What facts and points have to be considered when buying a second hand car?

There are several types of second hand cars.  A second hand car may be imported one (several countries of Asia and Africa allow import of second had car form Japan and these are called “Reconditioned car”) or one can buy from local user or second hand car dealer. 

Things to consider while buying a second hand car:  

1.       Make, Model and year of Manufacture:  Say for example, Toyota Premio,

2.       Engine CC: Always buy car above  fifteen hundred CC, if you want run Aircon.

3.       Odometer reading:  Around fifty to sixty thousand kilometer

4.       Age: five to six years

5.       Checking : Engine test report, Fuel consumption report and overall checking in reputed workshop at your cost  

It may be mentioned here that  you may resell Toyota  brand car again at a very good price.after using for five years when the odometer reading will be one hundred thousand kilometers.

The most important thing is examined in a specialized office examination mailIt must not be more than five years old

There are many things to look for when purchasing a used car but one important factor is to give the car a physical check before making your final decision. Part 1 Checking the car's form Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 11 Make sure that the car is on level ground before checking it out. This is to ensure that you will be able to clearly check the tires and to see if there is anything sagging on the car. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 22 Carefully check the paint job of the car, taking note of any rust spots, dents or scratches. The car should be clean so the paint condition is visible. Look at the sides of the car from end-on for waviness; that indicates paint work. Run your finger along the edges of the joints between panels; roughness indicates residue left from masking tape. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 33 Check the trunk of the car to make sure it is still in good condition. It should not show any sign of rust, or water entry due to cracks or holes. Wear inside of the trunk indicates usage of the car. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 164 Check the tires. The tires should be worn evenly and they should match. Look at the surface of the tire for feathering (bad alignment). Bad alignment can be caused by worn steering/suspension components, the pothole down the street or frame damage. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 175 Never buy a frame damaged car. Check the saddle (connects the front fenders and holds the top of the radiator). It may be welded or bolted in. Inspect the bolt heads at the top of the fenders inside the hood; scratch marks indicates that the fenders have been replaced or realigned (after a crash). Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 236 Try to get under the car when it is safely raised and inspect the exhaust system or any under-body rust. Look for any black spots on the exhaust system because this can indicate leaking. This is also a good time to inspect for frame or unibody damage. Check the exhaust with your finger. Greasy grime means important problem. Turn the car on. White vapor (not in a cold climate) is a bad sign too. Part 2 Checking under the hood Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 41 Check under the hood of the car for any indication of dents, damage or rust. These can all be signs that the car was either poorly taken care of or damaged. Each fender, just inside where the hood joins, should have a decal with the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) of the car. If the decal is not there, it does not necessarily indicate the fender was replaced; the location of the VIN is manufacture-dependent. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 52 Check the hoses and belts. They should not have cracks. The radiator hoses should not be soft. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 123 Inspect the engine for any sort of leaks, or corrosion. On the engine block, look for any dark brown oil stains, this will indicate that there is a leak in a gasket, and could possibly lead to an expensive repair in the future. Check the brake fluid, and reservoir to make sure its is not leaking. The belts should look new (i.e. not have cracks or signs of drying). Old belts can snap, and if you do not know how to replace them, it will cost between $100 – $500 depending on which belt goes bad. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 134 Remove the oil filler cap. A foam residue on the inside indicates a leaking head gasket. Forget that car. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 145 Pull the transmission dipstick; the fluid should be pink or red. An old car may be dark but it should not look or smell burnt. It should also be full (check with the engine running). Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 156 Check the timing belt. This is the most important belt in the engine, and is also the most costly to replace. If the car is equipped with a steel timing chain, you don't have to worry about this. Normal lifespan of a timing belt is from 60 – 100+ thousand miles; this depends on the manufacturer. Part 3 Checking inside the car Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 61 Go inside the car. Check the seats and upholstery of the car for any tears, rips, stains, or other type of damage. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 72 Check to make sure the air-conditioning of the car is working well by turning it on. If air conditioning is a must, buy a car with R134 coolant. Most cars fitted with R134 are 1993 or newer and have a sticker on the AC Condenser. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 83 Check the odometer of the car for the mileage. This is important because the mileage indicates the car’s age. On the average, a normal driver will drive between 10,000 to 15,000 miles (16,000 to 24,000 km) a year; however, this depends on many factors. Remember, cars age by time and mileage. Buying a 10 year old car with very low miles is not necessarily a good thing. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 204 Find out if the car has a computer on board. Bring with you an inexpensive computer to check for errors. At any auto store they have inexpensive devices with prices around $150. However, most cheaper generic code readers are fairly limited in what they can access. For a car that has an on board computer, pay attention to the warnings right when you start the car or when you turn the key or the start button. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 21 Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 225 Verify the lights and all the regular functions of the car when not moving. This includes: any sensors for parking, back parking camera, radio, CD, music installation, etc. Part 4 Testing the car while driving Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 91 Test drive the car before making any final decisions. This is perhaps one of the best ways to know the condition of the car. Hence, a buyer should make all effort to do a test drive first before coming to any decisions. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 112 Be sure to check the brakes of the car by pressing down hard enough on the brakes to decelerate rapidly, but not enough to slide. Try this going around 30 mph (48 km/h) in an area without traffic. You should not feel any vibration from the brake pedal, or hear any squealing or strange noises. Brakes that pulsate indicate the need for having the rotors resurfaced or replaced and new pads installed. It should not swerve; this can be caused by a bad brake caliper or worn steering components. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 183 Check for small trepidation at 45 / 55 / 65 / 75 mph (121 km/h). Slight trepidation during a small speed interval may mean wear at the direction mechanical parts which may cost between 400 to 1500 to repair. These may include joints / arms etc. This may go together with uneven wear at the front tire(s). Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 194 Check for sounds, trepidation or clunking noise when making a 90 degree turn. Do this at low speed. This means again, wear at the front direction level: joints need to be changed. Part 5 Reaching your decision Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 101 Check out the car's service history which should give you some information regarding the performances, repairs, and problems of the car. Ideally, the current owner would have kept a record of the times when the car needed servicing and should be willing to show you this information. Some cars do not have maintenance records because they maintained them at home. This should be fine as long as they can prove they maintained the car properly. There are instances where used cars are sold because of past accidents or negative experiences. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 242 Bring someone who knows cars. It is a good idea to bring along a trusted friend with a good background of automotive know-how to check things that you are not sure of. If you do not have a trusted friend in the auto industry you can pay a mechanic to complete an inspection on it for around 75 – 100 bucks. Make sure this mechanic has good reviews so you will not get scammed into thinking the car is a lemon. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 253 Do not pay sticker price. A used car is a negotiable item. Do not feel the need to pay the price they are asking. The dealer bought this car at a low price, and is turning around and selling it for much more than they purchased it with the notion that they might have to lower that sticker price. Depending on the quality of the vehicle, feel free to offer a price. Be sure that it is a reasonable offer. If the dealer is asking $15,000, do not offer $10,000. It is merely an insult by doing this. If the car is over $10,000, try to negotiate at least $1,500 off of the car. You can pre-qualify yourself at your bank or at a Credit Union. That will determine what you can spend for a car. Try to buy a car that is less than they tell you. Most people try to buy more car than they can really afford. Remember, no matter how good that car is today, it is going to require maintenance in the future. Use parts of the car that are unflattering to your advantage. If a car is not the color you are looking for, tell the dealer "I really like the car, but I don't like that it is green, that is the only thing holding me back from buying it." The dealer will see that you want it, and find some way to get you into that car. Image titled Check out a Used Car Before Buying It Step 264 Bring a pen, paper and cell phone with you are purchasing from a private sale. As you make your inspection of the car be sure to record all items which are damaged or will require replacement. If needed also remind the buyer that you will be taking the vehicle to your own personal mechanic so they do not think the list is for theirs. After you have collected a list of what you believe the car will require you can telephone auto parts stores to check the price and availability of replacement parts. Once you know how much the car will cost to repair if you buy it you can make an informed decision on what you would like to pay as well as increase the likelihood that the seller may reduce their asking price. Be careful while doing this because some sellers may think it's rude by doing this. He may decide not to sell to you.

