Hey guys, ChrisFix here,
today, I'm gonna show you how to inspect a used car before you buy it.
I just drove by this car for sale on the side of the road,
so I'm gonna go take a look at it and show you everything that I normally look at
when checking out a used car.
Now there's no owner to open the doors, so I can't go for a test drive or anything like that.
I literally just saw this on the side of the road,
and I'm seeing this car for the first time with you guys.
So I'm gonna show you how to figure out if it's worth
the time and effort to call up the owner and go for a test drive.
Now the best part is, anybody could inspect a used car,
you don't need to be a car expert.
You just need to know what to look at,
and I'm gonna show you all of that.
So let's begin.
Now when inspecting a used car,
there are five main things to look at.
The first thing you need to look at is the For Sale sign.
It gives you a ton of information, such as mileage and price,
sometimes that price is so ridiculously high it's not even worth your time,
cause you'll never negotiate it down to your buying point.
If all of that checks out,
the second thing you're gonna look at is the body.
You're gonna look at dents, scratches,
rust, and stuff like that.
The third thing we're gonna look at, are the wheels and tires,
because tires and wheels could get expensive,
and it's definitely important that your tires are in good shape.
The fourth thing we're gonna look at, is the interior.
Since we can't get in the car,
we're gonna look through the window.
But we're gonna look for stuff like rips, tears,
and any options the car has.
And number five, the last thing we're gonna look at,
is underneath the car.
You're gonna look for any rust, leaks,
and any damage to the frame
that indicates that it might have been in an accident.
This might seem like a lot to remember,
But I made it really simple for you,
and in the description is a link to my
to my how to buy a used car checklist.
This way you can print this out, keep it in your car,
and you wont forget to inspect anything
when you see a used car on the side of the road.
It's all right here,
and you can even take notes,
so let's get started.
The for sale sign is gonna give you tons of information.
You wanna look at the year, which is an '04;
this is an X-Type;
this is the 2.5, cause they did make a 3.0
The mileage is very important,
and then it gives you some information.
It says it runs great,
needs nothing, all-wheel drive, navigation, sunroof.
Over here it says text and call,
and you always call, I'll show you how to do that,
at the end of this video, I'll explain the best questions to ask 'em,
and then he has his original price crossed off,
and then it says reduced to 3,000.
Now this is a little trick people use
cause then you feel like 'Okay, I don't have to negotiate,
I already got 500 dollars off,'
but don't fall for it.
Just focus on the actual price,
which is three grand.
And if they don't include a price on their for sale sign,
then don't even bother with the car.
Think about it,
would you shop in a store that doesn't have prices on its items?
No!
So don't waste your time,
that's one tip I've learned after looking at thousands of used cars.
So now that we've looked at the for sale sign,
let's go look at number two, the body of the car.
Alright, this is what everybody's good at,
inspecting the body of the car.
You're just gonna be looking at the bodywork,
to see if there's any damage.
So let's start at the front here,
right away something that grabbed my eye is this scratch right here.
Unfortunately, even a little scratch like this,
could cost you a lot of money.
So this brings up the important point of
you have to figure out what you're looking for.
If blemishes like this don't bother you,
scratches and dents can significantly drop the price of the car,
cause people really focus on looks,
and that ends up working in your favor.
And don't think that fixing scratches and dents is easy.
Even to remove a dent like this,
could be up to 100 bucks.
And then if there's a scratch where you need to do some paintwork,
matching paint, especially on an older car, is difficult.
So just keep stuff like that in mind.
Now if you care about scratches, and you saw this,
I'd walk away from the car,
because this would be an expensive fix.
Even though for this purchase I don't mind some scratches,
these are pretty bad.
And speaking about scratches,
here's a really useful tip;
when you're looking at the body of the car,
never inspect a wet car.
Whether it's from rain, or the car's just been washed,
water's gonna hide scratches and dents.
Now if we come around to the passenger side,
there are some scratches here on the door, that have been touched-up,
but they didn't match the paint very well.
And then if you're looking at the rocker panel here,
looks like there's a hole covered by Duct Tape.
Yeah, that's a hole.
And there's a dent here.
But that hole is pretty bad, and it's gonna need some repair work.
And then there's a dent right up here at the front quarter panel,
which stands out pretty good,
I noticed that when I first saw the car.
Even worse is this front bumper,
which they really should have just left alone,
looks like they tried to glue it or something.
And that's gonna be a pain to fix.
So overall, the body's just in fair condition.
It's on the edge of what I would purchase,
but I think these problems will help me knock down the price,
and just because this is gonna be a commuter car for the city,
it's not a deal breaker for me.
Now that we're at the front of the car,
the next thing to look at are these headlights.
You can see these are all hazed up,
and these headlights can get expensive.
But you know I have a permanent fix,
which is pretty cheap, so this isn't a big deal.
Now's also a good time to check out the glass.
Look for any cracks or chips,
because glass could get expensive.
On this jag, it costs over 500 dollars to replace the windshield.
While you're inspecting the glass,
be sure to look at different angles,
because sometimes chips are hard to see.
