Getting rid of misconceptions

Section First service after buying a car, article 4 of 19203 words, 2 minutes

In this section: 19 articles
  1. What you need to change no matter what
  2. Diagnosing a car's electronics
  3. Your First Visit to a Garage
  4. Getting rid of misconceptions
  5. Servicing a used car
  6. Buying a used car: preview
  7. Servicing a second-hand car
  8. Getting a second-hand car
  9. First Service on a Used Car
  10. First Service on a Second-Hand Car
  11. What to change on a used car?
  12. What to replace in a used car?
  13. First Service on a Used Car
  14. Servicing a used car
  15. What to change on a used car?
  16. So you've decided to buy a used car...
  17. In brief: right after you buy the car
  18. Change all the fluids!
  19. Servicing a used car

So, you've bought a used car from someone you don't know, and everything you know about its service history comes only from their word. You need to start by dropping any illusions about your purchase — believe me, if you're wrong in the better direction, that won't cost you nearly as much as being wrong in the worse one.

Since altering the odometer reading (the car's total mileage counter) is no problem at all for the vast majority of cars, feel free to put N/A in the "mileage" field and start building your maintenance schedule from scratch, paying no attention to the previous owner's claims that "the car was only used on weekends and wasn't driven in winter," "the oil was changed 2,000 km ago," or "the running gear was checked 5,000 km ago."

On top of that, don't rely too much on the condition of the pedals, the steering wheel, the driver's seat and other outward signs that experienced car owners used to rely on to gauge a car's real mileage: now that car-breakers' yards and mass sales of used parts exist, "adjusting" the outward signs to match a rolled-back odometer is no problem at all, and costs very little.