Some questions about buyiing a used car...

[lianli]

I tried searching for as many answers as I could. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Im buying the used car from a private seller. Here are my questioins...:

1.) Where is a good place to get the car inspected? The car is located in the NW. Only place that comes to mind is Canadian tire...

2.) What kind of inspection should I ask for? What are all these 100/150/300 point inspections about?

3.) How do I bring the car from the seller's home to the mechanic if it is not insured? (Just drive it there un-insured?)

4.) The tires on the car are worn out and the seller is not replacing them. Where should I go to buy/install them? (Canadian Tire?)

5.) I'm planning on getting the BFGoodrich Control Plus's. Is it a good tire? Any other all-season tires out there for less price?

6.) If I am not installing them myselves, where can I go to get new brake pads installed?

Thanks guys, Im brand new to cars.

[infected]

Only advice I can give you is... don't go to Canadian Tire.

[lianli]

Ok, I can understand why. How is FountainTire when it comes to installations/inspections?

[dj_rice]

Originally posted by lianli
Ok, I can understand why. How is FountainTire when it comes to installations/inspections?

Isnt Fountain Tire a place that specializes in wheels/tires installs????

Seems like you arent very knowledge in the area of cars, so be very very careful............:rolleyes:


1) For inspection take it to a trusted mechanic of your choice, or even a car dealership

2) Either you can get a safety inspection for insurance purposes, or a mechanical inspection to check to see if the car is good

3) I dunno

4) Mytires Or CMS :thumbsup:

5) Any tire is a good tire..it all depends on what kind of driving your doing and seeing as your looking for all-seasons then sure even a Costco tire is good enough for you...and there are tons of all-seasons cheaper :rolleyes: just look around

6) CANADIAN TIRE :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[AzN'SKillZ]

1.best place to get a car inspected is at a mechanic that u trust.

2.i think the differents between the point inspections is how thural they are with the car. i dont no much about this.

3.wen i bought my supra the guy didnt hav insurence either. so i had to go to a mechanic that was near his house. i didnt really like the whole experience of goin to a mechanic that i didnt like. if the owner lets u take it to somwhere really close to his house i guess.

[lianli]

Thanks guys. The thing is, I dont even have a mechanic. This is my first "used car" and my parents only bought cars new. AFAIK, fountain tire do, do vehicle inspections, I think I got the idea from browsing these forums. If I'm wrong, I was probably reading the replies too fast ... :dunno:

I'll look into MyTires and CMS. Thanks.

[Weapon_R]

Always take your car to a dealership. They will tend to exagerate the problems but at least they thoroughly look the car over (they want you to come back and fix the problems they find).

[maximus]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
Always take your car to a dealership. They will tend to exagerate the problems but at least they thoroughly look the car over (they want you to come back and fix the problems they find).

And you can use their higher repair costs as bargaining chips to lower the price of the car. :thumbsup:

[k98303]

get the car inspected at the mechanic shop that u or ur friend know..or ones that serve your family's cars. inspection at deapship might be expensive lke 100 - 200..so if u end up not buyin the car, u waste 200 dollars that is not cool.


3.) How do I bring the car from the seller's home to the mechanic if it is not insured? (Just drive it there un-insured?)


ask the seller to drive there for u? i dont think he will let u take the car away without buying it..

[Fire_chickin]

I started taking all my inspections to the Minute Muffler on Centre St. Just south of 16th Ave.
They were bought out a couple months ago and I was very impressed with the new management.
I'm fairly knowledgeable and know when a mechanic is ripping me off. These guys walked me through the things they found, actually showed me the worn out parts (tossed the micrometer on them etc...) and showed me things that should be replaced but I could get away with for a while.
Both Justin and Jordan there are top knotch guys in my experience. Plus they give me a lift to work while they're checking out the car :clap:
They're very busy though so you'll have to book in advance making inspections when you're buying a car a little tough, but worth it.

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by Fire_chickin
I started taking all my inspections to the Minute Muffler on Centre St. Just south of 16th Ave.
They were bought out a couple months ago and I was very impressed with the new management.
I'm fairly knowledgeable and know when a mechanic is ripping me off. These guys walked me through the things they found, actually showed me the worn out parts (tossed the micrometer on them etc...) and showed me things that should be replaced but I could get away with for a while.
Both Justin and Jordan there are top knotch guys in my experience. Plus they give me a lift to work while they're checking out the car :clap:
They're very busy though so you'll have to book in advance making inspections when you're buying a car a little tough, but worth it.

Way to go digging there :thumbsdow

[Fire_chickin]

Originally posted by jdmakkord


Way to go digging there :thumbsdow

??
Whatever man. Good shops are hard to find and I was impressed with these guys and I'll let people know. You don't want the tip, go to Canadian Tire and get ass raped. That's your choice.

[Doozer]

Most of the advice given above is stuff that I'd agree with, but I put my thoughts below:


Originally posted by lianli

1.) Where is a good place to get the car inspected? The car is located in the NW. Only place that comes to mind is Canadian tire... - When in doubt, take it to the closest dealership for that make. They always know the car better than a general garage, and they know what parts of the car are more prone to wear.

2.) What kind of inspection should I ask for? What are all these 100/150/300 point inspections about? - Just tell the dealership you're thinking about buying the car and want an inspection for that purpose. Even a 100-point inspection will generally tell you whether the car's worth looking at further.

3.) How do I bring the car from the seller's home to the mechanic if it is not insured? (Just drive it there un-insured?) - Can't be done, unless the owner arranges for a temporary pink slip. It also means the car can't be test-driven, which would make me suspicious. When I sold my last car, I kept the insurance on it for a month even after I bought my new car, just so that people could test-drive it.

4.) The tires on the car are worn out and the seller is not replacing them. Where should I go to buy/install them? (Canadian Tire?) - www.tirerack.com seems to be popular here on Beyond, but Fountain Tire, Kal-Tire, or any place that comes up in the phone book is probably fine. If you're not a hard-core driver, then Wal-Mart or Costco is going to give you the best price.

5.) I'm planning on getting the BFGoodrich Control Plus's. Is it a good tire? Any other all-season tires out there for less price? - As above

6.) If I am not installing them myselves, where can I go to get new brake pads installed? - Same as above, but Crowfoot Brake and Muffler is a place I used to take my old Integra to, and they seemed to do a fair job.