Drive the Car
During your test drive, notice if the car seems to drift to one side or the other. This could be a wheel-alignment problem or it could be a frame problem. Check to see if the wheel vibrates or shimmies a'highway speeds either when going straight or when turning slightly left or right as when changing lanes.
The Brakes - Straight - Line Stopping
Find an empty road or even a large vacant parking lot. Check to be sure that no one is behind you, then accelerate to 40 miles per hour and apply firm pressure on the brakes. The car should come to a smooth, straight-line stop with no pull to either the left or right. Also, note the feel of the brake. If the car does not have anti-lock brakes, the pedal should feel firm under your foot. If it does have anti-lock brakes it should still feel firm, but if you happen to be in a situation where the ABS engages-i.e., during wheel lockup-expect to feel a rapid but steady vibration, under your foot. This is the ABS system at work.
Parking Brake
Be sure to check the holding power of the parking brake. Ideally, you should find a hill and, with your foot on the brake, put the car into neu¬tral. Then apply the parking brake and lift your foot off the brake pedal. The car should remain stationary.
Check Acceleration
Using the same hill that you used in the above test-even if it's just a slight incline-stop at the bottom, then step on the gas gently. The car should move up the hill smoothly with. no hesitation, surges, or strange sounds.On a flat road, check for traffic to be sure you're clear and then floor the gas pedal and accelerate up to the legal speed limit. If the acceleration is uneven, very slow, and is accompanied by strange sounds, you might want to write the car off your list.
Engine Overheating
Drive the car out on the highway at the speed limit for ten minutes or more. During this time, notice if there are any strange sounds and check the temperature gauge to see if the car is running hot and overheating.Bring the car to a stop in a safe place and let the engine idle with the air conditioner on high-if it has one-for five minutes, as it would were you stopped in traffic. Does it overheat?
Checking the Allignment and Suspeasion
Find a reasonably rough road and drive over it at about 25 miles anhour. Notice how the car feels. Does it seem to hold a straight line'? If it drifts back and forth, it may have an alignment problem. If you notice that there are times, especially over rough road surfaces, when the cars umps or seems to swing back and forth, you may have a problem with your shocks. Be alert for any loud rattles or squeaks.On a smooth road-again, with no traffic-accelerate to about 25 miles an hour, slightly release your grip on the steering wheel, and se if the car tends to veer or drift to the left or right. If it does, it's reasonable to assume that the car needs to be aligned. In some cases it could also point to bad tires, worn steering linkage, or defective suspension components.
Detecting Transmission Problems
As you're driving and the car is changing gears, listen for any unusual sounds. The transmission shifting should be quiet on automatic shifting cars. Again, find someplace without traffic and stop the car. Slowly drive the car forward a few feet, stop, shift into reverse, and back up a few feet. Repeat this several times. The shifting should be smooth without noise, clanks, or thuds. The transmission should never seem to be "slamming" into gear. Then start up again and accelerate slowly. Feel the transmission shift into second, third, and fourth. Then depress the accelerator. Does the transmission down-shift to the next lower gear smoothly and without making any unusual sounds?
Standard Transmission
If the car has a standard transmission, you should find it easy to shift gears. Assuming you are proficient at using a clutch, the process should be smooth. You should not feel the gears grab, slip, or hear them chatter as you move from one gear to the next.Test the transmission on a hill. As you shift through the gears, notice if the clutch appears to slip. If it does, this could mean a problem with the pressure plate or a leak that is affecting the clutch disc itself. Here's another test: While driving on an uncrowded road with a speed limit of 55, accelerate to 35 MPH and put the transmission into high gear-fourth or fifth. After checking to be sure you're clear of all traffic and have an open road ahead of you, push down hard on the accelerator. If the engine "revs" and does not accelerate immediately, the clutch is probably slipping and will need repair
Driving Evaluation
On the test drive, find a major highway and accelerate up to the speed limit and notice how the car behaves. Certain problems will show up only at highway speeds. For example, shimmies in the car and in the steering wheel, vibrations, wind noise, etc., can often only be detected at over 50 miles per hour.
Steering
Steering wheel "play" should be within reasonable boundaries. There should not be more than an inch or two of play before the wheel clearly responds to your steering input. If the steering is what the experts call "sloppy," the car will wander or drift, and there may be any number of expensive problems to fix. Check to see how hard it is to turn the wheel when the car is stopped, as if you were getting ready to parallel-park. If the car has power steering and you're having to put extra effort into turning the wheel, there's a problem. Even if the car does not come with power steering, you don't want a steering wheel that is overly difficult to turn when the car is stopped.
Retest the accessories
During the test drive, retest all the accessories. Turn on the air conditioner and see if the car begins to overheat. Then turn on all the lights and electrical equipment to see if the charging system can keep up aJth the drain.
Check the cruise control
If the car has cruise control, accelerate up to the speed you wish to maintain and set the control. Make sure that it holds speed up and down moderate hills. Check the acceleration and deceleration buttons. Then be sure that the system disengages when you touch the brake pedal.
Engine Restart Test
When you arrive back at the seller's lot or home, turn off the engine, wait two minutes, and then restart it. Some recent-model cars with fuel-injection systems have "hot start" problems. This test is a good wav to check for that condition.
Recheck Me fluids
After the test drive, open the hood and check the engine. Is there any sign of fluid leaks in the engine compartment or on the ground under the car?
