UAE - What to check when buying second hand?

[jd666]

The availability of the GT 86/BRZ has simply dried up in the UAE. And I am really really keen on getting one in less than a week. All dealerships are stating periods between 1-2 months.

Just wanted everyone's guidance on things to watch out for and items to check specially when buying second hand. Anything that's proof to breakage, falling off, getting damaged etc?

Am going to check out a vehicle today evening that's under 10k kms on the odo.

This is an automatic though, not a manual. I know the fun is in the manual but sadly my license does not allow it. And I believe the manuals would be thrashed more due to the better response :p

Please do advise what all to be check in addition to the regular checks one would do while buying second hand!


Thanks in advance and I hope this is the right section for this discussion

[Anthony]

Sorry, I don't have any ideas for what to check outside the obvious, but what do you have to do to get manual driving on your license?

[jd666]

Well take a manual course/test or wait 1 year and apply for manual license and give the test directly.

It's a separate endorsement on the license.

[504]

Do all the obvious things like check for accident history, money owing, cosmetic and mechanical condition. Educate yourself with known issues with the car such as DI seals, rough idle etc. and have a good look at maintenance history. You should more importantly assess the owner themselves and see what kind of a person they are because you can tell alot from how the car has been taken care of from that. Do they sound knowledgeable and know what they're doing? Do they granny shift or are they double clutching like they should . Let them drive the car to see how its been driven. Also you must drive at least one other 86 to have something to compare it to, it'll give you a really good indication on what's normal what's not
Really the car is still pretty new so most of the information you'll get on its condition is the owner assessment

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by jd666

Well take a manual course/test or wait 1 year and apply for manual license and give the test directly.

It's a separate endorsement on the license.

Wow, that second option is involved. It's just a one time thing though, huh? Does it make your license more expensive each time you renew it? In Mississippi, getting your motorcycle endorsement is free (I think), but then you have to pay like $5 on the spot so they can print you a new license. From then on, anytime you renew your driver's license, it has the motorcycle endorsement on the back.

Originally Posted by 504

Do all the obvious things like check for accident history, money owing, cosmetic and mechanical condition. Educate yourself with known issues with the car such as DI seals, rough idle etc. and have a good look at maintenance history. You should more importantly assess the owner themselves and see what kind of a person they are because you can tell alot from how the car has been taken care of from that. Do they sound knowledgeable and know what they're doing? Do they granny shift or are they double clutching like they should . Let them drive the car to see how its been driven. Also you must drive at least one other 86 to have something to compare it to, it'll give you a really good indication on what's normal what's not
Really the car is still pretty new so most of the information you'll get on its condition is the owner assessment

All of that is good information, but I bolded the parts I thought were extra good. Concerning double clutching, my daily driver is a 2005 Hyundai Tiburon. I bought it used with 10,000 miles on it back in 2006, and have been driving it hard ever since. Tiburons were notorious for premature clutch failure. I still see random Google ads that say stuff like, "Tiburon clutch failure!?!? Click this flashy button for super good deals from Chinese Sketchball Website!!!1!"

No clue who the original owner was, since I bought it from a dealership, but I learned to drive a manual with this car. Probably after about 10,000 miles, I learned to double clutch. I finally replaced the clutch at 130,000 miles because I thought it was slipping. I pulled it out and looked at it and thought, "huh... that doesn't look bad at all. Oh well!" and I threw it away and installed a new Clutchmasters FX200. Which immediately was slipping as well. I'm deployed now and can't look at it, but after thorough research on it, I suspect there is a leak that is allowing oil to get onto the friction surfaces of the clutch and flywheel. Apparently it's really common. So even after 130,000 miles, it was still good!

TLDR: So the moral of the story is, by double clutching, I made my clutch last more than twice as long as most people with the same car, even though I beat the hell out of it otherwise.

[aagun]

In UAE (my heart) u have check every things , DI seal is important , ask the seller what kind of fuel he use? , accident history , this is uncontrolled car so it is easy to do draft accident . front and rear wheels check for draft mod .

this car serviced by 7500km - 15000km - 22500km .... so it is expensive and also the parts

good lack and welcome UAE86 owner
https://www.facebook.com/86cult

[jd666]

draft accident? or Drift?

Thanks for the pointers guys!

Which seals are we talking about when we say DI seals?


@Anthony -It's a one time thing.

BTW long back wrote an article on buying second hand, do check it out -

Pointers for Buying a Second Hand Vehicle in India

[kodyo]

There's no way you will be able to check the DI seals physically. Plus, it's an automatic, and I'm under the impression that the DI issues only affected manuals.
Check that the car was maintained properly, accidents, payments, etc. For an auto, I'd be most concerned about cosmetic stuff, honestly.

[ZionsWrath]

If it is certified pre owned that should mean it automatically comes with some kind of warranty. That should give you plenty peace of mind, ESPECIALLY if it is automatic.

[whaap]

To me the best bet is to buy used from the owner and not a dealership. Not that you can't be fooled but your instincts can give you a good idea about how the car has been treated if you are working with the owner. If with a dealer you have no idea how well or poorly the car was treated before seeing it.

[Razz]

Drive it for a long ride to check for:

Crickets
Rattling and metal popping sounds

[jd666]

Thanks guys,

checked the vehicle, got to see all receipts/service invoice etc. No rattle/sound nothing.

Engine bay was clean, underbody clean, no drips/leaks anywhere. The vehicle has been parked mostly for the last several months and has been driven once in 2 weeks or so to keep the battery charged.

The body has been polished well (Paint), no nicks, dents, dings. Interiors do not have any scratches/sign of rough usage.

The initial start up sounded rough, but once it settled after a few seconds, was a barely audible purr.

No lurching/cricket screeching nothing. Gunned the engine a bit (the owner was not around, his friend showed the vehicle) but was careful not to over do anything.

Feels as good as a new machine.

Looks like Ill be getting it after all :P

[Laika]

If no one has said it yet, check to see if the car has become infamous for drifting on youtube yet.

[jd666]

thankfully no it hadn't!