Carfax/ Autocheck

[Sancho Fuente]

Originally Posted by emopunker2004

remember if it was a previous rental car it may have had work done in house and not reported.

Take it from a mechanic, if it was a rental car you probably don't want to purchase it unless you have no other choice. People hound rental cars since it isn't thier own, and any sort of maitenence on the vehicle is usually ignored. Try to get a set of records if you can showing oil changes, this is where most cars buyers get into trouble. Its not the stuff you can see like the paintwork or interior that are the suprises, its the blocks of sludge in the engine that noone takes the time to look at that are the biggest issues that I see.

For piece of mind, take a flashlight and look down the filler hole where the oil goes into the engine. It should look bright, just like new metal, with no staining or dark marks in the metal where sludge or old oil has accumulated or been burned in. It's a super simple inspection that can save you alot of heartache and cost, and although it doesn't give you any idea of what the bearings actually look like, it does give a decent idea of the overall engine condition without actually breaking down the engine for inspection. Good luck with the search.