What to ask when buying a car. Ask if the vehicle has been driven in extreme temperatures

12.06.2019

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Buying a used car is a responsible step, and not to buy attractive body with a dying engine and decaying thresholds, it is important to correctly ask questions to the car seller. An owner with more than one used car sale and purchase transaction under his belt will quickly recognize a newcomer, so you should come to the meeting prepared.

Ekaterina Lipatova, editor of the automotive portalCaret.info:

“Firstly, thoroughly study the model that you are going to buy - you should be aware of its “sores”. You can find out about them using the Autocode service. According to Mrs. number or VIN you will receive complete history car: TCP data, mileage, participation in an accident, the presence of traffic police restrictions, OSAGO data, customs history, history of fines, those. inspections and more.

Read the package carefully optional equipment, reviews and characteristics. For example, if the model was equipped with leather seats in the cabin, and you see fabric in front of you, this is a reason to ask the car seller a question: is it uncomfortable for him to drive on leather (why did he buy it then?) Or does he hide the age of the car with new seats?

If on the Web, on auto portals and blogs they write that the model you have chosen “eats” oil, and the owner claims that he fills in a new one every 15,000 km, then think about what is wrong with the car, mileage or seller.

Secondly, when buying a used car, be aware that the seller will lie to you. The answers to most questions will most likely not be reliable, but you can recognize this if you are prepared and savvy.

Use the list of questions prepared by the Autocode service when buying a used car:

Is the seller the original owner of the car? If so, then he should have supporting documents and a service book in his hands (even if not filled out in last years exploitation).
What is the year of manufacture of the car? Often, cars released from the assembly line in the summer are sold in showrooms as early as the beginning of next year. For example, a car with a PTA production date of August 2008 could be sold in February 2009. Dishonest sellers can speculate on this difference in their favor by listing the car's purchase date rather than the actual year of manufacture in the ad. When buying a used car, check the date of manufacture and sale. This will let you know more information about the car: manufacturer reviews due to design flaws, improvements compared to previous generations, equipment, features that may vary from car brands annually. More about .
How was the car used? The seller moved between home, kindergarten, shop and work? Or did the owner drive several hundred kilometers every day, living in the suburbs, and working within the city? This information will help determine the actual mileage of the vehicle.
Where was the car serviced? At official dealers (not all official centers“clean in hand”, often the work is not done in good faith or not done at all - find out all the information about the dealer in advance, before buying a car) or on your own, from garage craftsmen or in specialized centers. Specify the name of the service station, and read reviews about it.

Has the car been in an accident? If yes, in what? Any collision (even with a flower bed) leaves a mark on the car - be it a bent license plate or a broken body geometry. It's hard to believe if a 10-year-old car has never even got into minor accidents, not even through the fault of the seller. Meticulously ask the owner about each bump. A seemingly harmless collision in a traffic jam at low speeds without visible damage from the outside can hide inside serious problems: a broken trunk opening and closing mechanism or a broken probe under the hood. Read in a separate article.
Which repair work were produced? First, ask - were maintenance done regularly? And secondly, what major breakdowns and replacements has the car already experienced? Maybe it was replaced windshield due to a stone that has flown in from under the wheels of the truck ahead. Then it will be clear why the year of glass production does not coincide with the year of production of the machine.
What does not work in the car? Ask the seller to be honest right away about what needs to be repaired and replaced. Perhaps the air conditioner does not cool or the stove does not work, the light bulb in the envelope has burned out.

Ekaterina Lipatova, editor of the car portal Careta.info:

“Asking questions about why a car is being sold is useless. What answer do you want to hear - urgently need money, because a child was born in the owner's family, or did you have to take out a loan or mortgage? Not always the car is sold on this occasion. Moreover, I, as the owner, would not answer anything about loans or additions to the family, because this is an excuse for the buyer to beg for a discount. No one will honestly say about real problems, about the fact that the car is tired of breaking down and not wanting to spend free time in services, or that the period has come to change the car until it starts to crumble. Therefore, I consider it stupid and useless to ask about the reason for the sale.

Boris Ignashin, auto expert from St. Petersburg:

“Be sure to ask the seller for the vehicle's VIN number to verify the authenticity of the answers. Ask if there is a second set of tires. Be a smart buyer, find out - does the car have time to warm up in winter while the owner clears the snow, does the engine allow you to leave the traffic light first, is it possible to drive the car? The answers to these tricky questions will tell you much more than the standard excuses and help you make a good purchase.

