Drove down with my dad who is a former mechanic/body man to see a car he wanted. Had the invoice, cash in hand, etc. showed up walked around, saw the white stuff, instantly knew something was up. Opened the trunk, yep, absolute mess, didn't even try to hide the work done to the rear. Got under the car, exhaust still had new bar code stickers and tags on it! Advertised as "no accidents". We left. Dishonest dealers or just ignorant.
Had my dad come out with me to a Honda dealer to look at one of their CPOs that I wanted. As the sales guy is walking us out, he leaned over and said “You’re not buying this car.” He then went on to ask what CPO stood for and what kind of Honda came from the factory with panel gap. The young salesman was confused so my dad had him walk to the drivers side of the hood, stuck his thumb in the gap, and walk it down the side of the car. The hood was rubbing on the passenger side and he couldn’t get a finger in. “It has a clean CarFax.” So we popped the hood and saw mud all over the engine bay. Thing had probably been driven into a ditch and the dealer was selling it as clean.
You are absolutely correct! Wrecks never show up on Carfax if there's no ticket and it's not ran through insurane. The same is true for rental cars. They fix them out of pocket and the Carfax stays clean. The only way to protect yourself is either to learn what to look for OR pay someone like Dave to check it out! My brother-in-law has been in the body/paint business for 30+ years and taught me a lot. I've walked away from more than a few used cars because I saw they had been wrecked.
@@turbomustang8417 a lot of collision damage never gets reported to carfax or any other agency unless insurance is involved! So a clean report isn’t always a good thing!
Most of the time , Carfax will have all the information on services , and claims if the rental company is trustworthy. The most important to check is engine , transmission , diff , trans axle on my used truck. Be prepared to change all the lubricants and some repairs yourself .
@ yes it is such a thing! Older ones were magnetic and would detect thickness of body fillers and paint, newer electronic ones I think are more accurate!
Again, 40 years here at my shop in California, Dave, you are so teaching me GREAT points, and new stuff to ponder, NEVER to late to learn, adapt, and conquer !
I used to certify cars for brake and lights and Smog that came from wrecking yards where they would cut the car one that was hit in the front and one that was hit in the back at the top of the windshield and right behind the front seat all the way across And they weld two good parts together and there’s no way you could tell easily that this was two different cars made into one because it was only at the top of the windshield and right behind the seat. You have to pull up the carpet and look and see the weld that went completely across behind the front seat, and there was nothing really wrong. It was just bastardized. I did a Porsche 911. I would have no problem buying that one, but they were asking too much.
I tried 3 dealerships in Tulsa, OK all of them refused to allow me to get an inspection past what I could do on the lot. One ever refused to let me read the codes, so I walked.
I have noticed this too here around Central Ohio. Nobody is allowing inspections pretty much anymore on dealerships and you know what? Walking away is exactly the right thing to do. These dealers know their inventory comes mainly from auction houses and bidding wars, they just want to get the car in and out as fast as possible and know that nothing good can come from an inspection so why allow it?... unless they knew the car was solid and weren't afraid of the sale. This predatory practice of not allowing any pre-purchase inspecting to be done needs to be stopped in it's tracks now before dealers start thinking it's okay. If they won't let you look at it, find another one you CAN look at. Unless the car you're looking for is of dire limited production/only made hundreds of them, then walk away. Your options are limitless, don't restrict yourself to your limited perception.
@@ftffighter We only allow car to be inspected on our lot by mobile mechanics.We have had places steal and switch out major parts like engines.we trust you about as much as you trust us.
@@jl4091 that's why a deposit with a written contract--including contingency on inspection/analysis--is a smart move. This protects the consumer AND the business equally.
I'd rather spend a few hundred in inspections versus buying thousands of dollars of a nightmare. I have walked away from more than one car simply based on initial mechanical inspections. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Dave! ❤🙏👍
You wouldn’t believe the amount of people I see at the dealer getting it inspected after buying it. It’s crazy. And then they get mad at the writer and me for telling them they bought a turd
Not bad for the right price though. That's the issue, most dealers will sell this at top dollar because of the year/miles, and they won't work on price because of the cost it took to fix the damage. Realistically speaking this car is functionally fine and will get you around probably without much issue.
@@BigWheel. I could understand if it was half the price but if it’s a $18,000 car instead of a $22,000 car I can’t quite say that’s worth it. Specially, since there are going to be a whole host of potential problems from seemingly minor ones like having difficulty insuring it, or weakened/un-replaced damage parts. And truth be told whatever amount you’re saving on the front end you’re gonna lose more on the back if you ever go to sell it.
@@djparra41 Yeah if they don't knock the price down significantly due to being wrecked, it's not worth it. Walk away. Heck, if they don't disclose UPFRONT that it was wrecked, then walk away.
