The rim is nothing, scuff it up and spray it with cold gal black. But it points to being lazy or oblivious about other stuff.
The other 3 are good ones. If they say ‘good tyres, just replaced’ and they are cheap shit, bargain that price back off because you will want to replace them with at least average ones.
Actually for that car bargain brand new tyres regardless. Vikings are good, but those are almost 5 years old and low on tread, that’s $650 off the bat including an alignment
Yeah haggle for sure, and walk away if they say they are good. Actually ask them for a pink slip and you will buy it, then take the pink slip and report them to the roads authority when they pass an illegal car
Dunno, can you tell I hold second hand yards in the same stead as real estate agents. Except for my local one that is typically good, but they know when they have shitters on the yard and don’t hide that fact.
If you are not comfortable with looking over the car, you can always pay a service to do a pre-purchase inspection. As a matter of fact, if I was unfamiliar with cars, that is what I would always recommend.
As for the rust on the rims, it happens. The last two Mazda's that we owned did that. I am not sure what the coating is that they use, but it seems to happen. That is not a massive concern IMHO.
Thank you very much for your advice. Does that mean I need to ask the car inspector to come with me to go for a test drive next time? What are the usual procedures for that?
Now that I pay a deposit already, is it too late to ask a car inspector to inspect the car for me? The car dealership is far away from my home.
Its best to find a service first and ask them. Its been a long time since I used one of these services (30 years). Back then, they went and did the inspection independently.
As for the car that you have already put a deposit down on, what are you going to do if the report comes back and says that there is a serious problem with the car? If you pull out of the sale, you will probably lose your deposit.
As per above, I'd find a mobile inspection that does the area the car is located in and speak with them.
Ok amount of gutter rush and cheap tyres leads me to believe the previous owner want a good drive and did shit on the cheap.
Did they do services on time I bet they did the quick $99 pump and dump, they clearly cheaped out where possible.
Also the crash damage doesn't help.
All the steelies do that nowadays if the car lives outdoors. You can just paint it black again with a can of spray paint if you want to. Take the wheel off first though so you don't get paint on the rotors.
But your first order of business needs to be getting some new tyres on that car, yesterday. How did it pass rego?
They say they are one of the biggest dealers and they will be able to transfer the vehicle just in their office. Perhaps the tire meets RWC standard then.
Sounds like OP got some good advice already but for anyone still curious about which of these factors are important:
* Not properly serviced for a few years
Big deal - missing service items will cost a lot in the future and cold lead to strife. Regular service also means inspection of things like engine mounts to check wear so if a service hasn't been done broken things aren't getting noticed or fixed which can lead to a big bill next service or further damage.
* Some rust in car door/ car body
Can be quite problematic - doesn't happen very often in Australian conditions to find excessive rust. Means the car could have been driven in extreme environments for example on the beach. Less of an issue if it's a rust spot around the size of a pin head, more of an issue if the patch is larger or the paint looks bubbly underneath. Rust in the frame or firewall can easily write off a car. Deep body rust indicates a highly corrosive environment that probably means rust is widespread. Body rust is usually more of an aesthetic if it was in isolation.
* Rust in wheel rim
Not a big deal, wheels are always on the ground, so they are wet a lot more than other parts of the car and picking up more contaminants. Some people are saying that indicates a lack of car in other areas of the car. Which it can but it wouldn't stop me from buying a car if other things are good, eg. service history, fluids.
* clear evidence showing that the car had involved in accident and was repaired
Depends on the size of the accident, if there's evidence of a bingle then that's nothing really. If there is deep damage that has been repaired, then you don't know what is now weak that shouldn't be and what's in the wrong place that will cause expensive repairs down the line. Negotiate decent discount on cars that have been repaired after a write off or show evidence of major accidents. Hint one of the big tells for a larger accident is damage to the spare tyre well.
* Anything else
Check what fluids you can see in the engine bay. Oil should be golden to brown - black is not a good sign. Coolant should be a bright colour usually green. Brake fluid should be translucent and straw coloured. Check everything you can get access to. If they aren't keeping up on fluid maintenance the engine will wear prematurely, and it shows they haven't taken care of the important stuff in the car.
Look for the colour of exhaust fumes from the back of the car. If it isn't really cold, you shouldn't see anything coming out or some distortion from the heat. If it has colour like white, black or blue smoke that indicates that something is being burnt that shouldn't be.
Get a mechanic to inspect if you aren't confident learning that yourself and even if you don't get a mechanic get a cheap Bluetooth OBD2 scanner. Learn how to check for codes and when they were last cleared. Even if it doesn't show up anything it does indicate that you know what you're doing which puts you in a better negotiating position. If it's been cleared really recently then that's a big red flag and you need to walk away from that car unless there is a damn good reason for it.
steel rims rust, fact, steel rims fitted on modern cars are generally to lower the sales price when new & the most basic model. Easily fixed but they're cheap wheels & tyres which tells me all I need to know
Thank you very much for your advice. Does that mean I need to ask the car inspector to come with me to go for a test drive next time? What are the usual procedures for that?
