Getting a new car!

[Haggus]

Hey peeps,

I know theres a bit of a thing going on with asking for advice on FH but to me it wouldn't feel right so here goes.

I'm hopefully looking to buy a car on friday, a Honda CRX Del Sol. Now, i'm not much of a car fanatic and I don't have experience in buying cars from a private trader. So I was wondering if theres anyone out there that knows what to look for when buying a new car. Obveously there's the obveous things I should look out for but i'm planning to have this car for the next 2+ years. It's a J reg so i'm abit concerned with the age but the milage is low for it's what it is. 58k. Now it is a boy racer car and yes when I build up enough money I do hope to track it and generally rag the car to fuck so to speak.

So is there any things to look out for that a normall person would look for ? IE rust under wheel arches in certain points. Rad water yada yada ya.... Also it's a convertable so any noises I should be looking for ?

Any help would be appreciated and rep will be given out !!!

Thanks !!

Karl.

 

[Naetha]

HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test HPI test

That will tell you if the car is safe to buy legally, and will also tell you more about the mileage. Its expensive, but worth it.

Ask for as much service information as possible, get a list of modifications that have been made, make sure you get the manual with it etc.

Also don't give out buying signals - look disappointed, even if its something like how you don't like the colour - if he's desperate to sell then he will lower the price.

Most important of all (even more important than the HPI check) is don't be afraid to walk away. Its a lot of money, and a lot of responsibility. If you're not happy just say no, and walk away. There are other cars out there that you can get another time, this isn't going to be your one and only chance.

 

[Bahumat]

Type the car name in google, goto the forums it loads. Will be lots of "hi, my engines gone up shit creek" to which the car enthusiasts reply "oh yeah, the Del Sol suffers from xxx xxxx xxx"

 

[Vladamir]

Another new car, wtf Haggus? :|

 

[evzy]

Best bit of advice if you don't know a lot about cars - you can get the AA or RAC to examine the car and do a comprehensive set of checks on it.

Can't find the AA link but this is the RAC one
Go Kart or Go Scrappy

Might be worth considering tbh...

 

[Mojo]

What everyone else says + u can knock money off tha asking price from most garages. (I got 1k off my last car) Boy racer cars can be prone to being stopped, vandalised or having bits knicked.

I had my alloys stolen on sunday night/monday morning. :<

Be warned

 

[Neffneff]

so many things really.

generally when buying an older second hand car i look for:

RUST...RUST is expensive/difficult to repair, be VERY wary of rust.

Paintwork, make sure its all the same colour and in good nick, dont buy it on a rainy day as this will obscure alot of scratches and marks. body work is the stuff that costs money to sort out and you cannot (competently) do a good job yourself. so watch out for large dents as well.

TYRES, make sure they are all legal, and are worn evenly, wear on the inside or outside edge of front tyres indicates tracking needing sorting, similar wear on rear tyres usually means suspension issues. uneven wear normally means new shocks needed.

Check the exhaust, if its really rusty at the backend, or blowing, that is something you will need to buy almost right away. (can be used for bargaining the price though)

push firmly on each corner, the car should rise and fall 1.5 times, if it doesnt, again you are looking at shocks.

make sure ALL the doors/boot lock, and it all works on ONE key.

Check the spare tyre.

Check under the carpet in the boot, for ANY signs of the metal being wrinkled/buckled, also any signs of water/damp.

Check under the bonnet, along the front of the bodywork near the headlights etc for signs of dmg.

SUNROOF, if it has one, make sure it opens, shuts, and has no signs of leaking.

OIL, check it has some, make sure its been changed within the last year, take off the filler cap and check for a white goey substance looking a little like mayonaise, if it has it, walk away.

COOLENT, check its to the right level, a bluey or greeny colour (ie colour of antifreeze) make sure there is no oil floating on top, if there is, walk away.

if it has a CAT, MAKE SURE it is in good nick, car of that age, if it still has the original will soon require a new one, and they are pricey.

ask when the brake pads were last changed, if they dont know or it was a few years ago, factor that into the bargaining.

Make sure EVERY switch inside, eleccy windows, heaters, lights, full beams, fogs, reverse lights, everything, works.

