The Indian used car market is flourishing. While many regularised and organized chains of used cars have come up in the recent past, there is still large portion of transaction that happens without any professional assistance. Sometime back we told you most important documents that you should check while a used car. Today, we bring you the most important things that you should before buying any used car in India.
Get a thorough look around
Check the car in daylight in a open place. Artificial lights hide many things. Get a friend along who has good eyes for details. Check all the panel for signs of repaint and ask the owner how many times insurance was claimed. If the car has gone through too many major accidents, it may not be worth it. Cars involved in major accidents have deep problems like chassis bent. Such problems are not visual but they affect the handling and the way car behaves. Check for dents and scratches on the body. Also, get the car for wash and check the underbody. If the car has any signs of rust, avoid it.
Check the engine
Always insist on starting the engine cold. A cold start of engine will reveal a lot about the condition of the engine. After engine becomes warm, it makes a lot less noise. Insist on cold start of engine and do crank the cold engine yourself. It will give you a fair idea on the condition of the engine.
Verify everything
Verify all the details like manufacturing year, registration year and if the car has valid insurance or not. Many times, the owner does not tell you about these things and becomes extremely difficult to get the car transferred or any other complication may happen.
Also, check the engine size of the car and verify it with the RC. Many times, car sellers re-badge the engine and sell it as a bigger engine car.
Check for odometer tampering
The number of kilometres on the odometer greatly affects the price of a car. Odometer tampering is the most common malpractice that happens in the used car market. Car seller either change the odometer with a lesser figure on it or they simply use techniques to reduce the number on it. Always insist of service records while buying a used car.
Service records can be printed from any authorised service centre by the owner. Service records also show if the car has been serviced regularly and if it was involved in any accident. Service records will also show you exact number of kilometres done by the car.
Get it checked by a mechanic
If you find the deal too attractive and everything else fine in the vehicle, make sure that you get it checked an expert. Ask the mechanic to thoroughly check the car and ask the condition fo the car. Car mechanics have a fair idea on the remaining life of the vehicle and its cost.
If you really like the vehicle, it is a great idea to take it to an authorised service centre and get a complete check-up of the vehicle. It will reveal a lot of things about the car.
