How to find out the real mileage of a car when buying
Content
One of the key indicators when buying a car in the secondary market is its mileage. Often, unscrupulous sellers, pursuing selfish goals, simply twist the mileage of their car. In order not to fall for the tricks of scammers, and not to remain in the loser, it is necessary to adopt a number of methods and techniques that will help determine the reliable mileage of the vehicle. This will be discussed in the presented article.
Signs indicating the real mileage of a car
Before carrying out a thorough analysis with the help of scanners, it is necessary to conduct an external inspection of some elements of the car that are subject to the greatest wear.
Such a check affects both the exterior and interior of the car. Depending on the condition of individual parts, it will be possible to draw a well-founded conclusion about the actual mileage of the car.
Visual inspection
This stage involves assessing the degree of wear of individual components and parts of the car. These include:
- tire wear;
- the degree of production of brake discs;
- sagging doors;
- replacement of body plumage elements / their deformation.
Long-term operation of the vehicle is primarily indicated by increased tire wear. This feature can be easily identified by the residual height of the tire tread. In addition, tire wear can signal problems with the elements in the car's suspension.
And a faulty suspension, albeit indirectly, speaks of a high mileage of a car. However, the worn state of the rubber is not always the determining factor in intensive use. There is a possibility that the owner decided to save money before selling and installed old tires.
The next element to pay attention to is the brake discs. Their condition can give a clear idea of the mileage. In this case, the production of metal thickness is evaluated. To do this, just swipe your finger across the surface of the disc.
Significant disc wear is a reason to clarify the actual mileage of the car. But you should not lose vigilance if there is no production. The owner could grind them or replace them.
Another feature inherent in a car with a long mileage is sagging door hinges. The way to detect such a malfunction is quite simple. To do this, open the door and grab onto its upper and lower edges.
After that, the door needs to be slightly rocked. If play is observed, there is increased wear on the face. This defect also manifests itself in uneven door gaps, and scuffs from the mating surface.
An important role in establishing the service life of the car is played by the condition of the external elements of the body. At this stage, first of all, you should look at the places that are most exposed to external factors: corrosion, oxidation and violation of the paintwork.
As a rule, we are talking about:
- rapids;
- wheel arches;
- bottom;
- joining parts.
Insignificant mileage of a modern car should not be accompanied by obvious signs of corrosion and violation of the integrity of the paintwork. Although in some cases, this condition may not be caused by long-term operation, but by improper care of the machine.
Condition of interior and pedals
The degree of wear of individual elements of the interior of the car will help to create an impression of the duration of use of this vehicle. In this case, you should inspect the steering wheel sheath, gear selector lever and pedal pads.
The steering wheel braid may have pronounced traces of long-term operation in the form of scuffs and mechanical damage. If the steering wheel looks like new, do not flatter yourself. There is a possibility that it was replaced with a cheap Chinese counterpart.
To make sure of this, for a person far from auto-selection, it will be somewhat difficult. It often happens that the replacement of the steering wheel was caused by a serious accident, as a result of which the airbags deployed. This fact may be indicated by a lit airbag indicator on the instrument console.
Worn gearshift lever, worn pedal pads can also be attributed to indirect signs of long-term operation of the car.
Diagnostics of electronics with ELM327 or OBD scanner
Currently, the so-called diagnostic adapters are widely used. The ELM327 scanner and OBD allow you to read errors caused by a malfunction of a particular node.
These devices are connected to a special diagnostic connector of the car and display all the necessary information on the display of a laptop or smartphone. For their full operation, you must use the Torque application.
Real mileage readings when using these devices will be displayed only if the owner of the car has rolled the mileage only from the dashboard module and has not performed any other manipulations. As a rule, these data are stored in several cells of the computer's memory block and cannot be subject to correction.
ELM327 provides data on the operation of various systems throughout the entire period of vehicle operation. Thus, information about the mileage of a car is added up based on the results of a comprehensive diagnosis of all its systems. Third-party intervention in all modules is immediately excluded. Therefore, the presented data on the mileage of the car is more reliable.
Among other things, the software of this device allows you to compare the average operating speed of the machine with the odometer reading. The received data is subsequently compared with engine hours, information about which is stored in the engine control unit. These events will help to easily convict a dishonest car seller of deceit.
Verification of documents
Documents are a significant help in obtaining comprehensive data on the mileage of a used car. In this case, we are talking about the TCP and the service book.
First, let's get acquainted with the PTS. It indicates the year of manufacture of this vehicle. By simple calculations, you can calculate the approximate number of "knurled kilometers". The average annual mileage is about 18 - 20 thousand km. If you multiply this number by the life of the car, you can get an approximate value of its mileage.
The next step is to study the service book. Of interest in this case are the marks on the last change of lubricants. In most cases, this note is accompanied by a record of the car's mileage at the time of the maintenance. It is not difficult to compare this figure and the odometer reading, and everything secret will become clear.
What can a VIN say about mileage?
It's no secret that every car, regardless of brand, is assigned a unique code, the so-called VIN. With it, you can also "break through" the real mileage of the vehicle.
The verification procedure itself is not particularly difficult.
It looks like this:
- ask the seller for VIN, car number, insurance policy number;
- enter data on the official website of the company "AutoKod";
- make a payment for the provision of services in the amount of 349 rubles.
The mileage will be listed in the vehicle inspection section. Each MOT is accompanied by a record of the mileage recorded at that time. However, if the insurance policy was purchased via the Internet, it is allowed for the owner to indicate its value himself.
To verify its honesty, you can familiarize yourself with additional data. If the car was used in a taxi, this will be indicated in a special report. Such machines often wind about 150 - 200 km. in year.
You can get some idea of the mileage in the "Penalties" tab. The fact is that this section provides detailed information about certain violations of the owner: when, where, under what circumstances. Comparing this information with the lies of the seller, you can learn a lot of new things.
Checking a car on the Internet
To obtain more comprehensive information about a particular machine, you can use a wide variety of Internet resources. Despite the dominance of services duplicating each other, there are a number of sites that have earned high praise from a large number of users.
The most popular among them:
- gibdd.ru
- register-zalogov.ru
- check-auto.rus
- autoteka.ru
On the website of the traffic police, you can familiarize yourself with the registration data of the car, learn about possible restrictions, and also check if the car is listed as stolen.
The website of the Federal Notary Chamber provides information about the location of the car in the register of pledges. The remaining resources provide information services related to the history of the car.
The help of specialists
Russian realities sometimes diverge from the established norms and rules of trade. This also applies to car sales. Against the backdrop of the current situation, the question arises: How to buy a quality car and not fall into the tenacious clutches of scammers?
Now, such a service sector as auto-selection is gaining more and more popularity. At the moment, there are a large number of companies that, for a certain amount, will find exactly the car that the client needs. The company's specialists go to meetings with car owners, conduct a thorough diagnosis, check the declared data and deal with paperwork.
Before trusting one or another auto-selection company, it is recommended to read the reviews and comments that characterize their activities. It is not uncommon for these professionals to include ordinary swindlers who cooperate with resellers. Such a selection will give the new owner a lot of trouble.
Buying a car is a big step. Therefore, in this case, you do not need to indulge in momentary impulses and blindly believe in the laudatory odes of loving sellers. Only a comprehensive vehicle diagnostics and competent opinion of specialists will help to make an informed decision in this case and make the only right choice, taking into account all the stated requirements.