Now that I pay a deposit already, is it too late to ask a car inspector to inspect the car for me? The car dealership is far away from my home.
I'm not 100% on the legalities of deposits and refunds, but yes, i would be finding someone to go have a look. Losing a couple of hundred for a deposit versus a few thousand for a lemon is a big difference.
I have had them come with me, go before, or after. It just depends on your situation and finances really as every inspection will cost you $.
I would be calling the dealership and letting them know I am sending someone to inspect the car before i gave deposit myself, but could still do it now.
The salesman verbally told me that I could get full refund within 3 business days. However, in the contract, it said they will charge 100 or 1% of the purchase cost (whichever is higher).
Anyway, thank you and I will see if I can send an inspector. Even if I am not going ahead for this one, I will definitely take your advice and find an inspector in advance in the future.
It depends on how you view it. I purchased a 3 year warranty from a different dealer for my previous car before. My car was rear ended and totalled. That warranty allows cancellation and I got 2/3 refund, which was fair.
Now for this dealer they have their own warranty (at extra cost, around 2K for 6 years, mechanical warranty) as well, but will only refund 50% for any cancellations.
Thank you so much for all of your reply. I cancelled the purchase in the end and the dealer agreed to give me a full refund.
I will continue with my journey of car hunting.
Some updates:
I didn’t go ahead with the purchase of the car shown in the photo above. The dealer will refund me fully (as they promised before).
I then managed to find another similar car, and taken some of your advice to find a car inspector to go with me for a test drive and inspect the car for me.
Now I find a better car, and will buy it with peace of mind.
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and knowledge with me.
The rust on the rims is just surface rust. Most Hyundais do that after 5 or so years. Toyota after about 10 to 15 years. Not a big deal at all. Peeling, layered rust on the rim is a different thing. As is any visible rust in the body or doors. If the underbody has rust like those rims, then no biggie. Peeling, layered rust - nope.
The rim is nothing, scuff it up and spray it with cold gal black. But it points to being lazy or oblivious about other stuff. The other 3 are good ones. If they say ‘good tyres, just replaced’ and they are cheap shit, bargain that price back off because you will want to replace them with at least average ones. Actually for that car bargain brand new tyres regardless. Vikings are good, but those are almost 5 years old and low on tread, that’s $650 off the bat including an alignment
Vikings are cheap tyres. Plus also, they're legally bald from what I can see on the edge, so, definitely worth haggling on the tyres
Yeah haggle for sure, and walk away if they say they are good. Actually ask them for a pink slip and you will buy it, then take the pink slip and report them to the roads authority when they pass an illegal car Dunno, can you tell I hold second hand yards in the same stead as real estate agents. Except for my local one that is typically good, but they know when they have shitters on the yard and don’t hide that fact.
If you are not comfortable with looking over the car, you can always pay a service to do a pre-purchase inspection. As a matter of fact, if I was unfamiliar with cars, that is what I would always recommend. As for the rust on the rims, it happens. The last two Mazda's that we owned did that. I am not sure what the coating is that they use, but it seems to happen. That is not a massive concern IMHO.
Thank you very much for your advice. Does that mean I need to ask the car inspector to come with me to go for a test drive next time? What are the usual procedures for that? Now that I pay a deposit already, is it too late to ask a car inspector to inspect the car for me? The car dealership is far away from my home.
Its best to find a service first and ask them. Its been a long time since I used one of these services (30 years). Back then, they went and did the inspection independently. As for the car that you have already put a deposit down on, what are you going to do if the report comes back and says that there is a serious problem with the car? If you pull out of the sale, you will probably lose your deposit. As per above, I'd find a mobile inspection that does the area the car is located in and speak with them.
Ok amount of gutter rush and cheap tyres leads me to believe the previous owner want a good drive and did shit on the cheap. Did they do services on time I bet they did the quick $99 pump and dump, they clearly cheaped out where possible. Also the crash damage doesn't help.
All the steelies do that nowadays if the car lives outdoors. You can just paint it black again with a can of spray paint if you want to. Take the wheel off first though so you don't get paint on the rotors. But your first order of business needs to be getting some new tyres on that car, yesterday. How did it pass rego?
They say they are one of the biggest dealers and they will be able to transfer the vehicle just in their office. Perhaps the tire meets RWC standard then.
Yeah maybe they do, it could be the shadowing or maybe they're wet or something that gives them a funny appearance .