I wanna say even if you got Dave's book , 70% of those buyers will still make a mistake. If only we could have a Dave across the nation in every shop. Really Appreciate dave being super knowledged and honest when fixing cars. Keep up the great work, if I ever have a major problem with my ride, I'm taken it to Utah
We don't deserve it. Working on cars today is so intensive and thankless I would rather live under a bridge than have anything to do with the business.
absolutely. people will NOT remember all of that information and will miss bad things hiding in plain sight. It's much better to just pay the man and have him do it. Pay for an experienced professional's service not some information that you will have to take a lot of time to study and which is widely available free of charge on the internet.
I have been turning wrenches for 35 years. I will be 50 in October. I have worked on commission for the last 4 years at a small shop in a small town and I so appreciate the way you explain and educate. I have watched your short videos and just recently stumbled onto your longer videos and just love them. Thank you so much. There are so many shops and mechanics that give us a bad rep and we need more people like you to help change the way people think. Keep up the great work.
I had a young female friend who wanted to buy a car and she was kinda set against getting an inspection due to the cost, and I called around and found a place that would do it for $100, I went with her to test drive the car and I told her I would pay for the inspection, I just wanted to be sure she was making a sound decision. We had no clue there was any problem on the test drive, but the garage pulled the uncarriage cover off and a good gallon of transmission fluid went on their floor. They found this fairly quickly, and made the immediate recommendation not to buy it, and they ended up not even charging us for the inspection due to how quickly they found. My friend thanks me so much, cause that probably would be a $2,000 repair in the first week or two of ownership or more.... please people have an inspection ask them to look for any damage or non OEM parts, a good mechanic can tell if a car has been cared for by the prior owners.
If she can’t even afford an inspection why would she spend thousands on a car? Especially not knowing if you have to spend thousands on repair thats not smart of her im glad you were there
branded title saving 4k on a civic, not worth it. No warranty, sketchy repairs, questionable safety in an accident, host of problems down the line, wouldn't touch it with a 9ft pole.
Yeah... I'll never really understand people doing that. Especially because there isn't a warranty anymore, and you'll never get it's worth through insurance if anything does happen. And the biggest thing you mentioned... questionable safety in an accident. I'd walk away as well.
Right? I appreciate the fact Dave is nonjudgmental regarding other people’s financial positions but regardless of your income, if you’re able to shell out $25k for an almost new car, you’re able to shell out $30k for a brand new car and that should be the professional advice w/o having an alignment test. Also, $350 just to *check* the alignment? Geeze. What would it cost to actually align it?
Can’t wait for cloning, Dave. Your honest and forthright attitude towards your customers and quality workmanship are truly something to be admired. Sure wish more ships operated this way !
I worked in a GM assembly plant in the mid 1980s in the paint department doing paint repairs. You'd be surprised how many cars got panels (or sometimes the entire car) repainted before they ever left paint. This is when it's just a bare body before assembly. I'm sure the thickness tester could find repainted panels on brand new cars. Great videos and great work you do.
See the case of BMW v. Gore. US S. CT. Doctor bought a new BMW that had been repainted at the factory or dealer before sold as new, which they didn't disclose. He got something like $5MILLION in punitive damages. THe S.Ct. REVERSED that. Too high.
My Mercedes was in a bad rear end accident with frame damage reported. It was never totaled and fixed under the last owners insurance company. I got 5k off this car when I bought it compared to similar models with the same mileage and I’ve had it for almost a year and put over 12k miles on it so far and it’s been perfectly fine! It’s a risk but not always a bad outcome.
Whenever I have shopped for a used car (especially something I really want) I always take someone else with me to look at the car and drive it first. My reasoning is that I might be biased and not be on the lookout for any problems just because I already like the car to begin with. If that all goes well, I take it to my mechanic and have them take a look at it. I also go ahead and pay for a CarFax to see if anything is up. I recommend doing all of this before the buying process even starts. Way too much slapped together junk on used lots can really turn into a nightmare and those aftermarket warranties are a joke.
I love seeing people be honest with customers. I live within 30 minutes of 3 other states with much more lenient inspections. A trick I've heard about is that once you get a salvage car reinspected and registered you can take it to another state and the title they issue will not be branded (clean title) then someone buys it and comes in for an inspection and we find irreparable damage
Sweet service you do for these people i love it. When you compared it to a home inspection the only difference is you are and have been a mechanic for many years. alot of these home inspectors have NEVER worked construction a day in their lives and just took a online course for there certification and have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Ive seen it many times as a contractor
Peace of mind is Priceless ❤. I learned to get a used car inspection somewhat the hard way- go get the inspection before -not after -you buy the car 👍🏻
If the rear is pulled and you get hit in the rear, the crush zone is damaged and you could be injured or worse if you get hit there once more... If you put extra metal work over there the crush zone is to strong and you end up with the same problem That's why in Germany you car is declared a total if one of these zones are hit Some People get what they need and if it works for them it is a good working car Thanks Dave
I’ll never understand why any dealer would try to sell a car like this to the public. I can’t imagine the number of unhappy customers come-backs, and so on. Not all money is good money.
