Managing wear and tear for used cars

[W124]

Many people are forced to buy used cars for the following reasons

1. with the COE being so expensive, and
2. high downpayment

 

The first problem that used car owners need to solve is therefore the issue of maintenance. Car owners need to identify good workshops and also learn the ropes of keeping their cars in good condition. A used car tends to have more wear and tear than a brand new car.

 

Beside the normal maintenance requirements, used car owners also have to get to know their cars well. This involves listening out for any abnormal sounds, learning to describe these sounds (a whole new vocabulary comes into use eg clicking, screeching, whirring when stationary, high pitched, groaning when turning, etc) to their mechanics. They must also trust their mechanics' advice - is an overhaul required or just a minor replacement of parts. This is often a source of great stress. When they don't trust their mechanics, they often turn to friends who may or may not give good advice (and always end up confusing the car owner.

 

Since new car prices do not appear to be coming down in the near future, it can be expected that more and more people will look at buying used cars; especially first-time car buyers. What considerations may be helpful to ease their car ownership experience and reduce their fear of being sold a lemon?

[macrosszero]

Putting off what needs replacement is just false economy; replace parts as they fail or they will affect other associated components.

[Ahgong]

Wow... This post is really timely.

Any experienced guru to share their knowledge is most welcomed.

 

I will be getting my ride soon. And definitely share my experiences here as we go along.

 

For a start, any good trusty mechanic to recommend for new owners?

[Celicar]

Send for pre-purchase inspection. Preferably not by STA.

[Fastfive1]

Spending a bit of money to do up the car is inevitable and that's something that people must understand. There is bound to be wear and tear. Just replace what needs to be replaced. Unless the car was exceptionally well cared for, you'd have to set aside about 1-2k to do up the bits here and there. This is a good excuse to give the dealer when you want to negotiate. Some car dealers will do up the necessary before they sell the car to you but most don't. So that 1-2k you get off the final sale price of the car is usually meant for you to fix the various nooks and crannies.

[Strudel-]

Is this about managing or is this about guide to buying second hand cars? Too much information in 1 thread will make it hard to read. I'm not knocking off the idea (I think its great) but maybe have another 1 for buying second hand cars.

 

In terms of managing/maintenance,

 

1) service as per required by manufacturers (even though most performance based cars are done every 5-8k km for oil change)

2) use proven solution rather than be a guinea pig (e.g. I got a Nismo Coppermix clutch as replacement rather than any other due to 100% good review on reliability)

3) avoid unnecessary hard braking to improve fuel consumption and prolong brake pad/rotor (maybe tyre?)

4) check for wear during servicing and make a note to mechanic the age of the car (e.g. rubber parts tend to break/crack over time due to hardening, like bushing)

5) only change when component fail (if it is not critical and will not cause the failure of another component). This is critical because 1/2 the time when fitting an "upgrade", it caused more problem because it wasnt fitted properly by human.

6) monitor wearing/failure of critical component (e.g. my fuel pump wasnt pumping properly when fuel in tank was a bit low. I changed it before it actually fail. I'm sure you dont want to starve the engine)

7) instead of asking around when you encounter an issue, try googling as well (1/2 the time you will find someone else having the same problem as you and we always forget google is our best friend)

8) make sure you adjust your headlight after you decided to go for 389216089328911147234890712390K HID.

 

Sometimes its better to pay a little bit more for your service at a good workshop and build up the relationship than to keep changing workshop because you dont like their service and you want cheaper and cheaper ones. Think about how much more expensive can it be and how many service you do a year? I doubt its worth the trouble or effort when you do find yourself with a good workshop.

 

However, the above only applies if you plan to keep the car for long. If not, get what is within budget that wil do the job until you decided to sell. I suspect thats what most people will do since people living in Singapore tend to change car frequently.

Edited May 20, 2013 by Strudel-

[BlueOldMan]

First u must be experienced to know wat sound comes from where

Second a reliable Ws to pin point the part

Third the stockist for parts

[13177]

Just send the car for major servicing after you have purchased the used car.

[Trex101]

Change all the fluid like atf, diff gear oil, engine oil and spark plugs when you bought a used car. From then on you know what been done and when the next schedule servicing.

[Ooosh]

2nd hand cars bound to have wear and tear parts that need to be replaced...so as a smart car owner, i will set aside some money for this...

Parts that are most commonly replaced are spark plugs, tyres, suspension, bearings, belts etc

Cant get a second hand car with all brand new parts la

[Hosaybo]

Most of the time, if the car is to last 10 years, I feel that the following items will require replacement at some point of time (prob 5-6th year if bought brand new) other than the normal stuff like tyres, wiper, car fluids etc:

 

1) Engine mounting- tend to give way, crack, harden after 6-7 years. Induce lots of vibration during stops at traffic light

2) Suspension

3) Fan belt or timing belt (if not timming chain) every 80K km

 

the rest of the items like wheel bearing, drive shaft, ignition coil, alternators, aircon etc depends on other factors. Might want to monitor and change ony when there are issues.

