Expert Tips on How to Inspect a Used Car

Body condition: Check each panel and the roof, looking for scratches, dents, and rust. Watch out for misaligned panels or large gaps, which can indicate either sloppy assembly at the factory or shoddy repair work. The paint color and finish should be the same on every body panel.

If you think the body or other parts of the car have been repainted, check for paint on the rubber seals around the hood and trunk lid. 

Rust is always a cause for concern, so check the body for blistered paint or visible rust. Check the wheel wells and panels, especially beneath the doors, and door bottoms. 

Open and close each door, the hood, and the trunk. Gently lift and let go of each door, particularly the driver’s door. If it seems loose on its hinges and won’t stay in place, the car likely hasn’t been used delicately. Inspect the rubber seals around each door for tearing or rot.

Glass: Look carefully at the glass to make sure there are no cracks or large, pocked areas. A small stone chip might not be cause for alarm, though you should bring it up in negotiations. But any crack in the windshield or other glass will worsen and lead to a costly repair.

Suspension: Walk around the car to see whether it’s sitting level. Then use your body weight to push down on each corner. If the shock absorbers are in good shape, the car should rebound just once before settling. If the car bounces up and down, it has suspension issues. Also, grab the top of each front tire and tug it back and forth. If you feel play in it or hear a clunking sound, the wheel bearings or suspension joints may be shot and require repair.

Lights and lenses: While in the driver’s seat, have a friend standing outside confirm that all lights are working—high beams, low beams, turn signals, and brake lights. Walk around the outside to make sure that all light lenses and reflectors are intact and not cracked, fogged with moisture, or missing. 

Tires: You can tell a lot about a car—and its owner—from the tires. A car with less than 20,000 miles, for example, should probably still have its original tires. Be wary of a low-mileage car with new tires. Also, check to make sure all four tires are the same. If there are different branded tires on the car, ask why they have been replaced.

Treadwear—how much the rubber has worn down—should be even across the width of the tread, and the same on the tires on the left and right sides of the car. Ask whether the tires have been regularly rotated. If not, in a front- or rear-wheel drive car, the wheels that get power will usually have more wear. 

If tires are more worn down on the outside edges, near the sidewall, that may indicate that the car has been driven aggressively. That can be okay, but consider it as a factor in the car’s overall history.

Tires that have been driven while overinflated tend to wear more in the middle than on the sides. Chronically underinflated tires will show more wear on the sides. “Cupped” tires—uneven wear marks across the tread—may be a sign of a larger problem with the steering, suspension, or brakes.

Tires must have at least 1/16 inch of tread to be legal on the road. Check the tread depth with a tread-depth tool—available at auto parts stores—or a quarter. Insert the quarter into the tread groove, with Washington’s head down. If you can see the top of his head, the tire should be replaced.

Examine the tire sidewalls for scuffing, cracks, or bulges. Also, look for dents or cracks on each wheel. Check to make sure the spare is in good shape, too, and that the proper jack and lug wrench are present.