Great tips Dave! Another sure way to inspect for possible water damage is to fully extract the seatbelts, and look at the last few inches of the seat belt for mold or water stains! The retracting unit is mounted low inside the door jambs. I have spotted many flooded cars and trucks that way!
my dad got a "factory used" 77 Ford wagon. the dealer said "no accidents". almost right away we noticed a line forming on the left rear side. it started rusting and we found that entire panel had nearly 2 inches of bondo. pieces kept falling off and by the time he quit driving it (22 years) that panel was missing about 3 inches from the bottom. I drove it to the scrap yard and was never happier then watching it get crushed!
Dave inspects Tesla: “See how the body panels line up? This has been in a major accident” Love this channel btw - wish had the opportunity to work at your shop when I worked on cars
My daughter has 2023 honda civic hatchback sport. The body panels look the same , same with trunk lid. At top , there huge gaps, and she never been in any accidents
@@StormsparkPegasus Thats the nature of stainless steel though, they always spring back after being pressure stamped so the only way to get them curving the right way is to bend it more than what you need and hope it springs back to where you need it.
Before buying any car, truck, suv or motorcycle should be a priority to have an inspection, this includes new cars previously owned and heavily used and abused vehicles! Unless you are comfortable driving junk, and over paying for it! Point in mind is that 2 years ago I went with a friend to give him a second set of eyes during inspection, on a brand new car, when walking up to the car I notices a difference in the paint, and also some of the body lines didn’t look right ( wide at the top/ narrow at the bottom) on the left side, and on the right side it looked almost perfect. The other issues I noticed were in the paint itself, orange peel, fish eyes & dirt! Looked for any carfax info (none existed) and the car had 16 miles on it! So after walking a way from this car, I asked the sales manager “were there any injuries from the wreck this car was in?” And surprisingly he answered no, but how did you figure out it was wrecked? And I told him that I work at the dealership across the street 😂!
For about 15 years I helped my family and children buy cars. I learned a lot from Dave. I guess I have been lucky buying used cars. I have bought a new one for myself but my kids can't afford new cars.
My first car was a 1980 Honda (pre Civic) CVCC. It was sold to my father and I from a, "trusted friend" local used car division salesman that worked for the local Honda dealer. This was my first car out of high school. I graduated in 1989, so the car was 9 years old by the time we (dad and I) purchased it. It took me two years to figure out that our, "trusted friend" had completely threw us under the bus with this little car. The right rear quarter was completely squashed and literally had about 1.5 inches of Bondo on the rear quarter. Everyone, please pay the small bit of cash and get a used car inspection before you sign for a title (and also, since it is modern day, do a title search! Was it flooded, totaled, welded back together from two different cars?).
@@BigWheel. it was four years, held together by Bondo. It had a carburetor issue that I wasn’t willing to dive into and sold it for nearly as much as I paid for it (Yes, I gave all the history I knew.).
Pre civic? My first new car was a 1976 Honda Civic CVCC. Paid a little over $4000. Drove it for 18 years (I rebuilt the engine myself at 100,000 miles). My brother owned an earlier Civic.
@@jamiesuejeffery Does not sound like that bad of a deal then if you drove a 9-13 year old car for 4 years with minimal issues. And got close to what you paid for it to boot.
Also worth noting if a car smells TOO good. If they absolutely douse it in some sort of scent, it could be to try and cover up mold/water damage. Had this happen to me once on a private sale beater I bought
I think I will buy Daves used car inspection program for my brothers kids who are just now getting their licenses. Maybe I'll even find a few tips. I was giving him driving lessons last week and his kid asked me why cars need oil. This boy graduated high school at top of his class. 😅
Thank you Dave, already have some experience with inspections but I think supporting you and get direct knowledge from family like yours is worth more, and way beyond what you charge for it. Thank you so much again, will spend my weekend learning and closing gaps in my inspection process. Much love and apriciationg in everything you guys do for automotive community! You are great example what automotive industry should be around the country.
@subbassrules Many dealerships around here may accept older tradeins, but if they are older than 10 years, they send them to auction. Used vehicle lot owners would then bid on them and often buy them.
1:13 Wow 😨 señor Dave!!! You are doing great forensics on the vehicle and the first red flag is the air bags that is like a sour thumb that screams airbags deployed that means Colisión👀😳😩😩😩let’s be aware and make our money worth Gracias 🙏 señor Dave!!! You keep up the great work…Saludos!!!👋😃👋
My last car I purchased: ‘19 Chrysler Pacífica for the family had a “clean” CarFax record.. After replacing its radiator, I found it had been in an accident before. Nothing major thankfully, but you can no longer trust those car reports.
@cyberbaz Well the oil of course!!! He doesn't want you to just smell it, he wants you to taste it just like Derek @ Vice Grip Garage does!!! That way you can double-check your nose by tasting for gasoline or even a sweet coolant mixture thereby indicating a coolant leak somewhere!!! If he doesn't like the person, he recommends they taste the battery acid. (Providing it's still a lead acid battery) 😂😂😂🇺🇸🇺🇸
My family had a wheel alignment and brake shop for 50 years. Just bought a new (used) truck and they looked at me like I was nuts because I crawling under it with a flashlight. Listening and feeling while you are driving it is huge. Great tips.
