quetions i should ask when buying a truck?
02-11-2005, 04:24 PM
#11
1000 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,145
And by the way, if a vehicle has rust, you can get lots taken off the price tag as a result, like 30% or so. Rust lowers a vehicle value lots, since its a problem almost everybody hates to have on their cars. Of course take it for a long test drive to see how tight everything is on it. IF the sales people say no,... you know they are hiding something big. IF the truck is loose, or you just dont like it, move on man. Theres lots out there. If you cant find a good truck out there, dont be afraid to travel. Theres TONS of good deals to be had in big cities. My buddy just picked up a really nice low-rider Ford Ranger, all done up, nice stereo and all this other stuff For $3000, not bad for a '94 in awesome shape, with low kilometers... you know? If you have to travel 3 hours to find a really good deal on a truck you really like, no biggie, you'll be owning it for a LONG time, and its a big investment really. Thats what I'd do. but thats just my $0.02 worth
02-11-2005, 04:40 PM
#12
Yankee
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,599
Hoooo boy throw away your questions...please
1. What is the condition of the truck? There is only one answer you will get "great"
2. How much tred is left on the wheels? You can look at the tires and see for yourself
3. Is their any rust? You can look at the body/ undercarriage and see for yourself
4. Is it a short box or long box? You can look at the truck and see for yourself
5. Does it have any kind of a rise? And if so how much? This is a good question and are their any other modifications from stock I should know about
6. Can I take it for a test drive over night to finalize my decision? And if I say I don’t like it what happens from their? You walk... they call you back and sweeten the deal
7. are they high way km’s, city or town? They will only say highway mile (or the could tell the truth "I don’t know")
I would ask to see the maintenance records (that should make the seller uncomfortable)
I would lift the hood and look for evidence of recent maintenance (what did they fix to try and sell the vehicle)
I would NOT talk about financing or trade in vehicles to the sales person it is none of his business till you want to buy.
The sales person will make nicey-nice and ask a lot of personal questions like "where do you work?" "How much do you have to put down" they are canvassing you to see if you are ready to buy and how much they can get from you and if they can make money financing to you... YOU should redirect to the discussion you want (talk about trucks and what you NEED and what you WANT) the sales event should be about you not the sales persons needs.
If you get the big push to buy a vehicle you are not sure you want and they say "what do I have to do to get you to buy this vehicle today?" it is time to get out of there...
Remember this line "It seems like a nice vehicle, but I need to comparison shop, oh and by the way can I take the truck to a certified mechanic to verify its condition?" That should scare the living crap out of them unless it is a reputable dealership.
[ February 11, 2005, 05:45 PM: Message edited by: JohnVroom ]
1. What is the condition of the truck? There is only one answer you will get "great"
2. How much tred is left on the wheels? You can look at the tires and see for yourself
3. Is their any rust? You can look at the body/ undercarriage and see for yourself
4. Is it a short box or long box? You can look at the truck and see for yourself
5. Does it have any kind of a rise? And if so how much? This is a good question and are their any other modifications from stock I should know about
6. Can I take it for a test drive over night to finalize my decision? And if I say I don’t like it what happens from their? You walk... they call you back and sweeten the deal
7. are they high way km’s, city or town? They will only say highway mile (or the could tell the truth "I don’t know")
I would ask to see the maintenance records (that should make the seller uncomfortable)
I would lift the hood and look for evidence of recent maintenance (what did they fix to try and sell the vehicle)
I would NOT talk about financing or trade in vehicles to the sales person it is none of his business till you want to buy.
The sales person will make nicey-nice and ask a lot of personal questions like "where do you work?" "How much do you have to put down" they are canvassing you to see if you are ready to buy and how much they can get from you and if they can make money financing to you... YOU should redirect to the discussion you want (talk about trucks and what you NEED and what you WANT) the sales event should be about you not the sales persons needs.
If you get the big push to buy a vehicle you are not sure you want and they say "what do I have to do to get you to buy this vehicle today?" it is time to get out of there...
Remember this line "It seems like a nice vehicle, but I need to comparison shop, oh and by the way can I take the truck to a certified mechanic to verify its condition?" That should scare the living crap out of them unless it is a reputable dealership.
[ February 11, 2005, 05:45 PM: Message edited by: JohnVroom ]
02-11-2005, 05:06 PM
#14
1000 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,145
by the way, if its older then 1995, it may have rust on it. tap with your finger knuckle on the baseboard at the bottom of the doors (called the rockerpanels) and feel for a kind of muffled "thump" as if you are taping something solid. That means (probably) there is body filler there to cover up rust. It should sound like a thin reverberating light "ding" like sound, that you'd hear if you were to tap the truck tailgate. If the engine bay was recently washed, that can possibly mean there was work done, or they are trying to hid a fluid leak somewhere. Like I say man, get it inspected, it'll save you tons of money and trouble down the road. Unless your parents are mechanics, it wont do you much good to find out the little things about the truck.