Check condition of interior, with only 58k it should be pretty tidy, if not, i would suspect mileage, or it has been mis-treated.

start the engine, leave it running on the spot until it is up to temperature, make sure the cooling fan turns on, and it doesnt overheat.

TAKE FOR TEST DRIVE, accelerate, Brake, make sure there is no knocking/pinking/banging or other unwanted noises. take the car somewhere where you can put steering to full lock left AND right, if you hear a knocking noise, that's most likely a new CV joint needed. MAke sure it changes smoothly between ALL gears, walk away if one is difficult to engage. park, put the car into second gear, and plant the gas pedal/lift the clutch, watch/listen to the revs, if they climb faster than you pick up speed, it needs a new clutch.

ONCE back from the test drive, check coolent level again to make sure you havnt lost any from leaks.

before you part with money, make sure you are 100% satisfied, CHECK CHECK CHECK the V5 document against the numberplate/VIN number (usually stamped somewhere in the engine bay, and often found inside the drivers doorway or on a plate on the dash.)

DONT be afraid to point out EVERY little problem, they can either offer to drop the price, or sort the problems before you get the car.

REMEMBER low mileage+good bodywork, normally makes it a sound buy, easy to shift on in a few years.

think that's all i can remember atm. ill update if i think of anything else.

 

[Hawkwind]

so many things really.

generally when buying an older second hand car i look for:

RUST...RUST is expensive/difficult to repair, be VERY wary of rust.

Paintwork, make sure its all the same colour and in good nick, dont buy it on a rainy day as this will obscure alot of scratches and marks. body work is the stuff that costs money to sort out and you cannot (competently) do a good job yourself. so watch out for large dents as well.

TYRES, make sure they are all legal, and are worn evenly, wear on the inside or outside edge of front tyres indicates tracking needing sorting, similar wear on rear tyres usually means suspension issues. uneven wear normally means new shocks needed.

Check the exhaust, if its really rusty at the backend, or blowing, that is something you will need to buy almost right away. (can be used for bargaining the price though)

push firmly on each corner, the car should rise and fall 1.5 times, if it doesnt, again you are looking at shocks.

make sure ALL the doors/boot lock, and it all works on ONE key.

Check the spare tyre.

Check under the carpet in the boot, for ANY signs of the metal being wrinkled/buckled, also any signs of water/damp.

Check under the bonnet, along the front of the bodywork near the headlights etc for signs of dmg.

SUNROOF, if it has one, make sure it opens, shuts, and has no signs of leaking.

OIL, check it has some, make sure its been changed within the last year, take off the filler cap and check for a white goey substance looking a little like mayonaise, if it has it, walk away.

COOLENT, check its to the right level, a bluey or greeny colour (ie colour of antifreeze) make sure there is no oil floating on top, if there is, walk away.

if it has a CAT, MAKE SURE it is in good nick, car of that age, if it still has the original will soon require a new one, and they are pricey.

ask when the brake pads were last changed, if they dont know or it was a few years ago, factor that into the bargaining.

Make sure EVERY switch inside, eleccy windows, heaters, lights, full beams, fogs, reverse lights, everything, works.

Check condition of interior, with only 58k it should be pretty tidy, if not, i would suspect mileage, or it has been mis-treated.

start the engine, leave it running on the spot until it is up to temperature, make sure the cooling fan turns on, and it doesnt overheat.

TAKE FOR TEST DRIVE, accelerate, Brake, make sure there is no knocking/pinking/banging or other unwanted noises. take the car somewhere where you can put steering to full lock left AND right, if you hear a knocking noise, that's most likely a new CV joint needed. MAke sure it changes smoothly between ALL gears, walk away if one is difficult to engage. park, put the car into second gear, and plant the gas pedal/lift the clutch, watch/listen to the revs, if they climb faster than you pick up speed, it needs a new clutch.

ONCE back from the test drive, check coolent level again to make sure you havnt lost any from leaks.

before you part with money, make sure you are 100% satisfied, CHECK CHECK CHECK the V5 document against the numberplate/VIN number (usually stamped somewhere in the engine bay, and often found inside the drivers doorway or on a plate on the dash.)

