How to Buy a Car

Hello, all!

Welcome to another addition of ɭexi.ɭaron. In this post, I'll be showing you how to buy a car, everything from assessing damage to going with your heart and fulfilling your desires. But first, let's start with my day and the errands I ran so that I could bring you this post today.

So, if you follow my blog on the regular, you'd know that I still haven't put my Lexus' door back together. This is because I lost an extremely hard to find rear window rail and haven't found it since. That's why I'm driving THIS

It's a 1998 Mercedes-Benz ML320, and it rides like shit. The car was overheating by the time I brought it home, and I think it has a coolant leak. Meh. German Engineering is terrible.

Here's a list of errands that I had to run...
1.) Pick up a USB OBD-II scanner from my friend Edd at McCafferty Ford and Kia in Langhorne, PA.
2.) Get a hot-shoe flash attachment for my Nikon D40 from my boy, Mike Ryan.
3.) Lastly, I had to pick up some ice cream for my Mom at the local Bottom Dollar in Bensalem, PA.

All of this was in preparation for the car-buying adventure I'd be taking with my buddy Seth.

So, with a pocket full of coupons and the road at my wheel, I decided to head out.

CHECK OUT THIS AUDI S4!!

When I got to McCafferty, I was greeted with an array of beautiful mustangs, and as seen in the last pic, my buddy-- Edd Lalo.

Look at the red GT500 in this picture. Immaculate.

Edd works at a dealership, and he was driving in a new Hyundai Genesis rental. Take a look! This car's beautiful, and I don't even like Hyundai.

And here's the OBD-II!

I was so ready to get some information from my Lexus, but first I had to get the flash and go to Bottom Dollar.

Awesome...

When I got to Bottom Dollar, I saw a sweet little Fit too! Check it out.

This is Seth. He called me while I was grabbing the flash to remind me that I promised him I'd help him look at an Altima. I took this opportunity and turned it into a post for you! I figured I'd share some car-buying knowledge with you.

Here's some pictures from our trip to Deptford.

Me installing the OBD driver

One SWEET GTR that took off after the light turned green.

And these are just random pics over the Walt Whitman Bridge from Philly into New Jersey.

When we finally got there, my lap was sweaty from holding the laptop. But, Seth and I were finally ready to look at this Altima. Although we didn't have time to test drive it, we sure did learn a lot in the 15 minutes that we spent looking at the car...and you'll see why.

Here's a sweet ES I saw in the parking lot. Manager's special!!!

Such a beautiful interior...

This was what the car looked like, a 2.4 Liter Nissan Altima with manual transmission and basic interior.

Whenever I jump in a car to look at the interior, the first things I look for are dirty carpets and rugs like any normal car-buyer would. However, I go the extra mile and I always look for signs of prying.
It's important that the previous owner knew what he or she was doing to the car while they were working on it (that is if they did). If you see pry marks on the rear window pillars, door panels, or window button panels, chances are there are some problems with the electrical, speakers, or windows.
My Lexus came with a ripped up rear interior pillar. When I pulled it off to examine the wiring for the antenna, I found out that the previous owner had broken the clips and apparently they were unsuccessful at fixing the struts too. It looked like they tried to tighten the strut mount from inside the car without taking it out. ALWAYS look for signs like this or you may end up like me.

The interior looked pretty nice. It was a little dirty in some places, but for the most part it was pretty untouched, which is a good sign.

Next, I moved on to the engine bay. This is the most important part of the buying process for me, and if I don't smile when I open up the hood, I normally won't be interested in the car. So, sellers, be sure to clean your engine before you sell it! Chances are if it's dirty on the outside, it ain't pleasant on the inside...

TO ME, a car with aftermarket spark plug wires is ALWAYS a no-go. Avoid cars with these mods...

Crappy looking colored spark plug wires
Cheap or universal short-ram intakes
LED windshield washers (MY CAR CAME WITH THESE)
And anything else that's unnecessary and stupid or cheaply made

Here's a look at why we didn't by the car. My first impressions were bad.
Spark plug wires

Weapon-R short-ram air intake with a NEGLECTED air filter!

and ugly, damaged racing headers were part of the reason why I didn't get a good vibe from the Altima Engine.

After getting a first impression of the engine, check all of the regular maintenance stuff. This includes

Timing belt
Water pump
Power steering belt
Coolant level
Power steering fluid level
Oil
Transmission fluid

and anything else you can think of that I didn't add.

Here's a look at what I found upon checking all of these things.

The battery looked good, but as far as scheduled maintenance went, the car was off schedule.

The oil was a bit dirty, and there was NO coolant in the coolant reservoir. Low coolant or no coolant screams leak or neglect, both of which are bad. The timing belt was bad and the power steering fluid was low. Bad and bad.

After I did all of this, I checked out the body. Don't be afraid to be a perfectionist. Any minor gap between body panels could spread over time, and your sweet ride could become a sour lemon very soon just by falling apart.

The driver door frame had a dent and some rust in it. Not so bad.

However the car looked like it was in a slight fender-bender in the back and front.
The rear had cracked paint and rust on the license plate holder.

Plus, there were a lot of gaps between the bumper and the rear quarter panel and trunk. I moved the bumper up and down and it was loose.

On top of that, the car's trim was worn out and the front bumper had the same problem as the rear bumper...then, it was time for the OBD-II scan.

I plugged my laptop into the car, turned on ACC and synced the computer just as the dealer came out and told me they were closing so I had to disconnect my computer...not "leave." If you ask me it was pretty shady, but I wasn't shook, nor was I scared. So, I sat there and waited for a code to pop up.

A transmission code came up, and that's bad news because even manual gearboxes (such as this car's) can go for a lot of money. A transmission code can be a red flag, and if you can't shift into gear...

it most definitely is. By all means, don't buy the car if you see the flag waving. Good job, Seth!
____________________________________________

Seth passed the deal up, saying "it didn't feel right." After all of that, if you still feel like you want the car because you love it and because you're not needy, then go for it! But remember, for a man, buying a car is like choosing a wife. It takes time, and you must be ready to fall in love. Just don't look for it in the wrong places and you will spare your heart months or years of agony, and your wallet a couple hundred or thousand dollars.

Peace y'all.