A phenominal mechanic taught me this. If the truck/car has a oil fill cap that sits on a tapet/valve cover of the engine, unscrew it, and stick you finger into the hole, and try to dig out any crud from directly beside the opening. If you can, that means that the oil wasn't changed regularily, and therefore is a pretty accurate and (quick) way of telling how well a vehicle was maintained.
A phenominal mechanic taught me this. If the truck/car has a oil fill cap that sits on a tapet/valve cover of the engine, unscrew it, and stick you finger into the hole, and try to dig out any crud from directly beside the opening. If you can, that means that the oil wasn't changed regularily, and therefore is a pretty accurate and (quick) way of telling how well a vehicle was maintained.
02-11-2005, 05:09 PM
#15
1000 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,145
My 1984 Chevy s10 had over 700K kilometers on it when I sold it, and it still ran great, wasn't loose at all to drive, started and drove like a truck with only 150K. God I wish I didn't sell it. Im having a very very hard time re-locating it again, all I know, is that its somewhere in Canmore. GRRRR, man I really really want that thing back, it was such a cute little truck, never once did it EVER break down on me, just a starter went, that was it.
02-12-2005, 04:03 AM
#17
2000 Watt CAFz'r
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,423
ok so my quetions were a little stupid. it's just with all the vehicles im looking at i can't go out and see them, because they are located in anouther city. the trucks that im looking at are out of town one's so i can't physically look at them. the dealership here in town don't get to many used half decent 4X4's
02-12-2005, 04:33 AM
#18
Guest
Posts: n/a
ask them to e-mail or fax several good quality pics to you including a couple of the undercarriage, engine compartment and interior
if it looks good in the pics go from there
ask if service records are available and if they are offering any type of warrenty
and most definatly have a mechanic you trust inspect it if your serious about buying it ............
I don't know what you are looking at getting but if you want a tough truck you can beat on all the time with no problems i recomend an 87 or older chev/Gmc truck, they're built like tanks .........the 88 and up ifs ones kinda suck IMO, too low, too expensive to lift, too easy to break
oh yeah and you plan on a lift and bigger tires, like 33's or 35's I'd get a 3/4 ton as the bigger axles handle the abuse better
if it looks good in the pics go from there
ask if service records are available and if they are offering any type of warrenty
and most definatly have a mechanic you trust inspect it if your serious about buying it ............
I don't know what you are looking at getting but if you want a tough truck you can beat on all the time with no problems i recomend an 87 or older chev/Gmc truck, they're built like tanks .........the 88 and up ifs ones kinda suck IMO, too low, too expensive to lift, too easy to break
oh yeah and you plan on a lift and bigger tires, like 33's or 35's I'd get a 3/4 ton as the bigger axles handle the abuse better
02-12-2005, 06:21 AM
#19
I got a question for you....why do you need a truck?
Bring someone with you thats not afraid to crawl under the truck...even at the dealership. how quickly u wanna buy? good tactic is going to the dealership and recording what vehicles they have that are kinda overprices...and then after a year you offer 1/5 what there asking and they take it......worked well for me BIG TIME!
get a compression test done on the truck...if your really interested get an inspection done...but not from a dealer....ask for previous vehicle history....stuff like that.
Bring someone with you thats not afraid to crawl under the truck...even at the dealership. how quickly u wanna buy? good tactic is going to the dealership and recording what vehicles they have that are kinda overprices...and then after a year you offer 1/5 what there asking and they take it......worked well for me BIG TIME!
get a compression test done on the truck...if your really interested get an inspection done...but not from a dealer....ask for previous vehicle history....stuff like that.
02-12-2005, 07:29 PM
#20
1000 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,145
Originally posted by Audio_Rookie:
good tactic is going to the dealership and recording what vehicles they have that are kinda overprices...and then after a year you offer 1/5 what there asking and they take it......worked well for me BIG TIME!
good tactic is going to the dealership and recording what vehicles they have that are kinda overprices...and then after a year you offer 1/5 what there asking and they take it......worked well for me BIG TIME!
If you cant see the truck or AT LEAST pictures of it, dont buy it. your taking a HUGE gamble. how do you know the truck is not all worn out and a heap of bondo'd up trash? You just dont. Dont bother, unless you have an honest friend that knows what hes doing, to look at it on your behalf.
