what kinds of questions should i ask when buying a car

[rphan1]

well, i got some more info about the car, so apparently the woman selling it says that it will need a new engine to fix everything up, she wants to sell me the car for 650, but im not sure what i should do, is it even worth investing in? the body is nice, paint seems to be good, and no accidents and the title is ready.

[walktheboard]

ill be sure to ask about the jump. Thanks suicide

o.o

[Holland]

Lucky for you our cars are self work on friendly. www.azbmw.org will help if you do get a car since most of the community is in the valley.

You can't really "fix a cylinder" the problem could be anything from possibly a bad injector, or a faulty plug and wire, to even bent valves, although if it were the latter you would definitely notice it.

[rphan1]

ill be sure to ask about the jump. thanks suicide

[SUICIDE109]

Has it been jumped? Trust me, its an extremely easy way to fuck shit up and you wont know until a week later when your trans falls out.

[dannyyisntt]

(1. Do these pants make me look fat?

(2. Do you have a sister?

(3. Do you come here often??

(4. Does the vehicle have past maintenance records and what maintenance have you had done yourself?

[phenobarb1]

A compression test will sort of tell you if the head is warped in a particular area, or if the piston rings are worn. It could also tell if there is any other sort of leak in a particular cylinder. Really it just narrows down which cylinder is causing the problem, or not functioning correctly. They just hook up a pressure gauge at each cylinder, where you screw in the spark plug, and crank the engine, and then compare the readings from one cylinder to another.

Whatever questions you ask the seller, you have to always assume that they are lying, or perhaps just idiots. So, it's best to find a mechanic who give the car a quick look. They'll check most of the major areas out and it really doesn't cost much. You can also run a Carfax report, though this has somewhat limited usefulness, and ask to see if the kept receipts for work that was done on the car.

[rphan1]

Orange: haha, I definitely want that man card
Pandaboo: what is a compression test? And what is it for?

[R3Z3N]

Can it do a burnout?

;-)

[pandaboo911]

ask for a compression test.

[A Sucked Orange]

time to get some mechanical experience.
buy the tools, parts and a bently manual.
think of the money youll save over the course of your life.
plus youll get your man card back.

[rphan1]

yeah, the owner said its a 6 cylinder, but its running on 5?
i have almost no mechanical experience but i have some co-workers and friends that might be able to help me with that, what would be the cost to take it to the shop and do the T belt?

[LuckyHenriksen]

Fix a cylinder?
I think shops charge around $350 to do the T belt. You can do it yourself for much less

[rphan1]

thanks everyone for the input, this helped me a lot. another question, how much would it cost to replace the timing belt and fix one of the cylinders?

[Bearmw]

Don't believe what isn't verifiable such as mileage with a broken odometer or repairs without documentation. I suggest having a competent mechanic check it out if your not sure.