Hello to the forum and thanks for having me.

I'm considering buying a 2012 sport (Automatic trans, no navigation system) and in doing my research, it points me to the fit freak forum. After doing several searches in this forum, I wanted to post a question just to get a feel of what people here think and make sure I'm not missing anything huge. My daughter was in an accident and it totaled her car, I want to replace it with something reliable.


The good -
84000K miles
Very clean
Shifts into gears smooth and quietly
I brought some white paper and smeared the oil, brake fluid, and trans fluid on it, looked and smelled new.
The underside was dry and very clean, it looked like it had been kept inside.
I could not see any rust or dents, no big scratches in the black paint.
interior was 95% clean and new looking, back seats look unused.
I drove it and it was smooth and quiet.

The bad - He has little in the way of any maint records

I seem to be dealing with the young son of the family who will only meet me at a public parking lot (So I can't hear it start cold) and every question, he has to go back to his family for an answer. Tells me it's his sisters car and she's moving to NY and will not need a car.
What are some specific things to check for this year?

Thank you all in advance.
Dan

 

It sounds like you've checked out most of the basics. I've known plenty of people who buy a used car without taking a look under the hood or underneath the car, so you're way ahead of average.

You can do some simple checks of the suspension and wheel bearings by trying to rock the wheels with your hands at 9 and 3 (imagine an analog clock). If you can get the car in the air you would also try to rock the wheels with your hands at 12 and 6; on the ground you could try with both hands at 12.

If you test drive the car again you can purposefully go over a few speed bumps to see how the suspension sounds as it moves through it's range of travel. You don't have to do this quickly, but I would recommend crossing at an angle so that you can hear each corner of the vehicle. Similarly, take a few corners at speed to see if you feel any odd motions of the car.

If you're worried about past collisions or repairs, you can check for even panel gaps, including around headlights and bumpers, and make sure the doors and rear hatch close smoothly and evenly. Look for evidence of damage repair or (re)painting in the hood, door, and rear hatch jambs and on the seam where the door skin is joined to the inner door.

If you want to go further than that, you can always ask to take the car to a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection (at your cost).

In my experience, most people who take reasonable care to keep their car clean and undamaged probably did at least the basic level of maintenance. If the price is right for your budget (and you want a black car; never again for me) I would go for it.

 

Drew,
Thank you for the information, I live in Falls Church, just outside of DC and all used cars seem priced a little high to me, this one is listed ad $8500 and I was able to get him to agree to $8K flat, to be honest, the car seems to be in great shape, he said his father's friend is a mechanic and did all of the maintenance under the table, which is fine if it was actually done.
84K miles seems like a sweet spot to get a lot of life out of the car if there are no major issues, I guess I could take it to a mechanic for inspection.
Thanks again.
Dan

 

It sounds like a pretty solid car to me, you can check for matching VIN numbers on body panels to reduce likelihood it hasn’t been in a crash.

I have 167k miles on my 2012 (with a manual) and it still broadly drives and looks great. I’ve not heard too much in the way of unreliability with the autos.

One thing to know is the autos aren’t as good on gas as the manuals. They are a bit quieter on the highway though because the revs are a good bit lower.

 

One thing I forgot to note, they only have 1 key and it's falling apart, it works, but the 'case' is broken. I need to look into getting a couple of keys.