I could understand if it was half the price but if it’s a $18,000 car instead of a $22,000 car I can’t quite say that’s worth it. Specially, since there are going to be a whole host of potential problems from seemingly minor ones like having difficulty ensuring it, or weakened/unplaced damage parts. And truth be told whatever amount you’re saving on the front end you’re gonna lose more on the back if you ever go to sell it.
My insurance company will estimate the value of a salvage title car at 50 - 70% of the value of a clean title car. So if you wreck the vehicle, that's what they'd give you. Rule of thumb: Don't pay more that what it will be insured for.
Couldn't agree more. They'd be much better off in the long run buying something without all the issues. A 20% savings for a slapped together car is crazy. And good luck whenever they eventually want to sell it. Nice Civics hold their value very well.
usually it's at least 30% cheaper. But Hondas and Toyotas are crazy overpriced on the US market. And you're right 4K discount for this car ain't worth it. It should be around 14-15 tops
Why would anyone buy this ?!?! Metal fatigues for god sakes. Sod putting my family in that for saving a couple of grand. Awesome video, thank you for sharing.
Alright Dave! I love your content and perspective, I don't work fulltime at the dealer anymore but I still tinker and help friends/family and strive to do the best work. I bought your used car inspection, I had one from the dealer I worked for but it left so much out. Let's see if it's the real deal!
I wish I had done this ! I financed a 07 Tahoe without an inspection and I had to replace engine and tranny before I had the truck one year. That oversight cost me $6,200
Appreciate your honest and informative videos. I work in Commercial HVACR, a trade that has it share of unprofessional technicians. I believe in doing a quality job for my customers and if I don’t know the exact problem, let them know. 25 years and I still have some original customers. I’m sure your company has a bunch of repeat customers as well. Thanks for the Videos, Dave.
Good information, I bought a 2020 Tundra, perfect truck no issues and the first weekend I was shopping and left the tundra at home. My security cameras start alerting me and sending me video clips and it shows some guy looking under the truck, trying to see inside… I figured out what he was looking for, catalytic converters, my Tundra has 4 believe it or not. I called my insurance to see if that’s a common item stolen and they said it’s the number one claim with the Tundra. Then I called my local Toyota dealership and they said the wait time for the catalytic converters was 4-6 months. Get a good security system..
@onsmashmedia9162 Look to see that a used Tundra has all 4 cats before buying. The innocent fellow was merely practicing his used Tundra inspection skills.
I think it makes sense to pay a little money for a used car inspection when you're paying that much money for the car. (My last car was $700, hubby's truck was $7k.) My family has always purchased cars that're 10+ years old, and rather than have a payment, we pay for repairs (you'd be surprised how far $2400/year can get you in repairs and maintenance if you've got "good bones"). Insurance is way cheaper, too. But every used car purchase is a family affair since my mom (RIP) and dad are both more mechanically minded than myself and have rebuilt engines and vehicles in their heyday. And the first place we take the car is our mechanic for a list of what it needs done ASAP. My mom bought newer used rigs, and routinely worked in a 3-day renege clause into the deal, which gives her time to take the vehicle to a couple different places for thorough inspections.
As the driver of an '04 Toyota, which I've owned for 4+ years now, I agree with your advice! Buy gently used and take care of it, at least mechanically, as best as you can. And for the tasks you're not able to do on your own, find a trustworthy mechanic, if at all possible--sometimes local technical schools or community colleges take cars and provide free labor, as these would-be technicians need a variety and quantity of vehicles to attain their ASE certifications. My wife and I place $150 into a sinking fund every month for car maintenance & repairs. In the last several years, there has only been one time where that fund was not adequate to fix any issue we've had, whether I needed a battery, alternator, tires, or just routine fluid changes. And in that one case, we made sure we had enough room in my monthly budget that it didn't hurt my overall finances. We pay less than $1800/yr (averaging over several years) for two vehicles with no loans--we're coming out way better than your average American commuters. I sometimes think it'd be nice to have a newer car with a bunch of creature comforts, but then I remember how much money I've saved by not purchasing more car than I strictly need.
@@0num4 We do the same; our gas and oil budget is inflated about $150/month on average. I feel like nothing stings more than a car payment and a repair bill in the same month! I also have full coverage on our rigs just in case. They may not be worth a ton relatively, but dropping thousands on a replacement or big collision bill unexpectedly can be ruinous. My brother let someone borrow his car and they rear ended someone. He doesn't have the money laying around to fix it, so he's out a car that he purchased less than a month before the accident. (We are going to help him within reason.)
Little did I know writing this comment that my '09 Camry would be totaled the very next week! So glad I had full coverage because I was able to have my insurance pay for the car, and they can dink around with the other driver's insurance while I car shop.
