When looking for a used car, many people turn to friends for help. Especially if their acquaintances understand the technical part or have already gone through the process of buying a car. However, even the closest and most experienced friend can give advice that can lead to serious expenses. For example, if he underestimated the car's defects or overestimated its value based only on external signs.
There are situations in which a friend's opinion is really useful, but also those in which it is better to check everything yourself. Here are some of the most common "anti-advice" that you may hear:
„I have the same one – it has never let me down.“
Experience with a given car model is not universal. Perhaps your friend owns a car with a transparent history, full maintenance and careful operation. The car you are considering may be the same model, but with a taxi past, an overheated engine and a restored body. Visually and according to the documents, the car may look the same, but in fact it may hide a completely different technical and legal risk. Without a thorough check of the history, diagnostics and operation information, relying only on someone else's successful experience is not the best idea.
“If the paint is evenly applied, it has definitely not been hit.“
Modern methods of body restoration allow achieving almost factory quality of paintwork, which is difficult to determine without professional equipment. Even if the paintwork looks perfect, an experienced diagnostician will check the coating with a caliper and inspect the elements under the hood and in the suspension. He will pay attention to the structure of the paint to identify the differences between the factory and the restored finish. Additional signs of repair that a friend may miss are, for example, too fresh headlights, new bumpers or traces of polishing. If an element, such as a door, has been completely replaced, a specialist will check the bodywork, which may be an indication of a serious accident.
“If a car has a lot of mileage, it is not even worth considering.“
Reducing mileage is not an uncommon phenomenon. Experienced buyers know this, but many continue to rely only on the odometer reading, ignoring the operating conditions and indirect signs of wear - the condition of the interior, steering wheel and pedals. In addition, a car with 70,000 kilometers driven in city conditions may be in worse condition than one with 140,000 kilometers on the highway. When driving long distances, the engine works more stably, with fewer cold starts. That is why the reliability of a car is determined not only by the mileage, but also by its overall service history and the resource of a particular engine.
„Just take it now, how much more will you choose? It has already been driven - it is a good car.“
A short test drive is not an indicator of technical condition. Even if the car drives smoothly, it may have hidden problems - from errors in the gearbox to damaged body geometry. A superficial drive will not reveal the need to replace the battery in a hybrid, electronic failures or defects in the transmission. A road test is important, but it is only a small part of a full diagnostic.
When is a friend's advice really valuable?
If he has recently gone through the entire buying process, has had a service check, and knows how history and diagnostic checks work.
If he shares his personal impressions of the car and the seller. A sober view from the outside can help balance the buyer's emotions and prevent important details from being missed.
If he is not afraid to admit: “I'm not sure - let's show it to the experts.“