1. The Test Drive 2. The Aesthetics: Inside and Out 3. The Leak Test 4. Research Reviews on the Make and Model 5. Research Price 6. Mechanic Inspection 7. Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles 8. Buyer’s Remorse 9. Decode the VIN 10. Vehicle History Report

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The following points needed to be checked,

Check for the vehicle performance so that atleast you can run the vehicle for 2 years without any major corrections

Total km's travelled, because speedometer replacement may not show the actual reading, hence checking few other facts like Engine overhauling details is a must

Year of Manufacture and related km's covered should be reasonable

Few details like tyre replacement pattern, service cost, oil changing frequency etc., will give us how well car has been maintained by first hand

Always check for hire purchase cancellation in RC book, if applicable

Look for abnormal sounds during idling and running so that will indicate any probable failure mode.

More importantly we need to spend few amount to correct few things seat cover and similar products by replacement

Hello Team,

Think about your real needs for everyday driving. Write down what you need from your car and what you want your car to have and arrange the items in the order of importance. For example: 1. Must be cheap on gas, because I drive a lot.2. Must be reliable, because I don't want to spend too much on repairs. 3. It must have good rear seat space to fit a child seat.4. Must have side airbags and antilock brakes. 5. Must have a cruise control. 6. It's nice if it will look sporty. 7. I'd love to have an auxiliary input for my iPod. Now it's easy; if good gas mileage is your priority, start with fuel economy ratings (see next paragraph) and make a list of cars that you like that are good on gas. Check the Autotrader and see which of these models are available within your price range and scratch those that aren't. Check reliability ratings of remaining models and scratch off the poorly-rated ones and so on. In the end, you are going to have three or four models left on your list and you are ready to start shopping. By the way, if one day you really need a big truck to haul something, you can just rent one; it's not that expensive. And if the weather is nice, you can rent a convertible for a weekend too; just book it in advance. If you really need an auxiliary jack for your iPod and the car doesn't have one, you can buy an aftermarket iPod adaptor; it's easy to install.

Regards,

 

Saiyid

Thanks

I support the answer given by Mr. Fazlur

Consideration for buying a second hand car would be:

Ownership confirmation of the seller

Car must not be involved in a major road accident and then repaired

No of KMs done

Major repairs gone

Availability of spare parts and service technicians

Fuel consumption.

 

Second hand cars term is no more used.

We generally call these type of cars now as PRE-OWNED CARS.

This is because these cars have still a considerable residual,reliable life left.

Imp Pts  which require  consideration are whether there is any independent and third party certifying the serviceability of the car and  ready  to do handholding for buyer for at least  1-2 years.

A confident ecosystem will help develop a vibrant USED CAR market at par with the new market.

I leave the answer to the experts, specialists in this field that's not my specialty field