Carefully inspect the body, visually check the compliance of the condition of the car with the odometer readings, ask questions to the car seller, clarify any little things that seem doubtful to you. The answers to the questions on our list may trigger other questions. Be sure to offer to go to an independent car service and check the honesty of the answers from the master.

If you have already found suitable option vehicle, check it using the Autocode service. The report on the car contains information from more than 11 sources, including the traffic police, EAISTO, RSA, the Federal Tax Service, the Federal Customs Service, and the Federal Tax Service. The cost of a full report is 349 rubles.

More information about buying and checking a used car,

In custody:

Happy shopping.

Registration number 0397312 issued for the work:

Not every car we like can be bought. Sometimes, in search of a car you are interested in, you have to travel around the entire region and not only. We all understand that long-distance travel increases additional costs and risks. Having decided on the brand of the car, having studied the advertisement for the sale, we are preparing to make the first call. The main task is to learn as much as possible about the car you like.

Practice shows that it is impossible to remember all the questions. So feel free to write down questions on paper.

The list of basic questions when buying a car:

Start like this: “Hello, do you sell a car? ". If you are asked which one, the seller may have several cars, or you called the dealer.

What year is the PTS car? One of the common tricks used by unscrupulous sellers is to rejuvenate the year of the car.

Place of the last registration of the car by Title? For example, a car is sold at our home, in Yekaterinburg, and it is registered in Chelyabinsk or Moscow. Thus, we argue that if the car was brought from another region, then most likely the car was bought for the purpose of resale. As we know, cars are often bought for resale without better condition. However, it is possible that the person simply moved from another city. In this case, we ask the seller to tell us the VIN number of the car in a convenient way for him. We open the phone directory of companies in Yekaterinburg, we are looking for an enterprise that provides services for the examination of cars before buying, such as "Auto Hunting" on the street. Pervomaiskaya, and we agree on cooperation. By VIN number maybe even before the inspection. vehicle find out how many owners it had, participation in an accident, etc. You may not want to go for an inspection, and then you will start searching.

If you do not want to pay for the services of such companies, then further questions will be as follows:

Are you the owner of the car or do you sell it? Is your last name listed on the PTS? You can hear that the car is registered to the wife (which is quite possible), but if the wife has now left for the south and will not be able to attend the sale and purchase transaction, then the car seller is definitely keeping back.

Note - When inspecting the car, be sure to ask for the seller's passport and check his passport data with the data in the TCP.

Has the car been in accidents? If the answer is yes, ask about the items that were repaired. To divert attention, the seller may say that he painted the fender and bumper. When meeting you, the finger will point to traces of repair, obviously taking you away from the traces of the replaced roof.

The next question in addition to the previous one is obligatory. Are there painted elements on the car? Don't forget what a question is what an answer is. The car was not in accidents, but some elements could be touched up. Most often, if the owner is not the first, you will hear that I did not paint anything.

It's funny when the first owner tells you that he did not paint anything, but when inspecting the car, it turns out the opposite.

Note - warn the seller that you will come with a thickness gauge (a device for diagnosing the thickness of the paint layer).

Ask about service book, if there is no book, specify where, when the seller did EXACTLY what he did. Does he have any documents confirming his words (checks, outfits, etc.).

Ask the seller if he is ready to go to the official service to diagnose the chassis, engine, transmission and inspect the car for body repair. Here, make the decision yourself whether you need this diagnosis or not. Look at the seller's reaction. Discuss expenses.

Discuss the trade. If a person is not bargaining, and his price is not cheap, give him time to think, perhaps he has recently started selling a car. Look at the date the ad was posted. Do not forget to specify the complete set of the car during the auction. Agree with the seller about a discount, he will certainly deduct a set of wheels.

In custody:

Buying a car is a very difficult task, there are many cars on the market and there is a chance of a good purchase. Remember the main thing:

enemy common sense are our emotions;
don't chase low prices, miser pays twice.

Due to the increased demand for used vehicles, the market is overflowing with resellers. They find cheap cars from the owners and by making redecorating, sell to inexperienced motorists. At the same time, all the shortcomings are kept silent and the price is significantly higher than if the transaction went directly with the owner. Working in such a craft, they already know perfectly well what the buyer pays attention to first of all when inspecting a car. Therefore, in every possible way distract the buyer from problem areas and, of course, mask any imperfections.

Beware of outbids

In order not to buy a pig in a poke, you should ask leading questions over the phone. What exactly? Read in this article. Below is a conversation algorithm with a potential car seller.

