How To Buy A Used Car: Step 4: Test Drive, Inspection & PPI Checklist

Step 4:  Test Drive & Inspection:  How to inspect a car in person (or by remote PPI) and how not to be taken for a ride on the first date.  We give you the goods on what to do when you take a look at the car you are buying -- including key items you always want to check and a detailed checklist of other things you need to look at.

You may have noticed that we published part 1 of DT's 6-part series on How to Buy a Used Car but we got busy with other things and have neglected to publish the next parts as promised.  We have no excuse other than being busy, but to the rescue comes Ian and Kim Lomax, founders of Jewel or Jalopy who offered to write up part 4...well...as they say in the vending machine industry...better out of order than out of mind! 

DT Guest Post: Jewel Or Jalopy: Pre Purchase Inspections By Car Enthusiasts

We’ve all been there – you’ve found a car on Daily Turismo that looks great, but you know that the vague descriptions and out-of-focus photos in many car ads can easily hide potentially expensive and time-consuming issues.  You want to know more but you're not ready to ask the seller to take the car to a mechanic for a full-blown inspection. What you want is someone knowledgeable who can go look at it, check it out, and report back. That's where Jewel or Jalopy comes in. (Ed Itor: This is a guest post from Ian and Kim Lomax @ jewelorjalopy.com.  No money exchanged hands, no tit-for-tat, JorJ didn't buy us a t-bone steak, an autographed picture of Amanda Bynes or a box of matches...nutthin...but I keep checking the mailbox each day.)