The seventh step in the car buying guide can be a bit challenging if you are not mechanically inclined, but I'll try to make it easy with some basic areas to inspect.
I always recommend a professional mechanic inspect the vehicle prior to purchasing, but learning how to inspect a vehicle will teach you how to spot obvious problems up front and save you a $75 mechanics inspection fee.
Unfortunately, inspections are not a 1, 2, 3 easy and done type of thing to teach. To learn more than what's covered here I'd refer you to my used car inspection guide, you'll be overhauling engines before you know it.
This may seem obvious, but look for the "obvious" when inspecting a car.
Do a quick walk around and look for...
•Offset wheels
•Broken lights
•Mismatched paint
•Obvious dents or dings
•Cracked or chipped glass
•Condition of the tires and tread depth
Get under the hood and look for obvious signs of problems...
•Oil leaks around the engine or on the ground
•Correct levels of fluid and how clean they are
◦Oil should be brown, not black
◦Transmission fluid should be light red/pink
◦Coolant should be greenish in color
•Split wires
•Cracked hoses or belts
•Corrosion on the battery
When you're inside the vehicle you want to be sure to check...
•Gauges and lights
•For the smell of mildew
•For cold blowing AC
•All power windows and seats
•The radio, cassette and CD player
•Burns holes or tears in the seats
Basically, push buttons and make sure everything works the way it should.
When you drive it make sure there are no loud knocks, bumps, rattles or thumps. Be sure it doesn't pull to one side or the other and that there are no major clouds of smoke coming from the tailpipe. You want the car to accelerate smoothly and stop on a dime!
This is a very important part of the car buying guide if you are buying a used car. Overlook this and you could be making a very expensive glass of lemonade with your lemon...!