You guys are brilliant, and I was wondering if you could give me a checklist of things to look at before I decide wether or not I should buy this car. Thank you.

 

Make sure it has doors. Doors are good.

 

I was thinking more under the hood But, thanks.

 

Take a look at the faq section and do a search on this topic.


I will tell you to take a #2 phillips screw driver and remove the storage bins to check for rust. They are usually very rusty under there and you can't tell from the outside.

 

look for rust spots under storage pins, roker panels and between tail lights and rear bumper

 

Thanks for the advice, guys.

 

Under the hood. Oil Leaks. If he/she lets you try and remove the distributor and examine the colour of it. It should look the same shiney metalic as sludge doesnt really build up very much on rotarys. Rule of thumb, If its brown send it back to town. Also condition of suspension bushings mainly by the exhaust manifold. Rust under the storage bins (already said but important). Steering wheel play. Alignment causing the car to drift (not the fun kind but when it pulls to one side of the road). Color of sparkplugs, Condition of sparkplug wires. Compression, if he lets you. Air filter just to prove general maintenence. Color of coolant make sure its still bright green, not "puke" green. Tire wear.Make sure all the horns, switches,stereo, AC, blinkers seatbelts etc work. Theres tonnes more but this is a good start. For everything thats screwd up make him take off some cash. But if thers obvious mechanical problems dont even bother and dont feel bad about not buying it theres lots of FBs that need to be saved!

 

Also, look for rust on the unibody members under the hood, where the steering linkage is bolted on. This rust looks innocent enough because it is often hidden by the paint. But it can be severe and is beyond economic repair. If ignored it can get you and/or others killed when your steering lets go. Do not buy a car with this problem.