By our staff mechanic Mr Sundar.

Sundar, the veteran automechanic shares his experiences with us regarding the factors to be considered before buying a second-hand car.
 
They are as follows.
 
1.              Engine condition.
2.              Tyre condition.
3.               Body tinker work.
4.               Kilometers so far run.
 
     Gullible buyers are amazed with the colour, low price, sweet words of the seller  ,seating arrangements and extra fittings of a second-hand car. These are just angles to snare them into buying a not so good conditioned vehicle.
 
The pre-requisite for buying a second-hand car is not money, but the assistance of a well experienced honest mechanic. Money comes as the second criteria. Hasty decisions will end up in crisis.
 
"Marry in haste and repent at leisure" said Bacon, the essayist. This will be true in the field of automobiles also. Buy a second-hand car in haste and repent at leisure for want of proper spares, engine problems etc.
 
Engine condition
 
The condition of the engine of the second-hand car that one wishes to buy has to be checked by the mechanic of the quality descrebed  elsewhere.
 
Every veteran has his own intrinsic way of plumbing the condition of the engine apart from the  conventional practice in the field.
 
The only way for this is to fall back on the advice of the mechanic.
 
Tyre condition:
 
Bald persons may be regarded in high esteem  for their experiences but not bald tyres of long use.
 
Tyres with buttons add value to the vehicle. The buyer can personally see and perceive them by touching them and feel them with his own hands.However the touch by  the seasoned mechanic would impart him the tyre condition more qualitatively. Retread tyres speak of the quality level themselves. When it comes to radial tyres new radial tyres have to preferred to retread tyres without any option.
 
Tinker Work:
 
An ordinary buyer of a second-hand car could not be able to distinguish the difference between the original surface and the tinkered surface body of the vehicle. Only the experienced mechanic could easily find whether any portion of the body of such vehicle is tinkered or not by just touching that portion.
Another indication is that in such areas where tinkering works has been performed but covered by attractive painting , such paintings would have peeled away due to water and sand corrosion. Tinkering the body of a vehicle reduces its market value.
 
Running Kilometers:
 
The kilometers so far run by the vehicle also determines the value of it.So one has to have a close look at the speedometer which shows how many kilomdeters so far the vehicle has run. Larger is the distance , lower is the value to the vehicle.The buyer has to see whether the speedometer installed in the vehicle is original or duplicate. The duplicate or a different speedometer installed buy some wily fox  in a used car is meant to cheat the honest buyer.
 
An air-conditioned car which has run 100,000kms, whether it has diesel or petrol engine would be valued at 50%  of its original selling price.