How To Avoid Buying A Lemon Car

Accidentally spending your hard-earned money on a lemon vehicle is a nightmare that no car buyer ever wants to experience. The term refers to an automobile that comes with little to a plethora of defects that makes driving the car unsafe or impossible.

While several laws exist to protect you from accidentally purchasing a lemon car, the legal process is long and will leave you with no private means of transportation for a while.

Fortunately, this brief post aims to provide some tips that ensure you don’t accidentally lose money and time buying a lemon car. Let’s begin!

Perform A Visual Check

There’s no doubt that cars are tricky to assess if you’re untrained for the task; however, before committing your hard-earned money, consider investing in a certified mechanic to inspect your desired vehicle.

Alternatively, if you feel spending roughly $100 on a mechanic isn’t worth a task that you can complete on your own, this section will guide you through what you need to check to be confident in your purchase.

● Exterior:

Look around the vehicle for apparent damage like rust, scratches, dents, and anything of the sorts.

● Tires:

Inspect the tires and see if the treads are fit for the road. An excellent way to accomplish this task is by placing a quarter in-between each Tread to measure how much life it has left.

● Interior:

A thorough look at the front and back seats as well as the trunk is an excellent way to detect rips and wears that might cost you money to repair.

Check The Vehicle’s History

It’s essential to inquire about the vehicle’s past before paying as it can save you a lot of mental effort, energy, and stress headaches. This necessity originates from the fact that the vehicle’s history report will reveal previous accidents, repairs, insurance claims, and any significant factor related to your desired automobile.

While a plethora of platforms exist that can reveal a vehicle’s history, you must choose the most reliable one as some might provide inaccurate information or contain any detail about the car.

Inspect The Engine

Crank the hood/bonnet open and take a look at the engine, radiator, and battery in search of things like corrosion or grease. Also, be confident that the belts and hose aren’t worn out or hard neither are the electrical wires melted nor the firewall blackened as they are signs of a lot of problems.

Turn on the engine for a few minutes, turn it off, then let it cool shortly afterwards. When it’s warm enough for your fingers to touch, check to see if the fluids are at the proper level and that the body is clean and contains no spillage.

Test The Exhaust

While the engine remains active, step on the throttle a couple of times to see what color of smoke leaves the exhaust. If black fumes come out of the tailpipe, it’s most likely hints at a faulty air filter or some other problematic component.

However, if your eyes catch blue smoke leaving the exhaust, it may indicate oil burning, mending your desired car needs some engine repairs.

Do A Test Drive

The final method is to take the car for a brief spin to see if it moves and functions as expected. While driving, note if the engine revs excessively during acceleration as this indicates a worn-out clutch or faulty transmission.

Also, keep your ears open to pings and knocks as they may hint at overheating or bad timing.

Conclusion

Ultimately, getting your hands on a vehicle — whether new or used — is an excellent option as it saves you time and stress. Although problems arise with a recently purchased automobile, it can be minimized if you do a VIN lookup and bought the vehicle using these tips.

Now, you can be assured that your purchase will be worthwhile due to the information provided in this brief post.