After the greeting, you need to say that you are calling about selling a car and immediately ask your opponent if he owns a car or is just selling it.
The owner knows the whole history of the car perfectly, and the outbid is only in general terms.

If in response they tell you that the car belongs to a close relative, then next question should relate to the execution of the purchase and sale transaction. Does the seller have a certified general power of attorney, which gives the right to sell this vehicle. In response, you may be told that you have a copy of the owner's passport on hand, and the contract itself will be drawn up at the company - this means that the reseller bought this car, and took a copy of the passport and a receipt for money from the owner. This is illegal, but alas, this is how a lot of outbids work. Next question.
You should ask, the car according to the TCP (passport technical means) exactly (for example) 2015 was released and purchased in the same year.
It happens that the car was produced in 2014 and bought at the beginning of 2015. This factor, of course, affects its price downwards.
If the car is more than a year old, and the ad says that it has one owner under the TCP, then by the way, the next question will be asked.
Is the seller the sole owner according to the passport of the technical device, or is it easier to say according to the title it has one owner - in the event that the owner does not make the transaction. It happens that the ad says that the owner is one, but in fact this is not the case, and if the seller for the TCP is the second or third, then the question is brewing.
How long have you had this car? If in response it sounds that the car is four years old, of which three years it has been with the seller, and before that it had one owner, then this is normal. If the car was purchased not so long ago and immediately went on sale, then why is it selling so fast. If the owners change frequently, then this is alarming and it is worth checking it very carefully.
If the owner himself, who is the sole owner, sells, then the next question is: during the entire period of operation, were there any accidents, were there any welding work, which elements were painted, as well as which parts changed. If the seller was not the owner, then you need to ask if he knows about any flaws this car. After listing the replaced parts, it would be appropriate to inquire about checking the thickness of the car body with a thickness gauge. Also, it will not be superfluous to arrange diagnostics in your service center.
Next, you need to ask whether maintenance was performed according to the service book, on their own or everything was done by official dealer. If the service book contains all the necessary marks, then this documented the mileage of the car. Otherwise, the mileage can be anything and the speedometer can be corrected.
Also ask if you need given time any investments on the technical part and on the body and need to be replaced right now. The answer will make it possible to approximately calculate how much it will cost to eliminate the shortcomings that are important to you.
Next, inquire how many sets of tires are included. If there is one, then it is immediately worth adding to the costs and buying a new set of tires.
The main question, of course, is the price of the car and whether it involves bargaining on the spot.
If the owner indicated in the ad that the car is with automatic transmission, then you need to ask about technical condition automatic boxes.
The last question to ask is what time and where you can see the vehicle.

Basic questions about the condition of the machine, the origin can be obtained from the seller by phone. The answers will help you decide whether to go for an inspection. This is especially true for the case of buying a car from a private person.

To begin with, ask “soft” questions in a conversation - regarding, for example, the color of the car, and then specify its condition, equipment and history. Any odd or misleading answers should put you on your guard. List of questions to ask:

What is the mileage of your car?

If the mileage is more than 32,000 km per year, or less than 8,000 km, ask why. If high mileage explained long trips owner, this is better than in the case of numerous short trips, with frequent stops. In any case, take the answer “they were all highway trips” with a grain of salt. Low mileage is good, but it does not guarantee that the car has been well cared for.

What is the equipment of the car?

Whether it's in the ad or not, ask about key things:

transmission type,
car air conditioner;
anti-lock system;
audio system;
windows,
automatic lock,
seats and mirrors;
Cruise control;
sunroof;
upholstery material, and so on.

Double-checking this list can provoke telling comments.

What condition is the car in?

Start with this general question, and see where the owner takes you with the answer. In his (her) answer, something may come up that you would not even think to ask.

How about the hull and interior condition?

If in the conversation you have not raised such issues before, clarify these points separately. Not everyone will like the smell of cigarettes in the cabin, so it's worth asking the previous owner to smoke.

If so, ask about the extent of the damage, the cost of the repair, and where the repair took place. Don't worry too much about small scratches, but think twice about buying a car that has been in a serious accident.

You need a car that has been looked after. Maintenance of the car had to be carried out at periods regulated by the manufacturer. If the owner claims that maintenance has been done, but he does not have any papers confirming the purchase of parts, be skeptical about such claims.

Ask for receipts for a recently purchased muffler, brake pads, tires, or other parts subject to constant wear and tear, which, according to the owner, have been replaced. Receipts from auto shops usually list the mileage of the car, which will help you reconstruct its history.

