Newbie Questions
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Newbie Questions
I’m considering purchasing an ’06 with about 14k miles, and have a few questions:
(1) Should I have a compression check done prior to purchasing the car, given the low mileage? When I mentioned to the owner of the dealership that I may want to do this, he looked at me as if I were crazy (and I felt a little bit that way, too), but agreed to let me do it.
(2) When I first looked at the car, it was parked in a closed garage. When it was driven out, there was smoke/vapor coming out of the tailpipe. It lasted maybe 45 seconds. The color was white – not especially dense, though. Looked like the type of vapor you would see coming out of the tailpipe of a typical car on a cold day. The temperature inside the garage was 60+ degrees, and the relative humidity about 30%. My initial reaction was that the car was running rich. (Did not have presence of mind to get a whiff of the exhaust. But from where I was standing – about four feet away, did not notice the scent of either fuel or coolant.) It spooked me a bit. I’ve searched the forum for some information on this issue, and didn’t see any thread that addressed these specific circumstances. Can anyone offer an educated guess as to the composition of the smoke/vapor, and whether this is normal?
Any help you guys can provide would be most appreciated!
(1) Should I have a compression check done prior to purchasing the car, given the low mileage? When I mentioned to the owner of the dealership that I may want to do this, he looked at me as if I were crazy (and I felt a little bit that way, too), but agreed to let me do it.
(2) When I first looked at the car, it was parked in a closed garage. When it was driven out, there was smoke/vapor coming out of the tailpipe. It lasted maybe 45 seconds. The color was white – not especially dense, though. Looked like the type of vapor you would see coming out of the tailpipe of a typical car on a cold day. The temperature inside the garage was 60+ degrees, and the relative humidity about 30%. My initial reaction was that the car was running rich. (Did not have presence of mind to get a whiff of the exhaust. But from where I was standing – about four feet away, did not notice the scent of either fuel or coolant.) It spooked me a bit. I’ve searched the forum for some information on this issue, and didn’t see any thread that addressed these specific circumstances. Can anyone offer an educated guess as to the composition of the smoke/vapor, and whether this is normal?
Any help you guys can provide would be most appreciated!
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,824
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From: WI
1) I wouldn't bother.
2) I wouldn't worry about it.
If you don't know how to inspect a used car I would bring someone along who does or take it to an independent shop. If you end up at a shop you might get a compression test done at that point.
Easy things to check on a newish car:
- Are the tires wearing evenly? Run your hands over the treads front and back on all tires. If they are "choppy" that can indicate alignment problems or worn/bent parts. Rear worn more than the fronts can indicate a heavy right foot or that you're looking at an S2k.
- Do the oil and coolant look normal? If they look like chocolate milk that is very bad.
- Check for matching VIN stickers on the doors, hood, trunk, bumpers and fenders. They are white stickers and pretty obvious.
- Let it idle for 10-15 minutes and make sure it doesn't over heat.
- Somewhere safe, run it up to 60 and see if it pulls right or left. Make sure the crown of the road doesn't affect it.
- Somewhere safe run it up to 60 and get on the brakes hard with a light grip on the wheel. Watch for pulling under braking or shakes in the wheel not caused by the road.
- Check every place where body panels come together and make sure the gaps are even. If they aren't that can indicate body work. Check for curbing on the wheels. This stuff may or may not kill a deal, but I always want to know about all the imperfections before buying.
- Make sure all the buttons and switches work.
- Make sure you know where the gas door opener and oil dipstick are, and if you buy one be sure to monitor the oil level.
Did you check the classifieds here for cars in your area?
2) I wouldn't worry about it.
If you don't know how to inspect a used car I would bring someone along who does or take it to an independent shop. If you end up at a shop you might get a compression test done at that point.
Easy things to check on a newish car:
- Are the tires wearing evenly? Run your hands over the treads front and back on all tires. If they are "choppy" that can indicate alignment problems or worn/bent parts. Rear worn more than the fronts can indicate a heavy right foot or that you're looking at an S2k.
- Do the oil and coolant look normal? If they look like chocolate milk that is very bad.
- Check for matching VIN stickers on the doors, hood, trunk, bumpers and fenders. They are white stickers and pretty obvious.
- Let it idle for 10-15 minutes and make sure it doesn't over heat.
- Somewhere safe, run it up to 60 and see if it pulls right or left. Make sure the crown of the road doesn't affect it.
- Somewhere safe run it up to 60 and get on the brakes hard with a light grip on the wheel. Watch for pulling under braking or shakes in the wheel not caused by the road.
- Check every place where body panels come together and make sure the gaps are even. If they aren't that can indicate body work. Check for curbing on the wheels. This stuff may or may not kill a deal, but I always want to know about all the imperfections before buying.
- Make sure all the buttons and switches work.
- Make sure you know where the gas door opener and oil dipstick are, and if you buy one be sure to monitor the oil level.
Did you check the classifieds here for cars in your area?
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