Good catch. It is good to see someone willing to do right by their customer. If your customer is worth their salt they will be grateful for your input. I had purchased a used truck from a dealer just to find it was a "catrena car" having mud in the eye level break light. The vin showed tilt and telescopic wheel but no. It also showed factory cruise control and power windows but not there. The truck met my minimum requirements so no loud complaints. They also tried very hard to get me to buy an srt-10 truck but I did not want that much vehicle. I told them if I wanted a hot truck I could build it for less than half what they were asking with more performance. They did not believe me so I showed them on my phone and added up the numbers for them. The sales guy wanted to "colab" on a race truck. I excused myself and told one of the mechanics about this while he laughed at the guy.
For me, viewing these videos is less about the action, and more about watching the masterclass in customer service! The fact that we can see how transparent you are with your customers shows you have absolutely nothing to hide.
Dave would make a wonderful President !! Great idea I really hope Trump wins in 2024 Not that he is a likable candidate, but who cares about likable or politically correct. We all should focus on the real issues and decide for the candidate that can truly make America Great Again and Again !!
I love how you ended the call with "thanks for talking to me". I do the same, and it can sound strange to some people. Until you have dealt with certain people, you don't understand why and how much you appreciate a customer that will take the time and energy to understand what you are telling them.
The problem is it's ALREADY its own show or at least that's what it's trying to be- just like most of those awful Velocity channel shows, no real mechanical or diagnostic education going on here, just a lot of "captain obvious" stuff that anyone with common sense would already know. This channel and shop are far more concerned about putting out and profiting from filler content than providing anything meaningful. Makes me wonder why they're so hard up for YT money. Terrible waste of bandwidth just like 90% of YT and social media in general.
I don’t disagree at all, seen it a number of times myself But ironically I DD an ex-salvage car that is corroding on the original side of the car All good on the smacked rear 1/4 that’s almost 10yr into its post-repair life
Dave is in UT, nothing rusts out there. Even here in the rust belt, if there repair is done properly it's fine. The thing is, there are only a few shops in the region that actually do proper repairs, so most repaired cars will rust.
Some "crash repair" shops use etch primer and then paint without using the proper epoxy primer that a good restoration paint shop would use. Epoxy primer forms an impervious barrier whereas etch primer does not. (Of course the factory body is originally dip galvanised, which is not practical for a repaired car.)
@@0num4 Yeah it's still very valuable knowledge to understand the issues that could have popped up. If the price is right a wrecked car isn't necessarily a deal breaker as long as you know what needs to be accounted for. This car will probably drive a long time even with the back damage.
My 21 civic has the active driver assist b/s. Camera behind the windshield and emitter or receiver behind the “H” on the front bumper. That stuff is 1k plus.
I would run run run from this one as soon as dave said it took a hit in the back. I dont care if it was $5K its not worth it. It will be constant headaches until it goes to the yard.
@robertbell525 Not necessarily. I bought a salvage title Miata from the second owner. He had photos of the mostly read-end damage. No airbags deployed. I showed the photos to an autobody shop guy with 30 years experience. He told me it'd be fine. The only part I had to replace was a slightly bent tie rod. That was 12 years ago, and the car has been perfect. I did have suspension components replaced, not because they were bad, but because the stock components were too floaty.
I just started watching you and must say you are an interesting person that generally seems to want to help people not get taken by those selling shinny objects. Being a mechanic myself when I go out to purchase a used car I always try and get the skinny on the car to see if I am willing to fix it myself or not. I just recently purchased a 2008 Honda Fit for commuting and diagnosed that the clock spring is bad as the cruse control doesn't work and the air bag light is on. I took it to the dealer to get fixed as I don't have a computer to reset the vehicle after the clock spring is replaced and they told me it was the cruse control switch and I'd need to get a new air bag. I had them try the switch first and then they called me back telling me it was the tape inside of the steering wheel trying their hardest to call it something else to only have me correctly call it the "Clock Spring," lol back to my original diagnosis. So for me a lot of time has been wasted so as a punishment some things that I was going to allow them to do I took off the list as I will go ahead and get off my lazy butt and do it as one thing I don't like is my time being wasted. I feel you are doing a great job trying to get folks to start asking the right questions and/or taking the right course of actions when trying to purchase a used car.😇 Thanks for looking out for the little guys/gals.
In 2018, I bought a 2014 Jetta SE that CarFax said was in a major accident on the right front. The title was completely clear. The price was really low, so I went to look at it. My wife was checking out the car, and I opened the hood. I looked at the unibody on the right front, and everything was totally factory. The fender had been repainted, and was a great color match. I drove the car and it tracked perfectly. Believe it or not, I bought the car at $5000 below retail. Learn how to check out used cars. It will pay off.
I drive a 20 y/o Toyota sedan and my wife has a 12 year old Chrysler van. While I wouldn't like to purchase another car or replace one at this time, you simply never know what sorts of curve balls life may throw your way. It's better to come to the car hunt forearmed with this sort of knowledge. Thanks for your service to your customers & viewers, Dave!
as some one who does this for a living ( inspecting auction cars ) at least 90% of the cars i look at have had at least one panel painted/worked on. great video!
