The content of the article:
- The main problem areas of used cars
- Car mirrors
- Automatic climate control
- Armchairs
- Software and multimedia
- Wheels
- Suspension
- Engine
- Drive unit
- Luke
- Transmission
Buying a used car is notoriously risky. No matter what the previous owner or dealer says in the salon, it is impossible to reliably find out the history of operation, breakdowns, car care. Therefore, the buyer gets a "pig in a poke", identifying all the advantages and disadvantages from personal experience.
In addition, it is the first 3 years of a car's life that are considered the safest and most reliable, not requiring small and large material investments, which a used car cannot boast of.
If the circumstances are such that it is not possible to acquire a new model, you should be aware of the most typical problems of used cars that you need to pay attention to when inspecting.
Despite the difference in modifications, technical characteristics, countries of origin, certain problems overtake everyone after a certain period of use.
The main problem areas of used cars
1. Car mirrors
External manifestations of the old age of the car are mirrors. And it is paradoxical, but the more sophisticated they are, the less practical they are and the more trouble they will bring to the owner. The declared service life for them is about 10 years, but practice shows that in rare cases they regularly serve more than 5 years.
The electric drive for folding the mirrors has its own finite resource, and if it is not looked after during the period of frost and dirt, then it quickly fails. If the previous owner manually aimed the mirror at the rear wheel, he saved the adjustment mechanism several years. Also, under the influence of the external environment and climatic conditions, the mirrors are covered with chips and microcracks, and the automatic dimming function will eventually lead to non-disappearing spots.
Salon mirrors are less concerned with these problems, since they avoid harmful influences inside the car.
2. Automatic climate control
One of the most useful functions invented by car manufacturers, it saves in hot weather and provides a comfortable temperature in autumn and winter. But over time, the sensors and drives begin to wear out and experience malfunctions, the display screen burns out, the direction flaps do not open well - close, and the fan emit a noticeable hum.
And if a major breakdown is not accepted to be hushed up, then the seller may not report such seemingly minor troubles. It turns out that there is climate control, but in order to take advantage of its benefits, you will have to make a number of manipulations to replace worn out parts and assemblies.
3. Armchairs
A car seat consists of a technical part and an upholstery, both of which are subject to natural aging. The seat heating system and the electric drive that regulates the position of the chair, just like any other electronics, begins to fail over time.
The initial resource in them is laid for a very long time, but when buying a used car with the permission of the seller, it will not be superfluous to check the functioning of the chair. Then the buyer will be aware of future investments in advance.
The situation is worse with the upholstery. Fabric extremely quickly acquires an absolutely unpresentable look, budget leatherette lasts a couple of years longer, the field of which is covered with ugly cracks and wiped off with whole spots.
4. Software and multimedia
The eternal problem of the Russian person is the desire to get a good thing for little money. When a buyer sees a technically "packed" car, he perceives it as a gift of fate. However, in the context of a used car, less is more often. Are these branded systems or self-selected by the owner in stores? Are they established by professionals or craftsmen? Are electrical and wiring faulty? And no one is immune from programmers' mistakes.
Systems that directly affect the technical performance of the vehicle also affect the entire vehicle. Therefore, any software failure can lead to serious problems with the machine.
5. Wheels
If the car has large 18-20-inch wheels, they are much more active in damaging the suspension. Wide rubber is more painful to perceive lateral forces, and is also more prone to punctures. And if the owner skimped on high-quality rubber, the entire chassis - hinges, assemblies, hubs - experienced the highest loads for a long time, even during normal operation. Therefore, either the buyer will have to look for more practical 15-17-inch wheels, or immediately change the rubber to a high-profile one, or thoroughly repair his purchase.
6. Suspension
Both the suspension with controlled shock absorbers and the pneumatics are subject to inevitable wear. Used cars will almost certainly provide their new owner with the cost of repairing it, in the context of pneumatics, these are struts, sensors, tubes, compressor and control unit.
With controlled shock absorbers, the situation is even more complicated. Whether the strut valves are controlled by an electric motor or a magnetoresistive fluid, they are very expensive with new ones and, if worn, entail much higher repair costs. Electronics will gradually start to fail, then other actuators, which will drag more and more new problems.
If the buyer is looking closely at just such a car, he is guaranteed to get in trouble, if not in the first year of operation, then in the following. Therefore, some owners are trying to immediately replace the entire suspension kit with a standard one.
7. Engine
Each motor has its own characteristics and its own problems. It has already been verified more than once empirically that a diesel engine is more resourceful than a gasoline engine due to the efficient operation of the piston group, the frequency of oil changes and a lower temperature. A fly in the ointment is that it breaks down many times faster. Leaking injectors, leading to burnout of valves and pistons, are considered its typical problems. The engine itself, operating in a tougher mode compared to its "brother", is extremely sensitive to dirt. An experienced car owner knows about this feature and will be able to calculate the "leaky" system.
The next problem is a large volume of soot in the intake manifold system, which creates interruptions in its operation, loss of power, and impaired intake regulation. If some of this dirt gets under the valves, the engine may fail altogether. Many owners believe that the DPF should be self-cleaning. But in practice, it must be checked, maintained and replaced with your own hands.
While diesel engines are not very common among Russian motorists, the services for diagnosing technical problems are excessively overpriced due to the high cost of the service equipment itself.
But a gasoline engine is not a guarantee of a cloudless life, especially in a modern version, with a turbocharger. And ecological models of the Euro-4 class have a catalyst located close to the engine, which constantly experiences high temperatures, from which it breaks down and pulls the engine along with it. In almost all cars produced over the past 10-15 years, the catalyst is constantly at risk.
8. Drive
All systems and couplings that are involved in supplying forces from the gearbox and clutch are subject to wear and tear from day to day. They are affected by poor rubber, excessive stress or shock, and time. In an all-wheel drive vehicle, a much larger mechanism suffers and requires regular maintenance than a front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive alone.
9. Luke
Luke is a luxury, moreover, it does not always justify itself. The new owner will receive beautiful sky landscapes, spectacular photographs and fresh air, and at the same time increased humidity, clogged plums, damage to the ceiling upholstery. And the opening mechanism itself requires constant processing, cleaning, drying after precipitation, otherwise it will soon cease to function and will only annoy with unpleasant squeaks.
Ten . Transmission
In addition to the standard consumables - oil, clutch - when buying a used car, you need to evaluate the total resource of the transmission as a whole. Rough exploitation, untimely repairs, heavy loads, slippage - the previous owner will most likely keep silent about this. The same as about changing the oil, which must be done at regular intervals. When selling, he can declare that he changed the oil just the other day, and the new owner will continue to drive "dry" and finish off the box.
Summing up, we can say that the key to the long-term operation of a used car is to replace as many consumables and parts of a limited service life as possible, whose residual life is difficult to verify.