And since we're looking at the glass,
check the inspection sticker,
because that'll give you an idea if the car needs to get inspected soon.
Also, if the inspection is not up to date,
there could be a problem with the car,
or the car has been sitting for a while.
You could also check out the brake rotors to see if the car has been sitting.
On this car, you can see the rotors are shiny,
which means it's been used recently,
but if you see rusty rotors,
that could indicate that the car has been sitting for a while.
And I look for this, because cars are designed to be driven,
so if they sit for a long time,
they could develop problems that might not pop up on a test drive.
Now that's how you check out the body of the car,
we did a great job covering everything,
we have a good idea of the condition of the body of this car.
So let's go look at the next thing;
the wheels and tires.
So we're gonna see how much life the tires have left;
but before that,
let's make sure all four wheels and tires are the same,
and not damaged.
So the first thing we wanna do is make sure all four tires are the same.
In the front we have BF Goodrichs,
I checked the other side, and it's the same.
Now I checked the rear, and both rear tires are the same;
but they're a different brand from the front.
Now this isn't the greatest setup,
but as long as the tires are all the same size,
and as long as the tires in the front match,
and the tires in the rear match,
that's okay.
What you don't want to see, is a different tire on each corner.
Next make sure all your rims are the same.
I had a friend who bought a car,
and there were two of the same rim on one side,
but on the other side the rims were different,
and he didn't even notice this,
until I pointed it out after he bought the car.
Now I don't know about you,
but these wheels do not look good on this car,
at all.
On top of that,
these wheels have a ton of curb rash,
all around the rim, and the paint is chipping off,
so this right here is a big expense.
The last thing to check
is how much life do the tires have left,
since new tires are expensive.
To do this, if you have some loose change,
grab a penny,
and use the top of Abe Lincoln's head,
and put it in the groove of the tire.
In the front, Abe Lincoln's head is covered by the tread,
so there is plenty of tread left,
but in the rear, you can see the top of Abe Lincoln's head.
Which means you need new tires.
And if you don't have a penny,
there is a wear indicator band
in the tread of the tire.
So when that band is touching the edge of the tread,
that means you need new tires,
right away.
Now these rear tires here, would be dangerous to drive on
in the rain or the snow.
Make sure you go ahead and check each tire,
and on this car, the front tires are in good shape,
but the rear tires need to be replaced.
Tires are very important for safety,
and they can get expensive,
plus most people don't think about checking tires on a used car.
Now that we're done looking at the wheels and tires,
let's take a look at the interior.
Since the owner isn't here to open the door for us,
we're gonna have to look through the glass,
but there'll be plenty to look at,
so let's take a look and see.
So you're looking at anything that stands out.
The first thing i look at
is to see if the car is an automatic or a manual.
This is an automatic, which is what I'm looking for.
Then take a look at the seats,
and see if there are any rips or tears.
These seats look like they're in great shape,
next look at the steering wheel,
and see if it's worn out.
And again, this looks like it's in good condition.
Also, check out the headliner, to see if it's sagging anywhere,
and in this case it looks good in the front,
and in the rear.
And the rear seats and carpets
look like they're in good shape as well,
except I do see a cut along the middle of the seat.
So that pretty much covers the interior.
Now, for the last thing we're gonna look at,
let's check under the car.
I'm starting at the front of the car,
and the sub-frame looks straight,
and it isn't rusted,
next I'm looking for any leaks over by the engine,
and there aren't any visible leaks.
Which is good.
So now we'll go from the front of the car,
to the side, and we'll work our way around.
These jags are known to have problems with rusting
right under the rocker panels.
So let's see if there's any rust underneath,
and looking over here, this looks surprisingly good
I actually checked out one Jaguar where I touched this,
and the metal broke off in my hand.
So if you have an interest in a particular car,
definitely do a little research,
so you know what to look for while you're inspecting the used car.
Now the other thing is, make sure you look at the frame,
and that looks straight, and there's no rust on that either.
Looking towards the center of the car,
everything is rust-free, and it all looks really good.
Now let's move to the rear.
Under the rear, a good thing to look at
is this spare tire carrier,
because if the car was in a significant rear end collision,
it's really hard for body shops to unbend this metal,
so there would be obvious crumples or damage to this piece of metal if it was hit hard.
Looking at the exhaust, it's rust free, which is great.
The rear suspension looks really good,
there's no rust, the shocks aren't leaking.
I don't see any oil or grease anywhere.
Where the differential is, I don't see any leaks.
And looking at the other side, everything looks good there as well.
So let's quickly check out the other side,
and this side looks good, with no rust,
everything looks straight and solid,
and the underside of this car was pretty good compared to some of the other cars I've been seeing.
Alright, and that covers the five main areas you should look at
when inspecting a used car.
Hopefully the video was helpful,
and if you have your own tips, leave them in the comments section below,
because I'm sure there's gonna be a ton of people looking for all the tips they can get.
Stay tuned for the next video,
where I show you what questions to ask when you call the owner up on the phone.
I'll also show you all the tips and trick I have,
for when you take the car out for a test drive.
And also, don't forget,
you can download the ChrisFix used car checklist,
with the link in the description.