DONT be afraid to point out EVERY little problem, they can either offer to drop the price, or sort the problems before you get the car.

REMEMBER low mileage+good bodywork, normally makes it a sound buy, easy to shift on in a few years.

think that's all i can remember atm. ill update if i think of anything else.

Basically no to most of that - get a pro to check it. The AA or RAC will check it for you for a small fee. You also get a garauntee that they checked it and its OK. Basically what Evzy put

 

[Darzil]

Nice suggestions.

Don't know if it's still relevant these days, but I was taught to put a white tissue over the exhaust, and get someone to rev the engine. If you get lots of black bits on the tissue, that's a sign the engine isn't burning all the fuel correctly.

Note that coolant can also be orange.

Darzil

 

[Neffneff]

missed the convertable part, make sure you take it for a test drive with the top up, listen for leaks, whistles etc. its expensive to repair rag tops, so make sure it all works (goes up n down easily) and doesnt have any rips/holes/leaks etc.

 

[Lamp]

If you know someone in the police, ask them to run a check on the licence plate.

I'd recommend getting a professional to give it a good going over. But depends on how much you know about cars, how much the car you're buying is, and whether you're prepared to pay for someone like the AA to come out ofc

Edit: If you know your way around engines, it wouldn't hurt to take a peek inside the distributor cap. Carbon build-up in d-caps can be a problem for smaller cars especially with winter coming up, problems starting it, engine flooding etc

 

[evzy]

Oh and never buy a car whilst its raining - can mask all manner of dints and scratches..

 

[Lamp]

Oh and never buy a car whilst its raining - can mask all manner of dints and scratches..

In fact, never take a car on the road when its raining. It'll get wet.

 

[Neffneff]

In fact, never take a car on the road when its raining. It'll get wet.

and melt ;/

i keep telling people i had a ferrari until i foolishly took in out in the storm and it melted ;/ they dont seem to believe me though.

 

[Naetha]

Lol sorry Haggus - just seen a picture of the car you want to buy - its mingin'

 

[evzy]

In fact, never take a car on the road when its raining. It'll get wet.

Such a lie - if its quick and handles well you can weave between the raindrops - its a good test tbh!!

I pwn rain!

 

[Haggus]

Hehe Ellie, which one did you see ? ;o

This is the one i'm getting..



Needs coil over springs on it and a nice spoiler which I havn't decided yet

 

[Naetha]

Just don't like the shape I'm afraid

All the same, seems like a nice motor if you like that kinda thing

 

[DavidH]

Prepare so spend a whole lot on insurance though. For a teenager/twentysomething, those are insanely expensive. At least they are in Norway. Dunno the rates in England.
But roughly transfered into pound, you could easily look at a yearly insurance bill of 1000-1500 pound.

Any type of cool/sport/gt/r car is insurance hell.

Most likely you already know this since you're in the market, and serious about it. But I just thought I'd share my view of buying a sports car.

 

[Haggus]

£1832 for one hole year of joy

Well spent imo !! ;p

 

[old.Tohtori]

Well, all forgot the main point...is there room for a decent, or lack there of, shag?

 

[Garok]

Check its a UK car .. if its a Jap grey import make sure you tell the insurance company.

 

[Lamp]

There's always room for sex in a car. You just tell the other passengers to move over a bit.

 

[Haggus]

Bonnet's big enough

 

[Sharaft]

to be honest, buying a new car is like shooting ur leg.. at once you take a seat in the car and drives out 1/4 of the car's value gets drained into the toilet. If i were you i would look for the same car just 05 model instead, as there is NO new modifications, other then maybe the headlights are a bit wider or smaller, and you can't even notice

 

[Neffneff]

to be honest, buying a new car is like shooting ur leg.. at once you take a seat in the car and drives out 1/4 of the car's value gets drained into the toilet. If i were you i would look for the same car just 05 model instead, as there is NO new modifications, other then maybe the headlights are a bit wider or smaller, and you can't even notice

He's like buying a J reg car with 58k on the clock? that's like 91/92 or sommit.

can you read?

 

[Haggus]

92 and i'm not even sure they make that model anymore

 

[DavidH]

92 and i'm not even sure they make that model anymore

They stopped making Del Sol's ages ago