first,let me say i will never buy another make of car other than honda so im on about hondas in this post...in theory all cars can be all the same when checking them over,but all i know is honda
when going to buy a car,you need to be incharge,dont leave the looks of a car rule your heart unless you check it out first.what you need to do
when you arrive to see the car in question, make sure the car hasent being running and switched off just before you arrive.
2 ways to check this ..1st feel the bonnet,,2nd look at the tempeture reading in the car....the reason being,if a car is stone cold,you can tell if its piston rings are worn there and then.
start up the car and run to the back straight away,look at the exhaust.
if a ring or puff of blue smoke comes out,walk away..the only colour that should come out[PROVIDING THE CAR IS STONE COLD]is greyish..thats only condinsation.and every car has that when it first starts in the morning
if the car is warmed,dont be alarmed because you can still check if its burnind oil
when the car is hot,switch off the engiene and check the dip stick,,there should be no white mayonaise like stuff on the stick,then check the cap,,where the oil goes in,,,check for the same mayonaise stuff there
if theres not,it dosent mean its good,you need to check 2 more things.
1 start the car up[if you have a mate its handy]then rev the car right to the limiter,,see if there is any smoke from the exhaust,,any blue or white,walk away.there could be a small bit of black,but small is the word in mind..thats only carbon build up.
2 .now while the car is running go to the engiene and pull out the dip stick[yes while the car is running]it will do no harm as its just for a few seconds...pull on the throttle body and rev it and look for smoke coming up the tube where the dip stick goes.shouldnt be smoke there at all...while you have the dip stick out,check the coulor of the oil..its the only way to see that it has been serviced.
black oil=needs to be changed browny yellow=just serviced.thats the engiene part done...electrics now and to be honest.a child can check this,,,,make sure everything works from lights to windows to even the heaters.if somthind dont work,haggle with the price.
he might say its only a fuse,but what if its the motor for your electric window???or the element for the heater???this stuff dosent put me off a car,once the engiene is good,and its not a cut and shut,its good.
motors and fuses are down to wear and tear thats all..but if he insists its only a fuse,well check them to see if its blown.THE TEST DRIVE does the car go in a straight line when you leave the wheel go??? try this when you apply the brakes also if not,its tracking and just to be sure,check all ball joints and wishbones.to check this.go to all the wheels and shake them hard from side to side,in and out..there should be very little play,,too much play=somthing needs replacing
THE SUSPENSION TEST on each corner of the car theres a spring,,push down hard and leave go.
1 bounce is all shouls happen,if it bounces more than that you need shocksTHE GEARBOX AND CLUTCH a clutch pedal should be light with a bit of spring in it,the harder you need to apply pressure from your foot the less life the clutch has left.
while were on this subject,put your head right in to the back of the peddals and look at the clutch just as it dissapears in through the well of the engiene to see if theres fluid dripping from it,,if there is,its your slave cilinder[most likley your master cilinder is worn out too]and these are expensive to replace,,as for the gearbox see if theres any crunch between gears[especially between 2nd and third]how i check also is take off in 1st then put it in to 4th and floor the accelerator,it shouldnt pop out of gear.
i think thats all you need to know,but if i have missed anything or have any questions,let me know and il do my best to assist you...you can tell alot also from the seller,leave him do all the talking.
when i was buying my prelude we went for a spin[seller drove]and he drove the ;;;; out of it,i was yhinking of walking even though there was nothing i could see wrong with the car.he then said,,dont drive like this when the car is cold,and 2nd its a vtec,dont use cheap oil,pay extra money for the good stuff.
i knew the car was looked after from that.i have it now nearly 2 years and touch wood it never gave me trouble and i do a lot of driving and hard driving at that..the only thing that went wrong was the slave and master cilinders,and when they were pulled out they were the original honda parts from day 1..not bad for 15 years old.it dosent burn oil either,not 1 drop,and thats strange to me,but im not complaining...i think mr honda himself came back from the dead and build this 1just for me?????
no,its just down to the simple fact=if you look after a honda,it will out live you and thats a fact...down the road from me is a man with the very first mark 1 honda civic,do i need to say anymore???? hope this info serves who ever well
when going to buy a car,you need to be incharge,dont leave the looks of a car rule your heart unless you check it out first.what you need to do
when you arrive to see the car in question, make sure the car hasent being running and switched off just before you arrive.
