How To Inspect a Used Car Before You Buy It

[PhilMante]

By far the BEST piece of advice. Young people, old people, ALWAYS do a pre-purchase inspection on a vehicle. I've done it for my last 3 major purchases and it was so worth the 120 bucks my mechanic usually charges. I just bought a '92 Yukon for 3, 000, the owner wanted 3, 800 but upon a pre-purchase inspection, my trusted mechanic found that most of the lines were worn out, the rotors in the brakes were too small, there was lots of leakage, and it would cost me around 2, 000 bucks to repair. Now the guy wanted 3, 800. I got it for 3, 000. $800 was saved thanks to 4 hours of labor and a $120 inspection.

And what happens if you don't? I bought a '97 GMC Jimmy for $500 (which should have been an immediate red flag, but no, me had to be big and dumb and buy a 4x4 for 500 bucks.) the brakes were not good, but I didn't expect it to be much worse than another 500 bucks - $1, 480 later, and eventually the muffler, that thing was a lesson learned....ALWAYS DO THE PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION!! Always!

ALWAYS!!!

[dozza]

good tips scotty, and i'll never buy a brand new car, it loses value as soon as you drive it out the gate

[khalidhasan]

*Scotty - the Auto-consumer lifesaver*
I thank God for real people like

[EddyTee]

Wow that hand check between the fender and wheel really works!! I went to check a used car, and I can fit 4 fingers on one side, but on the other side I could barely fit 3 fingers, which meant the car was probably whacked on that side and messed up the suspension, or even the frame! Great tips!

[milkyway]

hello scotty, so i put my fingers between the front tyres and fenders on both sides and they're not even. what is normally the problem if this occur? thanks in advance

[Ben-locy]

Is there any good tips to check if an axle housing is bent. Found a good deal on 44 for my jeep but worried I may be inheriting a problem. But it's worth the risk considering how much they are from g2 or somewhere like that

[jermainemyers]

love the channel scotty; there is always great info here.  I'm in northern Virginia,    can you recommend any reputable mechanics in this area that can perform pre-purchase inspections?

[icantw]

Never bought new your whole life Scotty? I'm 26 and I bought 3 cars news....I suck at saving.

[EssaysCollege]

I've heard people say that they wouldn't buy a car from a private party if they won't let you take the car to a mechanic. I've never expected or heard of such a thing and I've bought and sold used cars for many years. What's reasonable is allowing the prospective buyer to inspect the car and test drive it. What do you think? What have you experienced?

[audiophileman]

Did some checking on YourMechanic.com. They're receiving a lot of complaints about poor service. Check Yelp and Google Reviews and find a good local mobile mechanic that way. Sorry, Scotty, YourMechanic may be good in Houston, but it may not be good in somebody else's State.

[mercsr]

"...before you shell out your hard earned money on a used car, it's best to pay a mechanic like me." Spoken like a true a

[Corkoth]

hoping this dealership will let me have my mechanic see the car first, if they aren't accommodating, i'll have to pass, and i really want this car :(

[brycecxtry]

Umm??? What the fuck this isn’t Scotty’s channel.