Long downtime: what awaits car buyers who have not driven for a long time
The used car market is breaking another record, and finding a really good car is getting harder and harder. But is it worth responding to ads for the sale, which indicates many years of downtime, the AvtoVzglyad portal figured out.
Choosing a used car is a lottery in which even professionals sometimes lose. But the stakes are so high that many are ready to take risks from time to time, hoping to snatch the real jackpot. Sometimes it happens: a sudden announcement in which, under a thick layer of dust, there is an “undried” car from an era when the sun was brighter and the grass greener. Emotions cover my eyes, in my head there are voices saying that “there used to be cars”. We must go as soon as possible, dialing the coveted number on the way!
Victory, we are the first, we are already close: behind the rusty gates of the cooperative, ready for demolition, there is a car covered with a centuries-old layer of dust. The cabin smells like an army warehouse, the wheels are flat, the engine needs a new battery, and the brake discs have turned into a single red layer. But it's all solvable!
Of course, it won’t start, it has stood for so long, and the oil has probably already turned into grease, it needs to be changed. And dealers-outbidders call the owner, they say, sell it. Here common sense is inferior to what you see with your eyes - you have to take it, and without bargaining. It’s good if you had the patience to check the documents - sometimes they take them “without looking” at all. Tow truck - and home. And then the "roller coasters" begin.
If there are no fines and encumbrances, the car is properly registered and will be registered again - this is already a success. After that, a technical question opens: the brakes are understandable mechanism, went through, replaced the fluid and checked for leaks - they will work. But the motor refuses to come to life with new oil and a new battery.
It turns out that over the years of inactivity, not only the mechanics suffered - it is necessary to decoke - but also the electronics: the control unit can lose its tightness and oxidize from the inside. If you manage to win with "little bloodshed", a simple bulkhead and cleaning - luck.
Usually you need a replacement with a flashing of everything and everything. Next comes the gearbox, which also has its own blocks and “brains”. The first launch, the heart is bursting with happiness. Revived. But not for long: oil flows from everywhere, all seals died, a fan of errors on the dashboard. The flow of rubles from the wallet is getting stronger, and the benefit from the transaction is getting smaller.
Under a layer of dust, not only rust spots are shown, but also through corrosion: the garage, apparently, was leaking. Alloy wheels are square, and the tires on them are already triangular. It is necessary to change the "assembly". The exhaust pipe rumbles with holes, its brackets are only conditionally present, and a puddle has formed under the tank. The cabin smells of gasoline. Congratulations, we have an “ore”, “trachoma”, “fossil”, which can become a great hobby and “timekiller”, but is unlikely to ever turn into an everyday car.
The conclusion from the above is simple: a car must drive in order to live. Mileage, like the year of manufacture, is not an indicator of condition, and no craftsman can replace diagnostics at a service station, because you won’t know all the secrets from a photograph and appearance.
"Barnfind" - garage finds - so popular on video hosting sites around the world, a so-so idea for acquiring a car as a car. The same, by the way, applies to the idea of buying a “car from storage” and other very curious and attractive at first glance methods of buying “good for cheap”. Miracles don't happen.