The glued headlamp assem and messy seam sealer tell me it was a hack job and they were cutting corners trying to save money. Not exactly a comforting thought.
Fantastic video Dave. You understand what people *need*. Not just what they want. The bog thickness in the rear quarters is alarming, but as you noted otherwise, the car is overall ok. Now just to get the price where it needs to be! 👍 My mate bought a very low kilometre 2012 BMW 320d for $aud35k. Original sticker price when new $aud$91k. I don’t have the heart to tell him it had a driver’s side rear quarter T-bone. The repair job is fairly good and no noises or odd tyre wear. So it will stay a secret. 😁👍
Dave, thanks for the advice on used cars for people who may need it. Now, let’s get back to the show. More in-depth repair (especially engine R&R’s and rebuilds) videos need to be next!
I have a 2006 Lexus. Owned it for 13 years. I will fix whatever is wrong with it myself. I know exactly what I got. Buying another car, unless brand new, is a crap shoot. People that take care of their cars like I do generally keep them. There’s a couple a hundred million cars in the United States. Don’t fall in love with something on a used car lot!! There’s a good reason why it’s there…. and it might be trouble.
We got a new 2025 Honda fresh off the delivery truck. It looks like they are now allowing child labor at the assembly plant to apply seam sealer. We also bought a new Honda in 2021. The front bumper cover wasn't aligned at all. Uneven gaps in the hood and side panels. Poor QC at the factory nowadays makes it difficult to judge the history of used vehicles.
I am an ex mechanic and I learnt through experience to never trust anyone selling a car as too many outright lie, one particular vehicle that I was told by the owner was a low mileage no accident damage car had clearly not only had the speedo wound back, but clear evidence of major accident damage, my advice to anyone who does not understand cars is to get help, do not trust what the owner is stating as they want to off load the car and do not buy from small car yards as they get all the high mileage, accident damaged, non serviced garbage. A good mechanic should be able to tell what the mileage on a vehicle is from 20 metres back before even getting close to the car,
Great video & education! Absolutely love your channel, content, & all you do for everyone! I think you know Prestman Auto specializes in branded title cars tho Dave.
Do you not have a register of insurance wrecks in the US ? Its not foolproof, not all wrecks are registered but here you just put the number into the database online and you know what catagory wreck it was.
Unfortunately no. We have Carfax that is a for profit reporting agency that most dealers and some shops use for mechanical work, though it is not required. But it seems that more and more accidents are not getting reported and/or the system is very slow. Had a friend that bought a car with a clean CarFax from a new car dealer and when they went to sell it years later there was a accident on the report, cost them a lot of money.
Blackstone-labs is worth every cent! They are busy so it takes a little while but the amount of information they give is amazing. I've tested my oil and transmission oil on my Titan and the oil on my wife's Highlander. It's worth the money to know what you're dealing with!
Drove down with my dad who is a former mechanic/body man to see a car he wanted. Had the invoice, cash in hand, etc. showed up walked around, saw the white stuff, instantly knew something was up. Opened the trunk, yep, absolute mess, didn't even try to hide the work done to the rear. Got under the car, exhaust still had new bar code stickers and tags on it! Advertised as "no accidents". We left. Dishonest dealers or just ignorant.
I highly doubt the dealer was ignorant. If the damage was obvious to you , they definitely spotted nit and are lying about no accidents.
They weren’t lying. The car just never had an accident after the initial accident.
Had my dad come out with me to a Honda dealer to look at one of their CPOs that I wanted. As the sales guy is walking us out, he leaned over and said “You’re not buying this car.” He then went on to ask what CPO stood for and what kind of Honda came from the factory with panel gap. The young salesman was confused so my dad had him walk to the drivers side of the hood, stuck his thumb in the gap, and walk it down the side of the car. The hood was rubbing on the passenger side and he couldn’t get a finger in.
“It has a clean CarFax.” So we popped the hood and saw mud all over the engine bay. Thing had probably been driven into a ditch and the dealer was selling it as clean.
Y'all probably have terrible credit and they dont want to waste their time.
Wtf does that have to do with this?@@keithnelson5554
Body tech here. Always inspect used vehicles. Wrecks don’t appear on carfax immediately so don’t trust that.
You are absolutely correct! Wrecks never show up on Carfax if there's no ticket and it's not ran through insurane. The same is true for rental cars. They fix them out of pocket and the Carfax stays clean. The only way to protect yourself is either to learn what to look for OR pay someone like Dave to check it out! My brother-in-law has been in the body/paint business for 30+ years and taught me a lot. I've walked away from more than a few used cars because I saw they had been wrecked.
@@turbomustang8417 a lot of collision damage never gets reported to carfax or any other agency unless insurance is involved! So a clean report isn’t always a good thing!
Most of the time , Carfax will have all the information on services , and claims if the rental company is trustworthy. The most important to check is engine , transmission , diff , trans axle on my used truck. Be prepared to change all the lubricants and some repairs yourself .
Paint thickness tester?
@ yes it is such a thing! Older ones were magnetic and would detect thickness of body fillers and paint, newer electronic ones I think are more accurate!
Again, 40 years here at my shop in California, Dave, you are so teaching me GREAT points, and new stuff to ponder, NEVER to late to learn, adapt, and conquer !
Great to have your expertise on our channel, thank you
I used to certify cars for brake and lights and Smog that came from wrecking yards where they would cut the car one that was hit in the front and one that was hit in the back at the top of the windshield and right behind the front seat all the way across And they weld two good parts together and there’s no way you could tell easily that this was two different cars made into one because it was only at the top of the windshield and right behind the seat. You have to pull up the carpet and look and see the weld that went completely across behind the front seat, and there was nothing really wrong. It was just bastardized. I did a Porsche 911. I would have no problem buying that one, but they were asking too much.
@@glenwilkening5967ouch. No way. Welds where they shouldn't be is nasty.
I tried 3 dealerships in Tulsa, OK all of them refused to allow me to get an inspection past what I could do on the lot. One ever refused to let me read the codes, so I walked.
I have noticed this too here around Central Ohio. Nobody is allowing inspections pretty much anymore on dealerships and you know what? Walking away is exactly the right thing to do. These dealers know their inventory comes mainly from auction houses and bidding wars, they just want to get the car in and out as fast as possible and know that nothing good can come from an inspection so why allow it?... unless they knew the car was solid and weren't afraid of the sale. This predatory practice of not allowing any pre-purchase inspecting to be done needs to be stopped in it's tracks now before dealers start thinking it's okay. If they won't let you look at it, find another one you CAN look at. Unless the car you're looking for is of dire limited production/only made hundreds of them, then walk away. Your options are limitless, don't restrict yourself to your limited perception.
Walk away. To me it means someone is hiding something about vehicle you are looking at.... In all fairness.
@@ftffighter We only allow car to be inspected on our lot by mobile mechanics.We have had places steal and switch out major parts like engines.we trust you about as much as you trust us.
@@jl4091 that's why a deposit with a written contract--including contingency on inspection/analysis--is a smart move. This protects the consumer AND the business equally.
@@jl4091 That is a legitimate concern and catalytic converters are a hot item.
I looking for a car for my wife right now, I'm a mechanic of 20yrs....I still find Dave's advice handy.
Thank you Dave, Much love from Down Under.
I'm an ex mechanic from Oz, and even I find Dave's input and advice handy. Leave your ego behind when buying a used car I say. Cheers!
I'd rather spend a few hundred in inspections versus buying thousands of dollars of a nightmare. I have walked away from more than one car simply based on initial mechanical inspections. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Dave! ❤🙏👍
Great point!
Right? Especially with some financing running up to 10yrs🤯
Mostly true but it depends on the price of what you're looking at.
You wouldn’t believe the amount of people I see at the dealer getting it inspected after buying it. It’s crazy. And then they get mad at the writer and me for telling them they bought a turd
I do too. All I ask from the mechanic is dont exaggerate and give it to me straight.
Bad rear accident I would walk away, many civics out there
Not bad for the right price though. That's the issue, most dealers will sell this at top dollar because of the year/miles, and they won't work on price because of the cost it took to fix the damage. Realistically speaking this car is functionally fine and will get you around probably without much issue.
Depends on price.
@@BigWheel. I could understand if it was half the price but if it’s a $18,000 car instead of a $22,000 car I can’t quite say that’s worth it. Specially, since there are going to be a whole host of potential problems from seemingly minor ones like having difficulty insuring it, or weakened/un-replaced damage parts. And truth be told whatever amount you’re saving on the front end you’re gonna lose more on the back if you ever go to sell it.
@@djparra41 Yeah if they don't knock the price down significantly due to being wrecked, it's not worth it. Walk away. Heck, if they don't disclose UPFRONT that it was wrecked, then walk away.
But I love this one...
I wanna say even if you got Dave's book ,
70% of those buyers will still make a mistake.
If only we could have a Dave across the nation in every shop.
Really Appreciate dave being super knowledged and honest when fixing cars.
Keep up the great work, if I ever have a major problem with my ride, I'm taken it to Utah
Agreed. Of course the guide is great but if you're a layman, best to get a reliable shop to help you out.
True, but at least it helps the less knowledgeable people not get scammed as easily 😅.
You're absolutely right. Why? Because you're trying to be a good customer with someone that wants to take your money. Am I wrong?
We don't deserve it. Working on cars today is so intensive and thankless I would rather live under a bridge than have anything to do with the business.
absolutely. people will NOT remember all of that information and will miss bad things hiding in plain sight. It's much better to just pay the man and have him do it. Pay for an experienced professional's service not some information that you will have to take a lot of time to study and which is widely available free of charge on the internet.
I have been turning wrenches for 35 years. I will be 50 in October. I have worked on commission for the last 4 years at a small shop in a small town and I so appreciate the way you explain and educate. I have watched your short videos and just recently stumbled onto your longer videos and just love them. Thank you so much. There are so many shops and mechanics that give us a bad rep and we need more people like you to help change the way people think. Keep up the great work.
