First Car Advice

[Cozmo858]

Gday, First post here just looking for some advice on buying my first car

Im looking at buying a VY/Z Commodore within the next month or 2 will be my first car and have 7k to spend.

Just wanting some advice on things i should be looking for with the car ect as i really dont have any mates / family where i live that are very knowledgeable with cars ect so what are the trouble points i should be looking out for?

Also what kind of questions should i be asking the person im buying off as im looking to buy private as some of my early research shows how dealers mark up the price.

I know some of the basic questions i should be asking such as if the car has any crash history ect and a few places i should be looking to make sure the car is in good condition really just needing to know the places that you can be screwed over.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[_R_J_K_]

Doing a REVS check is a must. If you get the VIN and details from the owner via email, make sure they match up when you look at the car.

 

[Nut Kracker]

Go over it with a fine tooth comb.....

Run you hands over the panels....feel for any rust bubbles, dents and bog. Front/rear bumpers ok, not hanging off?
Get under the car as much as you can and check for any oil leaks....diff, gear box, engine etc. Look for any suspension wear.

Look at the engine...is it nice and clean? Oil Leaks? Coolant Leaks? Engine mounts look ok? Hoses in good condition? etc.
Check condition of all spark plug leads...loose?
Start the engine...listen....look. Any leaks or unusual noises...rattles etc.? Smoke from exhaust? Unusual exhaust/manifold noise?
Check condition of the oil. Is it a nice brown colour or shitty black?
Check coolant. Is it just water or proper coolant, green or red colour?

Check all exterior lights and indicators etc.... Interior and boot lights? Air conditioner work? Radio? electric aerial? Heater and fans? Electric seats (if fitted)? Instrument lights? Horn? Alarm (if fitted)?
Central remote locking work?
Get him to switch the exterior/brake lights on and you check them. Not you switch them on and him check, as he might say they are working when they aren't.

Check tyres for wear and the spare...jack and tools too.

Check service history in the car owners manual. Don't take his word for it.

This might piss him off, but you could also check for fault codes. This is how to do it....https://forums.justcommodores.com.au/threads/checking-error-codes-vt-vx.23665

Even if you are inexperienced when it comes to cars, make out you are NOT. Go in confident. But not arrogant.
Ask questions.
Make him believe you know what you are doing.
Take a list of things to check, or memorise it.

Oh yeah...take it for a spin too :rofl: How does it handle? Is the engine smooth? Idle ok? Plenty of power? Are the gear changes smooth or jerky? (auto). Does the clutch feel ok, not slipping? Gears not hard to change (manual)?

Others will probably let you know other things you can check.

Hope this helps and congrats on your first car.

 

[VR38]

Any help is appreciated!

Look for a one owner who will have a documented service history in the owners manual.

Ask for both the original keys etc

Look under the car for any leaks.

Check the tyres for uneven wear.

Make sure everything opens and closes as it should.

Make sure all the buttons and switches do what they are supposed to do.

Lift the mats up, including the boot and look under the seats.

All fluids should be clean and not smell burnt.

It should perform like a car should, ie, no hesitation or flat spots, no rough idle and no smoke.

Hope that helps.

 

[Matty14]

If you live near a racv or road worthy joint take it there when you take it for a spin and get them to do a check on the car

 

[PUSHIN]

half with the above, my old man takes every car he gets to his mechanic before purchasing it (I understand this can be hard to do in your position buying privately, I buy privately and imagine it would be very hard to convince the seller to let you take it for a roady.. my father purchases from dealerships and they're usually fine with it)

Getting a roadworthy is probably the best way to see whats wrong with it, maybe even tell them to be overly anal about it (i've had mechanics miss pretty big things, previous owner cut holes in the parcel shelf, young and naive i thought nothing of it, my last roady @ a different shop finally brang it up after another joint missed it during a good 5 roadies.)

if the seller does NOT want you taking it for a roady, one part of me says theres something fishy going on and he is hiding something, another half is saying that i understand and i probably wouldn't be keen either even if i had been 100% honest about the vehicle, as it may take a while, and well.. i don't trust many people

Without getting a roadworthy, i'd go with post #3, I've heard of people doing some kind of magnet check to check for bog and crap, 5 seconds on google has told me going over all likely rust spots (or in case of accidents, most/all of the outer body) with a fridge magnet will show you if the cars been bogged for whatever reason when it does NOT stick. Have not personally tried this so i have no further advice or any pros/cons, someone else might be able to help..

Might pay to take a look at things like brakes, bushings, ball joints, rack ends etc, my first vn had a lot of wear and tear crap and ended up costing over $2500 just to get to a roadworthy state (thats without the cost of a roadworthy, rego, price of car etc, JUST the parts and half of the labour came out to over 2500, fitted half of it myself. needless to say i was an idiot and got stooged hard.

after the last few lines and thinking about it, i strongly strongly suggest getting a roadworthy so you know whats wrong before buying a car, also ask whoever does the roady roughly what it would cost for all things on the list to be replaced so you know what you're in for. believe me there's nothing worse then spending thousands of dollars on a car and being stuck with something plain and standard, when for your money you could have had something far far nicer. not to mention, as soon as my vn was registered, even if i sold it then and there without spending another cent i'd still have lost 2 grand >.<

Just be very very careful, either thoroughly inspect the car or get a roadworthy, and if you plan to be hooning around, you'd probably wanna have some pretty deep pockets. 9 months after my 2500 roadworthy came another 1300 roadworthy because of an idiot driving my car. (me being sixteen, i thought him dropping skids in my fully sik v6 was the best thing in the world, boy was i wrong..)

 

['ssv']

If you dont know much about cars, your not going to know what your looking at anyway.
Best check out one car after the other of the same model and see which of the 2 drives better.

Check the tyres are the same brand/model and the brand is a well known one.
In my experiance with cars, I find that people who have four decent branded tyres on the car, maintain the car correctly, eg. getting servicing done yearly and not really thrashing it.
If it has 1 ching chong on it, I can almost guarantee its had a hard life and not been looked after very well.
Just my experience...

 

[Cozmo858]

Another question how much should i be looking to spend on my first car? Been getting mixed feedback on the $7000 limit some saying its way to expensive for a first car others saying that its a good budget to have for a first car so i can get something not to old good km's and in good condition vs a cheap old car thats been flogged :/?

 

[Nut Kracker]

Spend as much or as little as you like.
It depends on how long you intend to keep the car for and for what purpose.

If you just want something to get you from A to B, then later on get a car to do up, go for something cheaper.
If you want something that you will have for a long time and gradually do up, go for something better.

It's up to you.

 

[Cozmo858]

If you want something that you will have for a long time and gradually do up, go for something better.

It's up to you.

That is EXACTLY what i want... I want a car that ill have for years to come, a car i can work on and really enjoy....