The Test Drive.
After the car has passed the Carfax test, it"s time to take it for a test drive. Do your absolute best to leave the salesman behind. Some dealerships will allow this, but most won"t. There are a couple of reasons for this. You may be thinking that the dealership is worried about someone stealing their cars. Perhaps if you"re in a huge city with a high crime rate then this may be an actual concern, but most likely it"s because the dealership wants the salesman with you so he can continuously point out benefits and quickly divert your attention from any complaints or worries you may have.
Remember, you have brought your friend along so they can take notes of your worries, concerns and complaints while you get a feel for the vehicle at highway speeds. Note that I said highway speeds. Don"t just putt around the block on your test drive. Give it a good run. Drive it 5 or 10 or 15 miles. Get it out of the city and onto the interstate highway. You"ll never get a feel for how this car handles at 70 MPH if you just drive it around a couple of side streets near the dealership.
Before you ever leave the lot with the car, and especially before the engine has been started that day, look for any unusual smoke emitted from the exhaust when it is first started. If you see any smoke at all on a gas engine car, then that car deserves a place on the Carfax list of undesirables, but since you checked the tailpipe on your original “stealth” visit, and found no soot or sticky residue, then you most likely won"t see any smoke upon initial startup for the day. If you happen to be looking at a car with a diesel engine, and you are in a cold climate, then you may see a bit of white smoke if the engine is cold and being started for the first time that day. A small amount of white smoke from a diesel engine indicates that the engine is emitting unburned diesel fumes. Diesel engines don"t have spark plugs to ignite their fuel. They rely solely upon compression to give it combustion. Of course a bit of engine heat assists this combustion, so it may take a few revolutions for it to start and consequentially you may see a bit of white smoke (unburned diesel vapor) when it is first started. That will be very rare though, and most modern diesel engines have pre-heaters to compensate for this heat requirement.
At this point your friend is the one who started the car and you have been standing back with an eagle"s eye on the exhaust pipe.
If it passes the smoke test, have your friend shut the car off and let you start it. Listen for any noise that sounds unusual to you.
Screeching, grinding and binding noises should have you hightailing it to your old car to go look at your next candidate. If it starts normally, then run it through its gears while sitting still.
If it has an automatic transmission, then put your foot on the brake and feel for how it reacts when you put it into drive. If the car feels very responsive in “Drive” then great. Next you should check to see if you get the same feel when you put it into “Reverse”. If you feel any sluggishness in reverse, then that means you"ll have problems soon enough with your forward drive gears. Reverse is actually the first gear of your forward drive. If you detect any difference in “Reverse” and “Drive” while sitting still then take the car to an open area (which is often tough to find on a dealership lot), and try backing up 10 feet rather suddenly.
Put the transmission into L1 or 1 (the lowest forward gear) and compare the two. If “Reverse” is significantly different (more sluggish), then you"ll want to beat feet away from this car.
It will soon be in need of costly transmission repairs. I have rebuilt automatic transmissions, and believe you me, the shop that rebuilds a transmission will need to have HIGHLY qualified technicians PLUS a whole plethora of specialized tools for each transmission model. It ain"t cheap!
If it has a standard transmission, then be on the lookout for any rattling noises when the vehicle is in neutral. This could be an indication that the manual clutch, pressure plate, and or pilot bearing is ready to give up the ghost. If it passes the noise test, then put it into 1st and reverse and test for responsiveness when you release the clutch. I doubt you would even consider buying a car with a manual transmission unless you were already very familiar with how one should feel.
When you test drive a standard transmission vehicle, make sure to pay attention to whether or not the vehicle feels responsive to throttle application. If it"s a five speed (as most manual transmissions are these days), then even in a small 4-cylinder engine vehicle you should feel a definite response to your throttle application when going 45 MPH in 4th gear. If you hear the engine making a lot of noise and/or see the tachometer (some cars have a tachometer on the instrument panel that will tell you the engine"s revolutions per minute--RPM"s) racing upwards but feel no noticeable vehicle acceleration, then it"s a safe bet that this car will soon need a new clutch, pressure plate and pilot bearing. Most manual transmissions can be repaired for way less than $500, so it may be just an item you want to put on your list for the dealer to replace before you buy.
Assuming this car has passed the above tests, it"s time to take this puppy out and test-drive her.
No matter how small the defect, WRITE DOWN every single thing you find wrong with it. Remember the dealer"s appraiser? Remember that fine-toothed comb? Do you think he or she will just gloss over your trade-in? NO--they won"t! They will get downright nitty and gritty about EVERY single thing they can that will give them an excuse to justify paying you the absolute lowest price possible for a trade in.
What"s good for the goose is good for the gander. Remember that the salesman is going to do his best to endear you to him. He"s going to do his best to find your “good side” and try to endear you to him. He"s going to try to distract you at times by pointing out benefits when you ask for facts. Don"t let him distract you. Stay focused and don"t be shy about voicing the faults you find to your friend.
Don"t fall in love with the new car just because you like it nor for any other reason. Remember, you have not only officially removed the ring from your nose, you have strategically re-inserted it into the honker of the car dealer staff. Keep it there.
I want you to be ruthless with your inspection of this vehicle.
Inspect the trunk. Is it neat and clean? Is the original owner"s manual and possibly a service record in the glove box? If not then maybe the previous owner didn"t car for this care very well.
If you see an oil leak, write it down. If you see a torn seat, write it down. If you see an AC vent that is broken, write it down. If the radio doesn"t work, write it down. Don"t forget to test the cassette or CD player. If the tires are bald or show uneven wear, write it down. If the power mirrors don"t work, write it down. If the rear bumper has scratch marks, write it down. If the windshield washer pump doesn"t work, write it down. If the windshield washer pump does work and the wiper blades need to be replaced, write it down. Ask your friend (who will be busy writing down all the faults you can think of) if there is anything he or she notices that you haven"t. I"m sure he or she will come up with just as many faults as you have thought of.
When you get it out on the road and up to highway speed, be aware of any unusual vibrations or noises. I mentioned above that you should try the radio, but it should be shut off when you are on this test drive and you should be listening intently for any unusual noises. Take notice if the vehicle pulls to one side. If the tire were showing uneven wear then this car will most likely need a front-end alignment and this will cause it to pull to one side or the other.
Take the car to a side street somewhere that has very little traffic. This side street should be straight and level. Get the car up to 10 or 15 miles per hour in a straight line (make SURE no one is behind you), take your hands off the wheel and stop suddenly. You don"t need to lock up the brakes, just stop gently, but suddenly. If the car pulls to one side or the other, then it means there is a problem with the brakes.
The salesman will be cringing in his seat, probably wishing he had stayed in bed this morning by now.
He"ll still get a "decent" paycheck for the time he has spent with you--if he can meet your very reasonable and well-laid finance plans, but it will be a drastically smaller paycheck than he could have gotten from an uninformed buyer. Sorry Mr. Salesman---this sale isn"t going to be one of your best commissions.
The above inspection criterion is meant only give you a very brief overview of what you should look out for on your test drive.
That"s why most people should: