Hi, hello, good morning, buenos dias, greetings and salutations from Yuma, Arizona. Alright, today we are going to be looking at used cars. We are going to try to find clues and indications, of the car ever being in an accident. In the summertime, it can be really hot out here in Yuma. It is best to schedule your used car inspection as early as possible, for a morning inspection. This way you don’t have to endure a high-noon sun and touch metal car parts that could be searing hot.
First, make sure that the vehicle is parked on fairly level ground (no hills, dips, or bumps). Stand several feet back from the front of the car. Look at the ground level and look at the front bumper in relation to the ground. The bumper should be parallel with the ground and the overall front of the vehicle should be square and straight. If, you notice any tilting down or up on either side, be suspect. Check to make sure the tires are the same size. Uneven sized tires can cause the vehicle to look awkward. Ask why the tire sizes are not consistent. Do the same type of inspection for all four sides of the vehicle front, back, and sides. Now, let us take a closer look at the front bumper. Do you see any dents? Does the gap between bumper and the vehicle body look even and straight, or is it grossly far from one another? Go to the front side of the vehicle to look at the bumper from the side. Does the bumper look like it is bent up or down? If so, this is a good indication that the bumper did hit something or someone. No, I’m just kidding. Hopefully it didn’t hit anyone. Another vehicle could have backed into the front of the vehicle, yeah that’s it. Do the same type of inspection for the rear bumper.
Stand a few feet back from the vehicle and look down the side of the vehicle; doing a careful visual inspection of the panels. Do you see dips, bumps, scratches, ripples, or any inconsistencies in the shape of the vehicle? Do this type of inspection for all four sides. Do you notice any rust, especially toward the bottom of the vehicle? Check the gaps between doors, fenders, hood, trunk cover, and around brake and headlights. Are the gaps consistent and seem evenly apart? Check the windows, front and rear windshields for cracks and pock marks. Also, check the seal around all glass. Run your hand along the fenders, door panels and see if you can feel for bumps, dents, ripples, or roughness. You are checking to see if there was any type of body work done, which would signify the vehicle being in some sort of accident or misuse. Other clues of bodywork would be, miss matched paint on doors and fenders. Over spray on other parts of the car like under the hood, behind gas cap door, inside of passenger doors, and weatherproofing. Moreover, does the paint job look the same around the vehicle, or is there glossy sections and then some flat looking sections of the paint? This would also, be evidence that bodywork was done.
Time to get physical. Open and close all doors and check for functionality. Do the doors open and close smoothly? Do the windows roll up and down without trouble? Open and close the hood, the trunk/hatch-back. Does the interior levers or buttons for hood and trunk work? How about the key cylinders for doors and trunk/hatch-back?
If the vehicle passes your inspection and you feel somewhat satisfied, don’t hand the money over just yet. Get a vehicle history report. This will either confirm your worst nightmare or give you peace of mind concerning the vehicle you would like to buy. You can easily get vehicle history reports online by doing a simple search.
Chris Franks – if you need more used car inspection tips,just click here for more info.
What tires should I buy for 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GT?
I’m going to Sears this weekend to get new tires, and have little clue what I’m doing. Fortunately, I’ll have 2 knowledgable people with me, but I’d like to be able to look at prices beforehand.
The tires that came on the car were wide tires… something about 16 inches, maybe??
I’ve got skinnier tires on the car now, but I want wide ones (skinnier one’s don’t look right on the car and wear out faster).
I’d like to know exactly what size I need, as well as good brands. Any help??
Answer
according to sears, if you have a grand prix with the 3.8 liter v6, supercharged or not, and it has 16 inch rims, your tire size is 225/60 R16. I would go with anything by michelin preferably the hydroedge or pilotsports.
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