If you are thinking of buying a used car in the Orlando area Mobile Auto Diagnostics strongly recommends you have a pre purchase inspection before you hand over any money. Buying a used car can be full of pitfalls especially if you are not sure what to look for, the car may have hidden problems or repairs that have been carried out to sub standard conditions. With todays cars even the smallest of repair could cost thousands to rectify. The addition of multiple onboard computers , electronic transmissions, wasted spark ignition systems, multi point and direct injection systems as well as multi link and active suspension systems means mechanics and technicians of today have to be highly skilled and versatile to work on these vehicles. The down side is that vehicles are put up for sale having had a poor quality repair or a temporary fix by an in experienced mechanic because the current owner cannot afford the correct repairs. The common place for these cars to turn up for sale is in the used car auctions held around the areas of Central Florida. Another place to watch out is the ‘Car Dealers’ that operate from their homes having ‘borrowed’ a Dealers Tag from a friend. They sell as a dealer but most offer no warranties. So what can you, the consumer and prospective buyer do to protect yourself from buying a potential ‘money pit’ ? The paint work may look nice and shiny and the interior clean and smelling nice but what about the important things like the Motor, Transmission, Brakes and Suspension ? Thats where our services can help you , for a fee Mobile Auto Diagnostics can carry out a full and detailed inspection. Below is an example of what could happen if you buy ‘blind’ without an expert to help you. This owner bought a used car from the Miami area, after driving it around for a short amount of time he noticed a knocking/clunking noise and uneven tire wear. After attempting to have the alignment done he was told the car has worn suspension and an alignment could not be done. After calling us and explaining his problems we promptly turned up to carry out a detailed inspection. What we found shocked and upset the owner as all of the urgent repairs that needed doing would have to come out of his pocket, we explained that if he had had a pre inspection done before he parted with his hard earned money he would of more than likely made a different decision and not bought this car. The front suspension had worn ball joints, inner bushes and control arms. The passenger side inner steering tie rod was excessively worn and the rotors badly worn together with the front pads almost on the metal. The worst problem we found is shown in the pictures below, the inner control bushing had completely failed causing the control arm to foul the subframe damaging the mounting area.
The damage to the front sub frame is so severe that it is not repairable and will have to be replaced at a great expense to the new owner. With this particular vehicle the subframe is a complete unit that the suspension, steering and the motor all bolt to. The part is only available from the main dealer and the car would have to go on to a chassis jig for the subframe to be changed over. This is a major repair that is very labor intensive. This is an excellent example of why our Safety and Vehicle Inspections will benefit anyone when they are thinking of buying a used car.
