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Pre-owned vehicles, a much more elegant term for 2nd hand cars is a rather huge industry. And I love the idea of buying pre-owned cars, especially the hunting part. For some, it’s a troublesome, time consuming, painstaking process. To me, it’s gratifying to get a roadworthy, good condition car, with price much lower than their new model counterpart and of course, the opportunity to meet all sorts of people (including crafty car salesmen).

Here’s a check list I’ve come up with, sourced from a few car-loving friends (including my regular mechanic) and from my own personal experience. You might want to go through them before you proceed to buy a pre-owned vehicle:

1) Accident records
If you tell me any pre-owned cars in Klang Valley is accident free, that’s like saying 90% of the college girls are still virgin. Well, I don’t know for sure the real stats, but it’s highly unlike you will get an accident-free car in Klang Valley, there’s sure to be some dents, scratches and bumper replacement. Ask the owner/dealer to honestly tell you about the accident record, or there’ll be no deal if you found the slightest evidence of a knock. This can help you get a better bargain.

Like it or not, you will have to send the car to Puspakom Sdn Bhd for inspection. And this is the part which I believe is totally unnecessary. It’s like a form of tax imposed, like it or not, you are to pay for it, and like most middleman that is involved in the government processes, they don’t add any value, only leeches the wallet of the common people. A normal check for Ownership Transfer would cost about RM 30 and you will be issued a certificate. You’ll then need to submit together with your vehicle registration card (vehicle grant or pink card) to JPJ for the “Transfer of Ownership”.

Note: Some banks’ Hire & Purchase Department will handle this part for you.

2) Service Records
See if they’ve been consistently service the vehicle with a service center or their regular mechanics. Things to check is:
a) lubricant oil and oil filter change
b) spark plug oil change
c) timing belt changed?
d) air condition serviced?

3) Vehicle Condition
a) Check the tire threads

b) Are all the tires of the same brand?

c) Is there a spare tire, jack, and lug wrench?

d) Suspension condition, try going over bump and check for noise. You can easily find one in the housing area :-)

e) Check the accessories, such as air conditioner, audio, alarm system, headlights, signal lights, brake lights (including the 3rd brake light). This one’s pretty much standard drill.

f) Engine- Check for unusual noise when the engine’s idling. Also, check if it starts off easily and ask when was the last spark plugs changed.

g) Check for smell of tobacco, avoid at all cost because it doesn’t matter how many bottle of Ambi Pur you use, it just won’t go away.

h) Flood damage, this one’s a bit tough to notice, especially with just a superficial inspection. You need to open up the compartment below the steering to check the electronic compartments and to check for rust-stains.

i) Gear- For automatic gear, check if the gear transmission is smooth using various speed. Replacing a gearbox for an automatic is rather costly, so it pays to pay attention here!

For manual shift- take note on the take-off to see if it’s smooth. Also, check the transmission when slowing down by switching from higher to lower gears. It’s not as expensive to replace a manual gearbox, but it’s still money.

j) Brakes- This is one area where you need some extra bit of stunt works. Try braking at varying speed to check for stability. Take note of any creaks or sound when you step on the brake pedal as this might indicate if the brake pads would need to be replaced.

If you are testing the car with the owner/dealer at the passenger seat, ask permission (for courtesy sake) to do a sudden stop.

k) Steering- Do a few sharp turns to check for noise and maneuverability.

One common problem with pre-owned cars is that the tires would most likely need rebalancing and would have minor alignment issues. Most dealers in Malaysia would not allow you to take the car to the highway or main road, and hence it makes it difficult to check. Basically, if the steering vibrates unusually hard at a specific speed, that’s a sign of a tire system that needs rebalancing.

4) Bodyworks and Interior
a) Observe the major surfaces of the car, and see how the reflection bounces off. If your eyes caught any dents or waves, be extra wary.

b) Adjust the seats to see if there’s any difficulty in positioning them.

c) Check the glove compartments, petrol lid and various mechanical levers you can find within the car.

5) Daylight Savings
Basically, always check the car in broad daylight, for your own security and of course, for the obvious reason why girls look so much better in the club than when they are out there in the broad daylight. :-P

6) Avoid the Welding Man and Swimming Certs
The 2 major problems that you can have is to inherit a car that has been someone’s “Welding Project�? (kereta potong). Although inspection at PUSPAKOM would have filtered out majority of these “kereta potong�?, it’s still something you must examine very closely yourself and not something to leave to chance. When in doubt, ask and if the reply is not satisfactory, move on to the next car.

7) Know Thy Enemies
Also, if you are dealing with a dealer, do not buy into their sales pitch. I am not saying dealers are not trustworthy, but basically my experience with most dealers, even the established one hasn’t been very pleasant. Sad but true enough, they are in the business of selling cars, not to score high on the customer satisfaction level.

Always be allowed to test drive the car, as I’ve heard of some dealers who do not allow buyers to test drive, which is totally ridiculous. It’s like buying a RM 200 dress and not allowed to try them on in the fitting room. Practice common sense safety precautions (especially female buyers) as most likely the owner/dealer will insist to be taken on the test drive too.

8) How far, how long?
The most obvious indicator of the mileage, of course, other than the odometer, would be the tire’s wear and tear. This you can only tell with experience and there might be other factor such as road condition that might skew the observations. Since most owners see mileage as one of their Unique Selling Point, they often go the extra mile (pardon the pun) to “fix�? an attractive mileage on their vehicle that just came back from the Dakar Rally.

9) Lowering Down the Price Tag
Any potential damages or imperfections that you inspected is a bonus to you, as you can use it as a good supporting fact to lower down the price of the car, but of course, do so tactfully. Never give a “eager beaver�? face whenever you are examining a potential purchase. This is one of the rare times where frown and worried-looking body languages can pay you dividends. I’m not suggesting you take up acting classes, but it does help you get a better deal.

Lastly, this is not a comprehensive guideline, but I certainly hope these tips can help you avoid unnecessary “potholes�? and “roadblocks�? in your quest to getting a good bargain. Trust me, there are still a lot of honest people out there with cars in perfectly good condition. There are just a bit harder to find amongst opportunistic dealers and crafty car salesmen. If you are looking for reputable dealers, I would recommend TOPMARK (www.topmark.com.my) that specializes in mainly Toyota makes. A good place to get pre-owned cars is the Motortrader magazine(www.motortrader.com.my) which is available in major bookstands and www.autoworld.com.my

Yeah, some of you might just conclude that why go through all these hassle when you can just buy a new car with a slightly higher premium. Other than the fact that I strongly believe that we’ve overpriced and overtaxed vehicles here in Malaysia, I also think that part of sound personal finance management would include minimizing the liabilities you have. In Malaysia, a vehicle can be one of your largest liabilities, after say, your girlfriend? And like I said earlier, there’s an art and science in the whole buying process, and the satisfaction is “guaranteed” by yourself.

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