10 Things to Inspect Before Buying Any Used Car

Buying a used car is one of the bigger financial decisions most people make. The good news is that a basic pre-purchase inspection — one you can do yourself in about 20 minutes — can surface most of the red flags before you commit to anything. You don't need to be a mechanic. You just need to know where to look and what looks wrong.

Here's the checklist we'd walk any family member through before they handed over a deposit.

1. Check the Body Panels for Misalignment

Stand at each corner of the vehicle and look along the body panels. The gaps between panels — doors, fenders, hood, trunk — should be uniform and consistent. Uneven gaps, rippling paint, or panels that sit at different heights are signs of collision repair. A little bit of this is common on older vehicles, but significant misalignment suggests major bodywork.

2. Look for Rust — Especially in Ontario

Surface rust on older vehicles is expected. What you're looking for is structural rust — in the wheel wells, along the frame rails under the vehicle, around door sills, and at the base of the windshield. Probe any suspect areas gently with a key or screwdriver. If the metal feels soft or crumbles, that's a serious problem that gets expensive fast. Ontario road salt accelerates this significantly.

3. Check All Four Tires

Look at tread depth — a coin test works fine. Insert a quarter into the tread with the caribou nose pointing down; if you can see the nose, you're close to replacement. More importantly, look at the wear pattern. Even wear across the tire is normal. Wear on the inner or outer edges indicates alignment issues. Wear on one side only suggests suspension problems. All four tires should ideally be the same brand and model — mismatched tires can cause AWD system damage over time.

4. Cold Start the Engine

If possible, arrive before the seller has warmed up the car. A cold start reveals things a warmed-up engine hides. Listen for: ticking or clattering (common in engines with neglected oil changes), excessive smoke from the exhaust (blue smoke means oil burning; white smoke can mean coolant issues; black smoke is a rich fuel mixture), and hard starts or rough idle. The engine should settle smoothly within 30–60 seconds.

5. Check All the Fluids

With the engine off and cooled, pull every dipstick and open every reservoir. Engine oil should be amber to dark brown — black and gritty means it's overdue. Coolant should be green, orange, or pink depending on type — never brown or rusty. Transmission fluid (if accessible) should be pinkish-red, not dark brown or burnt-smelling. Brake fluid should be clear to light yellow. Cloudy, dark, or low fluids tell you about maintenance habits.

6. Look Under the Vehicle for Leaks

Ask to park over a clean piece of cardboard for a few minutes while you look at the rest of the vehicle. Afterwards, check the cardboard. Small amounts of condensation from the air conditioning are normal. Oil stains, coolant puddles (usually bright coloured), or transmission fluid drips are not. Also look at the ground beneath the vehicle while it's running — you can often spot active leaks that are otherwise hidden.

7. Test Every Electrical Feature

This sounds tedious but takes only a few minutes and can reveal expensive problems. Windows, mirrors, heated seats, all climate controls, every light (interior and exterior), the horn, the radio, Bluetooth, USB ports, backup camera if equipped. On older vehicles, common problem areas are power window motors and heated seat elements — both can be costly to repair.

8. Inspect the Interior Carefully

A clean interior is easy to achieve with detailing, so don't be fooled by a fresh vacuum. Instead, look at wear patterns that don't match the mileage — heavily worn driver's seat bolster on a 60,000 km vehicle is a flag. Lift the floor mats and check for water staining or mould odour underneath, which suggests flood damage or leaks. Check the headliner for sagging or water stains.

9. Test Drive on Mixed Roads

A parking lot crawl isn't enough. Get the vehicle on a highway and a rough road. At highway speeds, listen for wind noise (door seals), vibrations (wheel balance or tire issues), or pulling to one side (alignment). On a rough road, listen for creaks, rattles, or clunking from the suspension. Brake hard in a safe area — the car should stop straight without pulling and without the brake pedal pulsing. If it has AWD, do a slow figure-eight in an empty lot; you shouldn't feel binding or hear clunking.

10. Pull a Vehicle History Report

A CARFAX or AutoCheck report tells you ownership history, reported accidents, odometer readings at past service records, and whether it's been registered as salvage or written off. It doesn't tell you everything — unreported accidents won't appear — but it's a critical minimum step. Any reputable dealer will provide this freely. If a private seller won't, that's your answer.

What to Do If You Find Problems

Finding issues doesn't necessarily mean you should walk away. It means you have information to negotiate with. Get a quote on any repairs you'd want to do, and use that to adjust your offer. The seller knows the issues exist — a reasonable one will work with you. An unreasonable one is also telling you something.

At Marden Motors, every vehicle on our lot has already been through our inspection process. We're happy to walk you through anything we found and how we addressed it. No surprises after you leave the lot — that's how we've operated since 1979.