How To Inspect a Used Car CORRECTLY, or Get Screwed!

Today’s topic is How To Inspect a Used Car CORRECTLY, or Get Screwed!

Been getting a lot of emails about used cars inspection tips, so I’m sure a lot of you will get value out of today’s show.

This is a 2000 BMW Z3 M Edition that I’m showing you right now. The first thing we’re going to cover is body, then suspension, tires, wheels.

We’ll then move over to interior, then electrical. Lastly, we’ll check under carriage and frame. Anybody can do this even if you don’t have much experience with cars yet.

Let’s inspect the body. One thing that you don’t want to do is inspect it when it looks like somebody has just washed it or it’s completely wet, because this will hide scratches. The water goes into the clear coat and it hides very light scratches.

You’d want to inspect it when it’s dry and preferably under the sun where you can see all the body damages.

Make sure the gapping looks pretty tight and even on both sides, especially the front end of the car. If there’s any huge difference in gapping, then most probably the car was in an accident. Check the gapping by your lights on both sides and down below.

It’s the same thing that you should do when you go around the car. Make sure all the gaps are even. You’ll be able to see inconsistencies on the lines when the car has been in an accident and they didn’t do a really good job fixing it.

Additionally, you want to open it up and check the door jambs as well as the trunk. Does it look painted? As you can see in the video, there are no overspray. If the car has been painted by a body shop that didn’t do a good work, you’ll see overspray inside the trunk.

Overall, the body looks really good. There are a few rock chips but that’s normal.

Next, you need to check your suspension and wheels. Another important gapping is the one between the back of the fender and front wheel. I would usually put my hand in and see where it gets snug. Check out the video as I demonstrate it. Then, do the same thing on the other side.

Then, check the tires. How much meat does it have? Is it wearing on the inside or the outside? Is it a nice even wear?

In the video, you can see a tire wear gauge. If the thread comes down to this level, you know you need to replace your tires.

I would also push down on a corner of a car to check suspension. If it stiffens up right away, you know the shocks are okay. You can also go under the car and check out the shocks to see if they are leaking. No leaks and no rust.

Now, let’s check our rocker panels. Sometimes if shops do a bad job, they’ll jack up around here and dent up underneath. Looks like they’re doing the proper mounts to jack up the car here.

Look under the car and check for leaks. This car has no major leaks. Everything looks tight.

Before we get into the frame, let’s start up the car quickly. It’s running really nice. Make sure all the power windows work, the seats are clean, and the dash looks good.

If you see this code on the radio, then the battery has recently been replaced and they don’t have the code. I don’t have the code for this radio so I need to go to the dealer and show them my registration so they can give it to you.

Also check your horn, the A/C and all the interior electricals. You need to test everything out.

When you’re inspecting a car and you see that the engine is dusty and dirty, it’s normal. It’s not a big deal. I actually like to see a car like this because it shows that it hasn’t been messed with and tinkered with.

Have a look. Check your oil, pull the stick, wipe it off then put it in and check your oil. Check everything and see if there are damp spots of oil or leak in the regulator hose or some other things.

The other important thing is to try to spot your frame. Check out the video. Some cars that have been in a major accident will show a crinkle in the frame, especially in the front and the back.

Of course, you want to test drive the car. Step on the breaks and feel the suspension. See how it rides over turns and bumps. Make sure that there’s rattling noise.

I recommend not to slow down that much when you’re going over speed bumps because that’s when you can actually hear something.

When you’re in the car with the seller and has his windows up, the A/C on and talking to you and talking about the world, you might want to tell him that you want to listen to the car.

Roll down your windows, turn off the A/C and listen to the car and feel it. Sometimes shady sellers will try to distract you on purpose so you don’t hear any sounds.

That’s pretty much it for overall used car inspection. I hope you liked the video. Please Like, Share and Subscribe to my videos.

If you want to get into this business, grab your FREE Report. For more tips and strategies in flipping cars for profit, check out the F1 AutoCashFormula VIP Program. The program is a complete, step-by-step process in buying and selling cars for profit.

Talk soon! Cheers!

Tony

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