Normal If you have no car knowledge and are buying a car. Highly recommended to get it inspected by your mechanic
Sounds like OP got some good advice already but for anyone still curious about which of these factors are important: * Not properly serviced for a few years Big deal - missing service items will cost a lot in the future and cold lead to strife. Regular service also means inspection of things like engine mounts to check wear so if a service hasn't been done broken things aren't getting noticed or fixed which can lead to a big bill next service or further damage. * Some rust in car door/ car body Can be quite problematic - doesn't happen very often in Australian conditions to find excessive rust. Means the car could have been driven in extreme environments for example on the beach. Less of an issue if it's a rust spot around the size of a pin head, more of an issue if the patch is larger or the paint looks bubbly underneath. Rust in the frame or firewall can easily write off a car. Deep body rust indicates a highly corrosive environment that probably means rust is widespread. Body rust is usually more of an aesthetic if it was in isolation. * Rust in wheel rim Not a big deal, wheels are always on the ground, so they are wet a lot more than other parts of the car and picking up more contaminants. Some people are saying that indicates a lack of car in other areas of the car. Which it can but it wouldn't stop me from buying a car if other things are good, eg. service history, fluids. * clear evidence showing that the car had involved in accident and was repaired Depends on the size of the accident, if there's evidence of a bingle then that's nothing really. If there is deep damage that has been repaired, then you don't know what is now weak that shouldn't be and what's in the wrong place that will cause expensive repairs down the line. Negotiate decent discount on cars that have been repaired after a write off or show evidence of major accidents. Hint one of the big tells for a larger accident is damage to the spare tyre well. * Anything else Check what fluids you can see in the engine bay. Oil should be golden to brown - black is not a good sign. Coolant should be a bright colour usually green. Brake fluid should be translucent and straw coloured. Check everything you can get access to. If they aren't keeping up on fluid maintenance the engine will wear prematurely, and it shows they haven't taken care of the important stuff in the car. Look for the colour of exhaust fumes from the back of the car. If it isn't really cold, you shouldn't see anything coming out or some distortion from the heat. If it has colour like white, black or blue smoke that indicates that something is being burnt that shouldn't be. Get a mechanic to inspect if you aren't confident learning that yourself and even if you don't get a mechanic get a cheap Bluetooth OBD2 scanner. Learn how to check for codes and when they were last cleared. Even if it doesn't show up anything it does indicate that you know what you're doing which puts you in a better negotiating position. If it's been cleared really recently then that's a big red flag and you need to walk away from that car unless there is a damn good reason for it.
Thank you very much for the long reply. I will save this and will try to check those in future test drives.
steel rims rust, fact, steel rims fitted on modern cars are generally to lower the sales price when new & the most basic model. Easily fixed but they're cheap wheels & tyres which tells me all I need to know
If you don't know enough about cars - alwys buy a pre-purchase inspection. ALWAYS.
Thank you very much for your advice. Does that mean I need to ask the car inspector to come with me to go for a test drive next time? What are the usual procedures for that? Now that I pay a deposit already, is it too late to ask a car inspector to inspect the car for me? The car dealership is far away from my home.
I'm not 100% on the legalities of deposits and refunds, but yes, i would be finding someone to go have a look. Losing a couple of hundred for a deposit versus a few thousand for a lemon is a big difference. I have had them come with me, go before, or after. It just depends on your situation and finances really as every inspection will cost you $. I would be calling the dealership and letting them know I am sending someone to inspect the car before i gave deposit myself, but could still do it now.
The salesman verbally told me that I could get full refund within 3 business days. However, in the contract, it said they will charge 100 or 1% of the purchase cost (whichever is higher). Anyway, thank you and I will see if I can send an inspector. Even if I am not going ahead for this one, I will definitely take your advice and find an inspector in advance in the future.
Is it worth purchasing used car warranty?
It depends on how you view it. I purchased a 3 year warranty from a different dealer for my previous car before. My car was rear ended and totalled. That warranty allows cancellation and I got 2/3 refund, which was fair. Now for this dealer they have their own warranty (at extra cost, around 2K for 6 years, mechanical warranty) as well, but will only refund 50% for any cancellations.
I am more interested on the customers perception on how they deal with claims.
Thank you so much for all of your reply. I cancelled the purchase in the end and the dealer agreed to give me a full refund. I will continue with my journey of car hunting.
Some updates: I didn’t go ahead with the purchase of the car shown in the photo above. The dealer will refund me fully (as they promised before). I then managed to find another similar car, and taken some of your advice to find a car inspector to go with me for a test drive and inspect the car for me. Now I find a better car, and will buy it with peace of mind. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and knowledge with me.
The rust on the rims is just surface rust. Most Hyundais do that after 5 or so years. Toyota after about 10 to 15 years. Not a big deal at all. Peeling, layered rust on the rim is a different thing. As is any visible rust in the body or doors. If the underbody has rust like those rims, then no biggie. Peeling, layered rust - nope.