Hopefully my new baby

[lucid15]

So im going to test drive this car on Saturday... 1997 Eagle Talon TSI Any things i can look for without bringing any tools with me? I will be coming from a meeting so i wont be able to bring anything with me. If i like it i will go back the next day and buy it. I'm not very knowledgeable on cars, should i drive in a circle and test for a bad crank?(heard that on here). What do you think?

Oh and by the way, i'm painting the rims black if i get it. Lol, that red is just hideous.

 

[blcknspo0ln]

The hidden problems will not be seen without tools. Test for the usual:

grinding, noises, popping sounds, rough starts, all interior works, all exterior works

Inspect the engine bay, even if you don't know what you are looking at, just look for shitty work. It'll be apparent if you see someone use too much RTV on an install or if an install just looks plain ugly. Someone who cares about their car won't make things look ugly.

Also, ask the person to take you for a test drive (do not admit you can drive it). The key is to see how this person drives the car. If they take you out and do 6k launches, you know they didn't take good care of it.

Shift it fast and hard, see if there is any grinding.

Most importantly, rent a compression tester and do a compression test.

Check UNDER the car (sorry for your slacks!) for oil seeped parts, this will indicate how bad some seals are.

Check the radiator overflow bottle, see what color the coolant is.

Oh, bring a camera and take pictures of EVERYTHING, then post em back on here for feedback.

 

[dsm03]

Well, You can almost never tell if the car runs or drives good to see if there is anything wrong mechanically. Sometimes it seems right then a few days later something fails and you cant figure it out. Just check for the visible things body make sure there isnt any major rust or none at all, cracked bumpers, skirts etc.. See if all brakes are functional, hand brake, suspension, ball joints, cv axle.. all the common things that would naturally wear out. Engine: check for oil leaks around the valve cover any coolant leaks im sure you get the picture now.. Oh and BTW I like the rims its a good look! Your car though do what you like.. And GOOD LUCK !!!

 

[snowborder714]

Without bringing any tools, I would go look it over and take it for a drive (various speeds, turning, braking, etc.). You could also take a bunch of pictures and post them up here and see what we notice. I would also ask the seller to bring any receipts, especially for the timing belt job.

Then if you like it, go back the next day with some tools (at least a compression tester).

 

[lucid15]

Well, i wont be able to get an accurate way of telling how he drives the car. He's selling it for his son who moved away. I think he said they bought it new, so maybe the only owner. He said the exterior is flawless no scratches or dents ANYWHERE. Interior is flawless except for the drivers seat which has a dime sized tear. Other than that he said it drives perfect, and he does not know of any problems whatsoever. If i want to know more about the car i can call his son and ask him more.

 

[snowborder714]

I'd also run a CARFAX report on it. This is helpful and will also tell you how many owners the car has had.

 

[erald01]

From the pics the car looks pretty stock, butthe CARFAX would be your answer and it has been mine for a lot of times when invetigatin a car before buying it.

 

[Defiant]

CARFAX is great. If the crash was reported to the police.

 

[DSM1G90]

Yea, get a test drive and take it in a mall parking lot where you got tons of room and give it the works to test about everything one can think of - steering, braking (including emergency braking), straight runs (slow and WOTs), high speed turns, et.al.

For it looks that this has been modded some, thus wonder if you could get papers on who did the mods to back this claim that is posted in this site.