jdigitty
10+ Year Contributor
- 155
- 1
- Aug 1, 2009
-
lakewood,
Washington
I got this idea from dsm03. I'm not working right now so i went ahead and put together a list of thing you look for/do when buying a car. You have to rember these cars are geting old and most times you get what you pay for.
Feel free to add to the list this is for everyones good.
Things you should look for when buying a car.
Rust
Do a compression test.
Paper work i.e. title, registration
Any leaks
Random wires
Vented bov with stock maf chances are he/she didnt know or care about the car.
Boost controller with no supporting mods.
"quiz" the owner to see how much he/she knows about it chances are are if he knows a good amout he took care of it.
If he/she are saying the car has this or that ask for recips and verify that its there.
Test drive it listen for unnormal sounds.
While on the test drive check the alignment make sure it doesnt pull to one side
Turn wheel from lock to lock make sure it smooth.
Ask when was the last the timing belt and water pump changed.
Check under spare tire for rust.
Look under the car don't where nice clothes, unless you willing to get them dirty.
Check all the fluids when you pull the dipstick check it for any metal shavings.
Don't go look at a car at night time or on a rainy day rain and night hide stuff.
Check the tires make sure they have decent tread and don't have dry rot or bumps.
Check tie rods and end links.
Let the car idle to see if it overheats.
Turn everything on i.e. wiper lights heat air conditioning.
Check the coolant overflow to see if there's a lot of rust build up.
Turbo shaft play.
End play in the crank. aka crank walk
Boost leak test if possible.
Try to check TDC's if possible.
Run it WOT & see if it smokes, see if it hesitates, has significant knock, spark blowout, fuel cut, etc... any odd reaction at WOT essentially
Check transmission bell housing for cracks.
You should also try to shift through all gears at almost every RPM possible. high & slow, and look for any resistance in shifting, crunching in which gears, any problems selecting them? Could point towards worn synchros, dragging clutch.
Ripped cv boots
hacked wiring
Thats all I have for now. You have to remember when our buying a moded car you never know exactly what your getting into.
Hope this helps someone out.
Contributing DSMers FLASH1970, evo1rice, Talonevo, Iporte01, crazysidriver, NaturalTravesty,
Feel free to add to the list this is for everyones good.
Things you should look for when buying a car.
Rust
Do a compression test.
Paper work i.e. title, registration
Any leaks
Random wires
Vented bov with stock maf chances are he/she didnt know or care about the car.
Boost controller with no supporting mods.
"quiz" the owner to see how much he/she knows about it chances are are if he knows a good amout he took care of it.
If he/she are saying the car has this or that ask for recips and verify that its there.
Test drive it listen for unnormal sounds.
While on the test drive check the alignment make sure it doesnt pull to one side
Turn wheel from lock to lock make sure it smooth.
Ask when was the last the timing belt and water pump changed.
Check under spare tire for rust.
Look under the car don't where nice clothes, unless you willing to get them dirty.
Check all the fluids when you pull the dipstick check it for any metal shavings.
Don't go look at a car at night time or on a rainy day rain and night hide stuff.
Check the tires make sure they have decent tread and don't have dry rot or bumps.
Check tie rods and end links.
Let the car idle to see if it overheats.
Turn everything on i.e. wiper lights heat air conditioning.
Check the coolant overflow to see if there's a lot of rust build up.
Turbo shaft play.
End play in the crank. aka crank walk
Boost leak test if possible.
Try to check TDC's if possible.
Run it WOT & see if it smokes, see if it hesitates, has significant knock, spark blowout, fuel cut, etc... any odd reaction at WOT essentially
Check transmission bell housing for cracks.
You should also try to shift through all gears at almost every RPM possible. high & slow, and look for any resistance in shifting, crunching in which gears, any problems selecting them? Could point towards worn synchros, dragging clutch.
Ripped cv boots
hacked wiring
Thats all I have for now. You have to remember when our buying a moded car you never know exactly what your getting into.
Hope this helps someone out.
Contributing DSMers FLASH1970, evo1rice, Talonevo, Iporte01, crazysidriver, NaturalTravesty,
Last edited:
unfortunately I missed it.
