What to look for?!?!

[92whites13]

ok im about to go look at a 92 240sx and i wanted to know what i should look for wrong with it that can be very bad....it has 155,000 miles on it and he says it needs a timing chain tensoner

[Bill Roberts]

look for what you can live with.

Add up all the things that are visably wrong with the car and take note that this will cost you to make it cherry.

My used car buying primer:

Pull the dipstick and notice the quality of the oil...is it clean? Does it smell bad?

Next, get the car on a lift and see if it has been bent or scraped up. You can't tell how she is until you peep under her dress. You can notice brake wear from this angle as well. Look for leaks. Normal oil soaking will happen from our cars. It can have some grease and oil around...normal for 155K miles. Look at the oil pan for dents. You can learn alot by how a car is treated by getting under it and taking 30 mins to really look for problems.

Rust...look in the spare tire well. Clean? Good spare and tools? Jack in its left side pocket?

Run the front seats forward. look for crap around them and rust. Was the driver a slob? Are the seat rails rusted?

Next, drive over a bumpy road...rattles? Our cars are pretty quiet..if the suspention is beat..it will sound mechanical on bumps..otherwise just some deep thuds with no mettalic sound is ok. Do this with windows open and closed.

Check all the lights and flashers..make sure everything works. If the car has cruise, their is a good chance it does not work...this is OK..it goes out from time to time.


Notice tire wear..is it even?

Sit in the passenger seat...see how it seems. Let someone else drive it while being a passenger..you hear things there you will not while driving.

Run a carfax. This will verify the authenticity of the car (stolen, wrecked..etc)

Don't be in a hurry, take your time. Notice wiper operation, notice brake op...and parking brake..mine is tight on the 5th click. look at the keys...are they original or cut keys. Look in the glove box..check it out.


Impluse buying sucks. Best to be serious. Now if the car is like 500 bucks and drives, screw what I said and do this all once you have the title and safely at home. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth...but if the person wants like 2800....be very detailed in the inspection process. Make sure it has been registered recently. A sitting car is a sitting duck..depreciating by the week.



Have fun, take your time..check all fliuds (radiator, Power steering..etc..)

Take some time to see it all.

Hope this helps..print this if it is helpful.

[hookedup240]

Wow Bill, I love your posts, so thorough. I'm going to keep this post. Maybe it should be in the faqs or something.

Edit: Whoops, dunno how the bs flag got in there.

[Bill Roberts]

I should have included, look at air filter, smoke from tailpipe etc..

But really...you cannot expect perfection on a 155K car...just look at what you will need to improve and consider all this in the value aspect.

From the long distance computer screen vibe...the car should be 1300 to 2200 dollars or so..

Remember, it is 12 years old.

Look for the VIN number for carfax.

BTWE, I live right down the road from you....PM me, I will give you my number if you need a tag along. I may help you get a better deal..or at least advise you..and you can ride in my car. I am not doing anything tomorrow at all...just taking a weekend off, having a party.

[92whites13]

hey thanks alot for all of the info its going to really help me out.....Where do you live?.....Well the guy is trading me for my 1991 nissan sentra se-r......its worth about 1500-1800 bucks so i am going to expect some problems.....but yeah man ill hit you up and you can take a look at it sometime and ill check out yours!

[Bill Roberts]

I am in WPB.. Going to do the office for about 2 hours this morning and then I am off for the whole weekend.

[92whites13]

hey what about the leather in the car??? it has tan leather that looks like its all hard now and there is bad body work up by the sunroof and he says it needs a timing chain tensoner??

[Bill Roberts]

Does it have one of those tan dashes?

My car has no leather at all..just cloth seats, cloth trim on the doors and all other panels are plastic. I never much cared for leather. It is hot as hell in the summertime and looks "funky" when worn. Also it retains odor. The only leather I ever liked is leather trim..but my azz likes to sit on cloth. I once had a car with leather seats and covered them with seat covers (cloth) so they would not burn my legs in the summer. Leather is not for me.


Did you get it?

Do you feel comfortable with that car?

If not....
......Their are so many others floating around..if your gut feeling is not "with it" then you may want to just hold off. Plenty of time to get one you will love to own and drive.

[92whites13]

yes it has one of the tan dashes.....yeah i never traded the guy for my SE-R cause it isnt in as good of condition as mine... yeah i dont like leather that much either and im sure this one smelled and was all cracked

[Bill Roberts]

Get in touch with Kyle...since he knows everyone...he will know where a clean one that you can trade for is.

The Sentra would sell pretty quick..they have a large following.

[92whites13]

alright cool how do i get in touch with him? or whats his name here?

[Bill Roberts]

MiamiGrench240


See this thread, read through it...catch a vibe! Click on links...see the cars!

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23346