Editor’s Note: Jim Maddox is a mechanic and owner of Jim’s Automotive on Lead Avenue. Maddox said today’s market is a “buyer beware market” when it comes to used vehicles. Luckily, he gave the Lobo some hints for prospective student buyers.
Daily Lobo: What should you look for when visually inspecting a car for the first time?
Jim Maddox: The very first thing that people normally check for is if it’s pretty, but we want to look beyond the pretty.
Do a visual walk around the car, looking for different shades of paint. Sometimes this requires 20 feet or more between you and the car. Does the front fender match the door? Does the rear bumper match the rear fender? If these don’t match, it’s an indication that it’s been in an accident.
Look at the exterior of the tire for weather cracking, cracks you could grab a hold of with your fingernail need to be replaced. If you stand a penny, Lincoln, on his head down in the tread, if it covers up his forehead, you are in good shape. If you can see it, (the tire) needs to be replaced. If one side of the tire is bald, and the other isn’t you have an alignment problem of some sort.
With the hood open and the engine running, it should be very quiet. It should be smooth, no clunking.
The cleanliness of the engine is also important. If it’s pristine clean, it may have been detailed to cover up tell-tale signs of wear or oil leaks. A lot of women open the hood and say ‘look at that, it sparkles’, and that might be bad. Dealers like to spit shine and polish to make everything look like new. Check under the car for oil stains, that kind of thing. They never get the bottom as clean as the top.
DL: What should you look for to determine if a car has been in an accident?
JM: Open the trunk, open the door, look at the seams; look for things that just don’t look right. Somebody can make it look pretty, but if it’s been in an accident, it’s worth less money… There could be some poor repairs, like welding joints and seams together incorrectly. People buy salvage titles, take them home and shine them up and make them pretty… but (sometimes) they have done a really crappy job repairing the damage.
DL: Should you research makes and models before buying?
JM: Yes, edmunds.com, Consumer Report, Road and Track, those are your reliable sources to go to. Do a little bit of research as to what this car is selling for. If a person wants $5,000 for a car and you get online and the same condition car is $3,500, what is the reason for that? Could be low mileage … good maintenance.
DL: Should you ask for maintenance records on a car?
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JM: If I was looking for a used car and someone’s got a half inch thick stack of receipts, you can find out, with a little bit of digging when the battery was replaced, when the oil was changed.
If a car has been taken care of, and just used to the point where that person wants a new car, that’s the kind of car you are looking for, not the car that’s been run into the ground and you’re the poor sucker that got stuck with it.
DL: What should you notice when test driving?
JM: The first thing I look at is the wear and tear of the interior of the car. Listen for squeaks, bumps, take it over some speed bumps. How does it handle? Does it wander all over the road? Make sure the transmission shifts smoothly.
DL: What is the average per year mileage a car should have?
JM: 10,000-12,000 per year.
DL: Anything else you want to consider?
JM: In Bernalillo County, it is the requirement for the buyer that the car passes emissions test, it is not the requirement of the seller. If the check engine light is on, you might want to consider heading in another direction.
