything. Cars with owners who don’t care about them may show a lot of dirt in the corners and crevices. Look at the brake pedal and at the carpet where the left foot rests, the wear should match the mileage.
•If the car looks like 200K and it reads 45K, this would be a good reason to walk away.
•Look at the edges of the door trim panels. Are they all tight? If some are loose, it probably means that someone was inside to fix something and did not care/know enough to replace any broken plastic retainers. Close the door while you watch the panel for excessive movement. It should be tight.
•Open the glove box, is the owner’s manual there? This would be a good time to ask if there is a collection of receipts for work done.
•If it is not raining outside, feel the carpet for moisture. If you feel moisture, (it’ll be gross but necessary) smell the wet carpet, if it smells like antifreeze, the heater core may have failed or leaked. If it smells like old water, it can be from many things: flooding, forgetting to put the windows up, leaking from the doors/window/trunk. Trust your gut feeling on this.
•Take a look around the car and look for missing or damaged trim pieces (bargaining tool).
•Play with the window switches, if a window doesn’t operate. It can be due to a faulty switch, window regulator or a bad connection. A good bargaining tool, this is.
•Fiddle with the radio, A/C, lights, and anything that has switches. If something doesn’t work, get it repaired (but not included in the price).


The final step is to drive the car.
•It is good to remember that trust is a two-way street. Just as there are unscrupulous sellers, there are also abusive buyers interested only in seeing how hard they can "flog" a car on a test drive. Don't be upset if the owner or salesman wants to go with you on the test ride. It is often helpful to be able to have them along to ask questions like: "does it always make that sound on a left turn?"
•And, if the seller requires that he be present during your mechanic's inspection, don't take it personally. He is only trying to protect his investment. Especially so if the owner does not know the mechanic. For example, something as simple as a compression test - an important part of a good inspection - can result in damage from a poorly skilled technician. Ignition wires can be damaged from improper removal causing an engine miss; plugs can be cracked when the wrench is not square; carefully polished fenders can be scratched by belt buckles, etc. etc.
•When returning from the test drive, look for a clean place to park so that you can look under the car for active leaks. Some don't show up until the cooling system is under pressure or the car has warmed up. Don't shut off engine when you return- let it idle with the air on especially if it is a hot day. Observe the temperature gauge after a few minutes under these conditions. This could reveal a cooling system problem.
•Blinkers working? Brake lights working? Headlights?
•Take it for a drive. If the owner is riding with you; tell him that you want to test the transmission and engine by opening the throttle to cause a downshift. Listen to the engine under load to make sure it pulls smoothly and doesn't ping. If a steep hill is nearby, that is a good place for a load test.
•Do not just take it around the block. If the owner/dealer says to take it around the block and nothing more, chances are he’s trying to hide something. A good owner/dealer will let you take it for a good drive.
•Check the air conditioning and heater while you are driving.
•Are the brakes making any noises? Stopping good and safely?
•Test the brakes on a quick stop, if the owner is riding with you, this would be a good idea to inform him BEFOREHAND! Just feel for excessive dive or hard pulling to either direction.
•While testing the brakes, feel for “pulsing.” This indicates warped or warping rotors.
•Transmission shifting smoothly and quickly? No clunking or banging?
•Car running at temp, not overheating? Oil pressure good?
•Is the steering wheel lined up in the direction the car is going?
•Is there any CEL (Check Engine Lights)? Idiot lights that shouldn’t be on?
•Try to drive the car on every possible road, listen for weird noises (helps if the radio is off).


All of these steps may seem unnecessary. But, remember this: a good eye gets a good car. If the car passes all of those or the dealer has agreed to fix a few flaws or knock the price off due to them and you’re satisfied. Go for it.

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*Gone, but not forgotten* - Black 2000 SSEi, HIR Headlights, Angel Eyes fogs, 3rd brake light overlay, hi-flo cat, 180 degree thermostat, HS 1.9 rockers, LSx yellow springs, Intense FWI, PCM, shift kit, push rods, and 3.4 Pulley. ZZP Power Log.