Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange
Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [used]

46 questions
15
votes
6 answers

What to look out for when buying a car that hit a deer?

I'm looking at buying a car that is only 2 years old, has good miles, a price about a third lower than I would expect...but it had an accident listed on the CarFax. The previous owner hit a deer and the dealer tells me that the car was likely…
Luke
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12
votes
1 answer

Recreate new car smell

I bought a second hand Toyota Sienna 4 months ago. Even though it is a 2009 with 100,000km on it, the interior had that "new car" smell to it, and held it for several weeks. Four months later, the smell is gone, so I'm assuming that they sprayed…
Martin Argerami
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9
votes
6 answers

What clues are there to identify real mileage?

This is a bit theoretical question, maybe viable for a wiki. Suppose you want to buy a 10yo car and among available deals you see one with suspiciously low mileage (e.g. 5'000 km). Seller assures you that the car was bought for his parents and spent…
Kromster
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9
votes
2 answers

Can a mechanic not share inspection results to the the seller?

I am in the process of selling my used car to a private buyer. The buyer asked to have the car inspected at a local mechanic. After picking the car up from the shop, I asked for the results of the inspection. The mechanic informed me that the…
Ivan Lesko
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9
votes
3 answers

Where can I find statistics regarding car life expectancies?

I am in the process of buying a used car and I'm having some difficulty estimating the longevity of vehicles I encounter. One can speak of car longevity in different ways, but for this question let's consider only longevity in relation to mileage,…
Superbest
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8
votes
5 answers

Used odometer supposedly showing incorrect reading

I am shopping for a used car (2006 Volvo XC90) and encountered the following situation: The car itself has odometer reading 110k miles. I intend to appraise and price at as if a 110k car. The seller claims that the car in fact has about 85k miles on…
Superbest
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6
votes
4 answers

What are the pitfalls of buying a used car after an accident?

I have the option to buy a car that has been in an accident. There are alternatives, but within my budget the alternatives are usually older/have higher mileage. The seller is a local mechanic who did the restoration work and also showed pictures of…
JimD
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6
votes
3 answers

What to Inspect / Clean / Change After Buying a Used Car Without A Service Record

Let's say you've bought a second hand car that seems decent, but has no service record. What are the things you would inspect, clean or change right off the bat?
Robert S. Barnes
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6
votes
0 answers

Repair very old car or buy newer used car?

I am debating whether to repair a very old car or buy a newer used car. There is a particular newer used car I have easy/trusted access to, so I will use that as the example below... The old car: 1989 Toyota Corolla 5 speed manual. 189k miles.…
Chelonian
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5
votes
3 answers

When buying a used car, how much to discount for cosmetic body damage/scrape

I'm trying to get a handle on used car pricing and the difference between clean and average. In my case I'm looking at a used VW Golf that looks like it has a scrape from a column in a parking garage. There's no dent, but it looks like they tried…
MonkeyBonkey
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5
votes
3 answers

Used Car Condition - Is a Compression Test a good proxy of engine health? (and what's a leak down test?)

I'm looking to buy a used car and aside from the advice here (which is mostly functional) I want to know if the oil has been changed "enough" to prevent gunk build up that could starve parts from being lubricated premature engine wear I've heard…
eAndy
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5
votes
2 answers

Fuel economy a reasonable measure of a used vehicles engine condition/reliability?

I have never heard of this, and in Google searching for this, I did not find anything on this. However, it seems reasonable that in the below scenarios, in measuring the condition of a used engine engine (a) gets much worse than it's stated fuel…
Drawninpictures
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5
votes
1 answer

In the US, how do I tell if a car is in good condition?

Say I am planning to buy a used car in the US. How do I judge the car is in good condition? Are there a specific set of documents I should ask for? What are the tests I can conduct before deciding to buy the car? How do I know if the price is…
Yesh
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5
votes
1 answer

Car feels like it's filling up with fumes

I bought a used 2000 volvo s80 with around 93k on the odometer. I was driving the other day and I felt sort of sick. At first I thought it was some dirt on the floor that got into the air. But upon driving again about 30 minutes later it was…
eddyrolo
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4
votes
4 answers

Buy a car for cheap to avoid registration costs?

Not sure where to ask this, so feel free to move it if necessary. Suppose I want to buy a car from my friend for $8,000. To avoid registration costs, I pay him a measly $500 for the car and $7,500 for helping me brush my dogs (or something else…
jlars62
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