Has the car been recalled by the manufacturer?

Ask if any safety work has been done on the vehicle due to the recall - or, more importantly, if any work needs to be done. similar works. Dealers have records to that effect. Make a note of the mileage of the vehicle at the time of this service.

Questions for a private seller

Are you the original owner of the car?

You need to restore the car's maintenance history as completely as possible. Be careful with a decision about a car that has changed hands several times in a couple of years.

Were you the one driving this car for the most part?

Ideally, you should talk to the person who has predominantly driven the vehicle to make sure they come across as reliable.

Why are you selling the car?

Here it is better to focus on a plausible explanation than on interesting story. If the answer is evasive, there is reason to be wary. Ask for a service book to make sure the car has been properly cared for.

October 3, 2016

Buying a car is a responsible event that requires you to be attentive and collected so as not to make a mistake. After all, you then drive this car for more than one year. When purchasing a used car, you need to be even more prepared. It is possible and necessary to ask questions when buying a used car, then you will receive in full from the seller necessary information. In addition, the dialogue will help reveal hidden deception when the owner is trying to hide something or is even a reseller.

Telephone conversation with a car dealer

Often buyers are skeptical about a detailed telephone conversation with the owner of the car. There is logic in this, of course. As they say, it is better to see once than hear a hundred times. But still, make a list of things that interest you in advance. A detailed list will help you the right questions at the time of buying.

So, what to ask the owner by phone:

Has the car been in an accident?
is there any damage?
whether factory painting or after that the body has already been repainted;
how many owners the transport had. If they changed often, specify the reasons;
what is the total mileage. This will tell you which parts will need to be replaced soon;
whether there are inserts in the TCP;
what is the oil consumption for a certain number of kilometers. This is a good marker for the engine. Big expense indicates malfunctions (more than 5 liters per 10 thousand km is already a reason to think);
how much gasoline is consumed in the city. Will tell you if the auxiliary elements are in order;
what does not work, big and small flaws;
why is the owner selling the car.

How to ask questions?

In addition to what to ask, you need to know and how to do it. It is important to start the conversation correctly, after the greeting, specify the make and year of the car. Often the ad says one thing, but in reality it turns out that they are selling something completely different. Maintain a polite conversation, eliminate prejudice.

Ask detailed questions when buying. It is difficult to answer such questions with a simple “yes” or “no”; they require a detailed explanation. In a face-to-face meeting, focus on how the interlocutor behaves when he answers. Whether he looks away, blushes, or wanders off topic.

You can ask the seller for the VIN code to.

If finances permit, arrange for professional diagnostics. In this case, several specialists will look at the car at once. And since they are not interested parties, they will give an objective assessment.

But often there is no money for such a procedure, because it is not cheap. Then do your own diagnostics. You already know what questions to ask when buying, so prepare auxiliary tools:

Magnet.
Small mirror.
Flashlights (one pocket and the other, dressed on the head).
Rags (wipe the contaminated area or put it under your knees for a thorough inspection of the car).
Open-end and candle wrenches (from 8 to 12).
Compressometer.

When buying used vehicles, all of the above will come in handy in order to reveal what is not noticeable on a superficial examination.

Body inspection

Squat down where you are right headlight. So the viewing angle is larger and much can be seen imperceptibly from above. If any part is in doubt, take a magnet and attach it. If it doesn't hold, then there's probably putty in there. It would be nice to drive the car to viewing hole and carefully examine the bottom with a flashlight-helmet. If you notice corrosion, poke with a screwdriver. The volume of deformation will become clear.

The engine requires special attention. It needs to be checked both on the go and idle. Take a flashlight and illuminate the areas where the valves are located. The mirror will help to see the detail, which is difficult to reach.

Remember what questions to ask when buying and ask them again after the diagnosis, dwelling in more detail on problematic points.

Car interior check

Looking inside, ask what was changed in the cabin. Perhaps it has a different upholstery or a replacement panel. Ask if you smoked in the cabin. Remove covers, if any. So it will become clear whether the interior elements were carefully handled. Be sure to check the steering wheel and brakes. To do this, diagnose the machine on flat road and off-road. When buying used transport, there are no unimportant questions, everything must be foreseen.

If you do not know what else to ask, in detail inquire about the documents for the car. This is a separate item that requires attention and caution. You must find out if the car was stolen, if the owner has any debts, if he paid off the car loan, if any. You can go to the office and ask to break the car through the base. The sooner you reveal all the hidden sides, the better for you. And may your purchase please you!