things to watch for when buying.

[jasnos]

gday guys,
I am hopefully going to have a look at a VY series 2 S ute.
I am not very that knowledgeable when it comes to under the hood. Being my first car, I Was wondering if you guys could give me some tips on what to look for and any common problems.
also being a manual ute, are there any possible ways to cheek if it has been thrashed?
cheers

[Sean880]

Read the "issues with Vys" thread................ Issues with VY'S

If you surf the VY area you will also quickly see the sorts of problems that can crop up in Vys.

With any used car you need to check everything - not only for any signs of accident repairs and repainting and for major mechanical faults.

[jasnos]

thanks for that info mate,
i was thinking of getting that inspection done by RACV but i will investigate more..
Im pretty set on getting the manual so thats sorta of a certainty but ill see if there is any noise in the tranny or anything. also with accident and damage repair, what should i look for to spot that?
cheers

[Sean880]

thanks for that info mate,
i was thinking of getting that inspection done by RACV but i will investigate more..
Im pretty set on getting the manual so thats sorta of a certainty but ill see if there is any noise in the tranny or anything. also with accident and damage repair, what should i look for to spot that?
cheers

This is not a fully comprehensive list but here are a few pointers.

1. Look carefully for misaligned panels and uneven panel gaps with hood, the doors and the Ute's rear tail gate. The panel fit is pretty good on the Vys ex factory. Poor panel fit is very often a sign of repair work having been carried out.
The doors, bonnet and tail gate should open and shut neatly and with ease.

2. Look for different paint shades on different panels on the exterior body work or slightly fresher looking paint on different panels. Also look for different levels of sheen on the paint work on adjoining panels.

In bright light look down each side of the car from behind and look for imperfections in the metal shape. In repaired panels there will be ripples in the metal skin of the body work as these are very hard to remove without spending a great deal of time on working the panel which most shops will not do or they just do not have the skill to fix it perfectly. Of course if a panel has been replaced with a new one there should be no ripples but you should be able to spot the newer paint work.

3. Look for paint over spray on hidden or less conspicuous parts of the vehicle like inside wheel wells, around door perimeters, on door jambs, on rubber seals, inside the engine compartment, the bottom side of the engine compartment hood , the fuel filler area inside the fuel flap.
Look around the front and rear glass for evidence of a new layer of paint around the glass seals and for paint on the seals. (Where repainting is done around the front and rear glass, without removal of that glass and the perimeter glass seals, it is usually easy to spot).
Take a mirror with you to help look at low inconspicuous spots on the body work like the bottom section of the door and under the lower body sills.

4. Inspect body seams for evidence of new panels having been fitted. If suspect and you are unsure check another similar car for comparison. Body seams of these cars are pretty neat and tidy and there should be no evidence of repainting along the seams.

5. Check the wheel rims carefully for signs of unusual damage. You may find some very minor "gutter rash" on the edges of the rim from the occasional sloppy parking but that should be it. (Major gutter rash on wheels - and badly scuffed tyre sidewalls, is often a sign of a careless owner so you should just assume the rest of the car has been cared for in a similar manner)>

6. If you are buying from a dealer tell the sales guy you want to see the underside of the car on a hoist. Dealers all have access to a hoist so if they deny you this they are too lazy to make a sale or they don't want you to see the underside of the car. Many dealers also have large elevated vehicle display frames in their yards and if you get the car on one of these you can usually get a good look at the underside.

Look for paint over spray on the underside structure and components and look for any signs of underside structural repair work, very new underside paint and lots of newer looking components.
( New looking shock absorbers, new springs - if lowered springs are fitted, new brake rotors or brake calipers or new flexible brake hoses is not unusual).

7. It is still not hard to miss that a vehicle you are viewing has had significant accident repairs. Professional inspection services people are looking at commodores every day so they should easily pick a repaired car.
IF you use RACV make sure they will tell you if there have been any accident repairs carried out on the car regardless of what they are. When one very well known entity in NSW used to provide this service (they no longer do) they declined/omitted to tell clients in the reports about repair work on cars if they considered the repairs were satisfactorily carried out to the necessary standard. (This was stated either in their information sheets or on the "sample reports"). That is nonsense and if the RACV has the same dubious policy with their inspections (I hope not but check this with them carefully) then do not use them. It is always in the consumer's interest to know if he/she is looking at buying a repaired car irrespective of the quality and extent of the work.

[a1k3m1]

i say you should also take a pretty weak magnet too, and sorta put it on places you think are suss, if its been bogged up the magnet wont stick