 

One thing I learned regarding aircon is that rountine cleaning helps to maintain it and it can really last. Mine is comming 10 years and is still working well. Beware of the choking of the pipes over time resulting in accumulation of condensation in the pipe. This results in a swirling sound when you turn corners. This was solved by locating the drain pipe, pushing in an industrial airgun and sending a few shots of high pressured air into the drian pipe.

 

this is some of my findings from owning a car for close to 10 years.

Edited May 21, 2013 by Hosaybo

[Hosaybo]

one additional thing...... rountine service is the easy one. Trouble shooting is the one that is difficult and most of the time, base on experience. Same problem, there coud be many possibilities. experience helps to eliminate the possibilities and identify the root cause.

 

 

[Hussaini20]

2nd hand cars bound to have wear and tear parts that need to be replaced...so as a smart car owner, i will set aside some money for this...

Parts that are most commonly replaced are spark plugs, tyres, suspension, bearings, belts etc

Cant get a second hand car with all brand new parts la

 

I agree 100%. 2nd hand car is definitely bound to have some wear and tear. I do wanna stress that do set aside 1-3k for replacement of these parts and arrange a booking with your preferred workshop for a thorough check ASAP after leaving the dealership. I may differing view from others for eg. requesting the dealer to replace worn out parts. Replacing is replacing, but how do we confirm that the replacement parts are of inferior quality? Unscrupulous dealers may pull a fast one such as this. Even worse, even after bargaining for a huge discount, yet still ask them to do replacement of worn out parts.

 

Hence, to give me my own peace of mind, right after driving out from the dealership, I would go to my preferred workshop, have the mechanics run thru, have them tell me what parts I need, get them parts from a stockists and schedule a date with the mechs. In this case, I know what parts I've bought, and I will sit around at the workshop floor to look see and learn something about my car.

 

my 2 cents.

[Ecars]

1. Before buying the car ask the owner why they are selling it first?

2. Examine all the main parts of the car.

3. Go for a test ride and see whether there is any abnormalities.

4. Take a professional who knows better about cars along with you before buying a car.

 

[Forte3737]

1. Before buying the car ask the owner why they are selling it first?

2. Examine all the main parts of the car.

3. Go for a test ride and see whether there is any abnormalities.

4. Take a professional who knows better about cars along with you before buying a car.

 

if the car is sold to a dealer, how to ask the owner? ans who qualifies as professional?

[Yeshe]

Wow... This post is really timely.

Any experienced guru to share their knowledge is most welcomed.

 

I will be getting my ride soon. And definitely share my experiences here as we go along.

 

For a start, any good trusty mechanic to recommend for new owners?

 

certain workshops are good with certain makes n models. so when u ask for a trusty mechanic, u have to share wat is the ride.

[Dadiao]

Is this about managing or is this about guide to buying second hand cars? Too much information in 1 thread will make it hard to read. I'm not knocking off the idea (I think its great) but maybe have another 1 for buying second hand cars.

 

In terms of managing/maintenance,

 

1) service as per required by manufacturers (even though most performance based cars are done every 5-8k km for oil change)

2) use proven solution rather than be a guinea pig (e.g. I got a Nismo Coppermix clutch as replacement rather than any other due to 100% good review on reliability)

3) avoid unnecessary hard braking to improve fuel consumption and prolong brake pad/rotor (maybe tyre?)

4) check for wear during servicing and make a note to mechanic the age of the car (e.g. rubber parts tend to break/crack over time due to hardening, like bushing)

5) only change when component fail (if it is not critical and will not cause the failure of another component). This is critical because 1/2 the time when fitting an "upgrade", it caused more problem because it wasnt fitted properly by human.

6) monitor wearing/failure of critical component (e.g. my fuel pump wasnt pumping properly when fuel in tank was a bit low. I changed it before it actually fail. I'm sure you dont want to starve the engine)

7) instead of asking around when you encounter an issue, try googling as well (1/2 the time you will find someone else having the same problem as you and we always forget google is our best friend)

8) make sure you adjust your headlight after you decided to go for 389216089328911147234890712390K HID.

 

Sometimes its better to pay a little bit more for your service at a good workshop and build up the relationship than to keep changing workshop because you dont like their service and you want cheaper and cheaper ones. Think about how much more expensive can it be and how many service you do a year? I doubt its worth the trouble or effort when you do find yourself with a good workshop.

 

However, the above only applies if you plan to keep the car for long. If not, get what is within budget that wil do the job until you decided to sell. I suspect thats what most people will do since people living in Singapore tend to change car frequently.

 

Thanks for the tips !

[Camrycamry]

need some expert advise. if going over kerb slowly and yet hear some cracking sound, suspension needs replacement?