What should I do after buying a used car with no maintenance records?

[LeetViet]

What should I do after buying a used car with no maintenance records?

How much should I expect to pay if I do it myself and if I take it to an independent garage?

 

[zerocool84]

Umm take the car to a reputable shop to get it inspected. How do we know how much you'll have to pay for anything? We don't know what's wrong with the car.

 

[LeetViet]

Sorry zerocool84, I'll be more specific. How much would it cost to do the maintenance in the manual:

http://imgur.com/i726a.png
http://imgur.com/dCz27.png

 

[Bignate603]

Oil will be cheap, but spark plugs and wires can vary quite a bit depending on the car. A 4 banger that takes copper plugs and has easy access to them costs very little. A V8 that uses platinum plugs and has plugs that are hard to get to could easily cost 5x as much or more.

You have no idea how much it will cost until you know the exact kind of car and get it inspected to figure out what's wrong. The best thing to do is pay a mechanic $50 to inspect it BEFORE you buy it. If it has issues then you just walk away and look at something else.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: LeetViet
Sorry zerocool84, I meant things like oil, spark plugs, etc.

I'm thinking more preventative than reactive problems.

Go take it to a good mechanic first. Always the most important as they can see things coming that regular people can't.

 

[RichieZ]

oops wrong thread

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: LeetViet
Sorry zerocool84, I meant things like oil, spark plugs, etc.

I'm thinking more preventative than reactive problems.

Go take it to a good mechanic first. Always the most important as they can see things coming that regular people can't.

yeah.

pay $50-75 for inspection before you purchase.

I almost had a pretty sweet deal on my Boss's 2000 Altima, 74k miles, for $3k.

took it in for inspection, came back as audible engine knock. 3 quarts low and oil never changed

I noticed it as a slight "sputter" when driving it downhill or coasting in 2nd, getting used to the clutch. I had simply chalked it up to the car being abandoned for the previous 5 or 6 months. Oh well.

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: LeetViet
Sorry zerocool84, I meant things like oil, spark plugs, etc.

I'm thinking more preventative than reactive problems.

Go take it to a good mechanic first. Always the most important as they can see things coming that regular people can't.

yeah.

pay $50-75 for inspection before you purchase.

I almost had a pretty sweet deal on my Boss's 2000 Altima, 74k miles, for $3k.

took it in for inspection, came back as audible engine knock. 3 quarts low and oil never changed

I noticed it as a slight "sputter" when driving it downhill or coasting in 2nd, getting used to the clutch. I had simply chalked it up to the car being abandoned for the previous 5 or 6 months. Oh well.

wow, oil never changed for 74k miles? ::shudder::