We are preparing to purchase a used car. I have never done this before so I am paranoid.
We’ve been doing some research and have decided on the specific cars we want to look at. However, the one we really like has a lot of miles on it–an average of 20,000/year.
We have the CARFAX on the vehicle and it is a one-owner vehicle with a clean history.
The only part that’s bugging me is the service record. (For the record, Tennessee has no mandatory emissions tests for the majority of counties–ours included.) From the day the car was purchased until it had around 35,000 miles on it, the service record shows it was religiously maintained every 3,000-4,000 miles with oil changes, tune ups, etc. However, there are no maintenance records again until approximately 65,000 miles. From that point on, the records indicate the car was serviced only every 10,000 miles.
Now, this could be for many reasons–economic issues for the owner, car passed along to not-as-conscientious family member, etc.
Should I see this as a major red flag or is it something I shouldn’t be too concerned about? I will be having the vehicle checked out by a mechanic before purchasing so I will know if there are any current issues.
As long as you are having a mechanic check you trust check it out fully I wouldn’t worry about it. I wouldn’t trust a car with a perfect service record any more than I don’t trust one that doesn’t have it. Because, I imagine this service record is self reported. So, maybe the guy kept meticulous records for his new car and forgot about it after it wasn’t so new any longer. So, yeah, you have the mechanic. That’s the real important thing.
I supposed the owner could have misplaced that section of paperwork. Or perhaps he had a good friend during that time who did the maintenance for him and he never though to document it. I never thought to document oil changes when I did them myself.
This particular vehicle’s maintenance record was kept by the dealership as that’s where the owner brought the car to be serviced. So, while I guess it’s possible for the dealership to falsify the records, I’d think they would err on the side of making it look better.
The reason Carfax is used as a measure of the condition of a car is because Carfax said so.
Changing the oil every mile doesn’t guarantee that the car is “good.”
Put it another way: A person goes to the dentist every month for 50 years, then dies in their bed from morbid obesity with perfect teeth.
You want a mechanic to take a look at the car. However, you also want to weed out the bad cars by driving it first and doing a full visual inspection.
Red flags:
Rust spots: if you see any rust at all, be very careful. Also, check the seam inside doors and the trunk. New upholstery, mildew smells, or non-factory mats are other possible signs that there is a leak.
Fluids dripping from the hood area: the only fluid that you should be seeing drip from the front is condensation from the AC. I would take a tissue and dab any wet spots under the car. Anything brown, red, or green is a sign of expensive repairs.
Unusual sounds: grinding, coughing, backfire, etc. could be signs of more serious problems. Normal sounds include engine noise, squeaks, and some rattling (if it is coming from a seatbelt, for example.)
Smoke.
A lot of movement in the temperature gauge: the car, during a test drive, should start cold, warm up, and level off at around the 50% mark on the gauge. If it moves around a lot, it could be a sign of serious trouble.
Dashboard warning lights: They all should light up, then go out at the same time after the car is started.
Bondo. Bondo is the brand name of a paste that is used to fill holes and dents in cars before being painted. The presence of any Bondo, anywhere on the car could indicate that the car was damaged then repaired.
At 65,000 miles or more, make sure you have somebody check the timing belt/chain. It probably needs replacing and you really don’t want that to crap out on the highway because you will come to full stop and require towing.
If the service record includes maintenance repairs (or if the owner has records) this is the best way to check. (Does Carfax do this?)
Averages:
Disc brakes: 20-25k miles
Drum brakes: 40-50k
Clutch: 50k
Timing belt: 50k-100k, or 5 years
Battery: 5 years (most batteries are sold with 10 year warranties)
Oil change: 6k miles or 3 months
Transmission oil change: 50-100k
Tires: Rotation when oil is changed (not required), 20-40k per set depending on brand, or 15-25k for the right front tire without rotation.
Carfax is only a data gathering product. If something isn’t reported, Carfax can’t find it. Dealerships may report service records or they may not. Jiffy Lubes are most assuredly not reporting them. I would say that the owner of the vehicle stopped taking it to the dealership except for larger service intervals or only sporadically. It doesn’t mean that the services weren’t done…only that Carfax doesn’t know about them. I’ve seen thousands of Carfax reports and very few of them say much about service records.
Also, accidents not reported to the police cannot be found by Carfax. I work for a dealership and it amazes me the way that Carfax has marketed itself to be the end all be all for buying a car. It’s not. It can be a useful tool to determine if a car is NOT for you. If it has a Moderate to Severe reported accident, Salvage history, or Flood history for instance, I would steer clear. A minor accident reported wouldn’t stop me from buying a car I really liked as these are most often fender dings in parking lots resulting in only cosmetic damage that’s easily and inexpensively fixed.
Take a car to a mechanic you trust to check it out for you.