Buying A Used Car – Buying Advice To Avoid Lemon (Part 2)

How to choose a used car without Lemon Law issues at good price

If you are planning to buy a certified pre-owned/ used car from a dealer, a private sale or neighbor, it will do you a world of good to thoroughly read Consumer Reports for a safe used car buying experience.
Trouble-free used cars do NOT come just by a stroke of luck. It involves good research and a keen eye to spot potential Lemon problems. Choice of a right and reliable used car can save you angst about possible Lemon law issues sooner or later.

31 ways to easily identify a good used car and eliminate potential lemons:

The Interior of the used car

1. A cabin can reveal sagging headliner, cracked dashboard, and missing knobs, handles, and buttons
2. Frayed seat belts or ones with melted fibers because of friction indicate a previous frontal impact above 15 mph
3. Worn pedals or a sagging driver’s seat are signs that the used car has very high mileage
4. An air bag warning light that stays lit may indicate that a bag has deployed and been improperly replaced or not replaced at all
5. A mildew smell indicates a water leak
6. Discolored carpeting, silt in the trunk, or intermittent electrical problems are signs of flood damage

Under The Hood of the used car

7. The engine, radiator, and battery should be relatively grease-free with very little or no corrosion
8. Belts and hoses should be pliable and unworn
9. Wet spots indicate leaking oil or fluids
10. Melted wires, tubes, or lines, or a blackened firewall indicate overheating worse,an engine fire

Engine oil of the used car

11. Let the engine cool and check if all the fluids are clean, filled to the proper level, and do not have leaks:
12. Remove the dipstick from its tube and clean it with a dry rag, reinsert it and remove it again
13. The oil level should be between the ‘full’and’add’marks
14. Normal engine oil is brown or black, depending on when it was last changed
15. Gritty or gelatinous oil may indicate long stretches between oil changes
16. Thin, frothy oil with the color of chocolate milk points to a blown head gasket or to a severely damaged block or cylinder head
17. Fine metal particles in the oil indicate internal damage or heavy wear

The transmission fluid dipstick is usually located in the rear of the engine compartment.

18. Check it right after the car has been driven for more than 10 minutes
19. With the engine at idle and both the brake and parking brake applied, shift through all the gears
20. Leave the engine running and put it in neutral or park according to the owner’s manual
21. Check the level in relation to the dipstick marks
22. Inspect the fluid’s condition
23. The transmission fluid should be bright red to light reddish brown,
24. Dark brown, black, or mustard colored transmission fluid indicate serious problems
25. Strong burned smell of the transmission fluid indicates severe wear

The Tires of the used car

26. Wear should be even across the width of the tread and the same on the left and right sides of the car
27. Tires frequently used while over-inflated, tend to have more wear in the middle
28. Tires driven while under-inflated, tend to wear more on the sides
29. Heavy wear on the outside shoulder near the sidewall of the tire indicates a hard driven car from aggressive driving
30. Hard driven car due to aggressive driving has its other parts also wear out excessively
31. Cupped tires, those that have worn unevenly along the circumference of the treads indicate problems with the steering, suspension, or brakes