Before you find the car
Research. Research, research, research. Take a look at your needs, wants, budget and what’s available and you should have a range of cars to choose from. Do some reading, find some publication reviews and owner reviews, take a look at part costs and what goes wrong with them. Read up on how well they do what they’re supposed to do. Find their common faults, and how much they’re worth in any given condition.
Before you turn up to inspect it
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Mechanical
Make sure it’s cold
If at all possible, examine the car with a cold engine. Check with the seller to see if that’s feasible; many people selling cars have already acquired their new vehicle so it’s not unlikely that they could leave it parked overnight for you to view in the morning, or whatever works. Cold engines are the hardest to start and are some engine problems are only audible/visible when the engine is cold. On the first start it’s worth standing at the back of the car to see whether you get any smoke out of the exhaust for a few seconds that then clears up and doesn’t come back with subsequent starts; this could be the valve stem seals leaking oil into the combustion chambers when the engine is cold and sitting and is something that might be hidden with a warm engine.
Check that the compliance plate is present in the engine bay (or wherever it is supposed to be – usually on the firewall (rear wall of the engine bay). Take a photo with your smartphone to compare it to the VIN on the paperwork later.
Paperwork
Check the VIN against the VIN you found in the engine bay.
Checklist
Coming!