2 ways to check this ..1st feel the bonnet,,2nd look at the tempeture reading in the car....the reason being,if a car is stone cold,you can tell if its piston rings are worn there and then.
start up the car and run to the back straight away,look at the exhaust.
if a ring or puff of blue smoke comes out,walk away..the only colour that should come out[PROVIDING THE CAR IS STONE COLD]is greyish..thats only condinsation.and every car has that when it first starts in the morning
if the car is warmed,dont be alarmed because you can still check if its burnind oil
when the car is hot,switch off the engiene and check the dip stick,,there should be no white mayonaise like stuff on the stick,then check the cap,,where the oil goes in,,,check for the same mayonaise stuff there
if theres not,it dosent mean its good,you need to check 2 more things.
1 start the car up[if you have a mate its handy]then rev the car right to the limiter,,see if there is any smoke from the exhaust,,any blue or white,walk away.there could be a small bit of black,but small is the word in mind..thats only carbon build up.
2 .now while the car is running go to the engiene and pull out the dip stick[yes while the car is running]it will do no harm as its just for a few seconds...pull on the throttle body and rev it and look for smoke coming up the tube where the dip stick goes.shouldnt be smoke there at all...while you have the dip stick out,check the coulor of the oil..its the only way to see that it has been serviced.
black oil=needs to be changed browny yellow=just serviced.thats the engiene part done...electrics now and to be honest.a child can check this,,,,make sure everything works from lights to windows to even the heaters.if somthind dont work,haggle with the price.
he might say its only a fuse,but what if its the motor for your electric window???or the element for the heater???this stuff dosent put me off a car,once the engiene is good,and its not a cut and shut,its good.
motors and fuses are down to wear and tear thats all..but if he insists its only a fuse,well check them to see if its blown.THE TEST DRIVE does the car go in a straight line when you leave the wheel go??? try this when you apply the brakes also if not,its tracking and just to be sure,check all ball joints and wishbones.to check this.go to all the wheels and shake them hard from side to side,in and out..there should be very little play,,too much play=somthing needs replacing
THE SUSPENSION TEST on each corner of the car theres a spring,,push down hard and leave go.
1 bounce is all shouls happen,if it bounces more than that you need shocksTHE GEARBOX AND CLUTCH a clutch pedal should be light with a bit of spring in it,the harder you need to apply pressure from your foot the less life the clutch has left.
while were on this subject,put your head right in to the back of the peddals and look at the clutch just as it dissapears in through the well of the engiene to see if theres fluid dripping from it,,if there is,its your slave cilinder[most likley your master cilinder is worn out too]and these are expensive to replace,,as for the gearbox see if theres any crunch between gears[especially between 2nd and third]how i check also is take off in 1st then put it in to 4th and floor the accelerator,it shouldnt pop out of gear.
i think thats all you need to know,but if i have missed anything or have any questions,let me know and il do my best to assist you...you can tell alot also from the seller,leave him do all the talking.
when i was buying my prelude we went for a spin[seller drove]and he drove the ;;;; out of it,i was yhinking of walking even though there was nothing i could see wrong with the car.he then said,,dont drive like this when the car is cold,and 2nd its a vtec,dont use cheap oil,pay extra money for the good stuff.
i knew the car was looked after from that.i have it now nearly 2 years and touch wood it never gave me trouble and i do a lot of driving and hard driving at that..the only thing that went wrong was the slave and master cilinders,and when they were pulled out they were the original honda parts from day 1..not bad for 15 years old.it dosent burn oil either,not 1 drop,and thats strange to me,but im not complaining...i think mr honda himself came back from the dead and build this 1just for me?????
no,its just down to the simple fact=if you look after a honda,it will out live you and thats a fact...down the road from me is a man with the very first mark 1 honda civic,do i need to say anymore???? hope this info serves who ever well
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