I had a young female friend who wanted to buy a car and she was kinda set against getting an inspection due to the cost, and I called around and found a place that would do it for $100, I went with her to test drive the car and I told her I would pay for the inspection, I just wanted to be sure she was making a sound decision. We had no clue there was any problem on the test drive, but the garage pulled the uncarriage cover off and a good gallon of transmission fluid went on their floor. They found this fairly quickly, and made the immediate recommendation not to buy it, and they ended up not even charging us for the inspection due to how quickly they found. My friend thanks me so much, cause that probably would be a $2,000 repair in the first week or two of ownership or more.... please people have an inspection ask them to look for any damage or non OEM parts, a good mechanic can tell if a car has been cared for by the prior owners.
I ALWAYS pay for a mechanic to check. Even the cheapest guy WILL find something wrong, and it's rare for some to say "Yeah, it's all good dude!".
😮😮😮
If it was a cvt transmission it probably would’ve cost 5-8 thousand.
If she can’t even afford an inspection why would she spend thousands on a car? Especially not knowing if you have to spend thousands on repair thats not smart of her im glad you were there
Bro why you paying for her??? If she can’t afford it, she shouldnt be buying the car.
An honest man is a dangerous man to an entity on the opposite end of the scale.
truth
Our society all over
Also look under the seats, if the springs or seat frames are rusty, a great indication it has been under water.
Some vehicles brand new, I bought brand new. Start after a few years of having rusty hardware under the seats. On toyota trucks for, silverados ect.
@@kgbreviews35that’s if there’s humidity. Air freshers can cause that.
Depends on where you live. In the north east I see rust on stuff like that all the time on cars with no floood damage
@@xabhaxexactly, tracking salt and snow from our boots into the floor board can rust out the seat hardware.
Look at the bolts all over
branded title saving 4k on a civic, not worth it. No warranty, sketchy repairs, questionable safety in an accident, host of problems down the line, wouldn't touch it with a 9ft pole.
Yeah... I'll never really understand people doing that. Especially because there isn't a warranty anymore, and you'll never get it's worth through insurance if anything does happen. And the biggest thing you mentioned... questionable safety in an accident. I'd walk away as well.
💯
Rather buy a 4k Civic with a clean title
I've been told that some insurance companies won't insure a car with a branded title. True? I don't know.
@@a.jennings4664 true
Right? I appreciate the fact Dave is nonjudgmental regarding other people’s financial positions but regardless of your income, if you’re able to shell out $25k for an almost new car, you’re able to shell out $30k for a brand new car and that should be the professional advice w/o having an alignment test. Also, $350 just to *check* the alignment? Geeze. What would it cost to actually align it?
There is always a reason a good car model is on a lot. Agreed!
Can’t wait for cloning, Dave. Your honest and forthright attitude towards your customers and quality workmanship are truly something to be admired. Sure wish more ships operated this way !
Much appreciated!
I hope he's raising a few apprentices with an eye on the future. Mentoring is a lost art in most other fields.
I worked in a GM assembly plant in the mid 1980s in the paint department doing paint repairs. You'd be surprised how many cars got panels (or sometimes the entire car) repainted before they ever left paint. This is when it's just a bare body before assembly. I'm sure the thickness tester could find repainted panels on brand new cars. Great videos and great work you do.
See the case of BMW v. Gore. US S. CT. Doctor bought a new BMW that had been repainted at the factory or dealer before sold as new, which they didn't disclose. He got something like $5MILLION in punitive damages. THe S.Ct. REVERSED that. Too high.
My Mercedes was in a bad rear end accident with frame damage reported. It was never totaled and fixed under the last owners insurance company. I got 5k off this car when I bought it compared to similar models with the same mileage and I’ve had it for almost a year and put over 12k miles on it so far and it’s been perfectly fine! It’s a risk but not always a bad outcome.
Dave is the man. He's always crossing those t's and dotting those i's. No slackers in his shop.
Whenever I have shopped for a used car (especially something I really want) I always take someone else with me to look at the car and drive it first. My reasoning is that I might be biased and not be on the lookout for any problems just because I already like the car to begin with. If that all goes well, I take it to my mechanic and have them take a look at it. I also go ahead and pay for a CarFax to see if anything is up. I recommend doing all of this before the buying process even starts. Way too much slapped together junk on used lots can really turn into a nightmare and those aftermarket warranties are a joke.
I love seeing people be honest with customers. I live within 30 minutes of 3 other states with much more lenient inspections. A trick I've heard about is that once you get a salvage car reinspected and registered you can take it to another state and the title they issue will not be branded (clean title) then someone buys it and comes in for an inspection and we find irreparable damage
Sweet service you do for these people i love it. When you compared it to a home inspection the only difference is you are and have been a mechanic for many years. alot of these home inspectors have NEVER worked construction a day in their lives and just took a online course for there certification and have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Ive seen it many times as a contractor
Peace of mind is Priceless ❤. I learned to get a used car inspection somewhat the hard way- go get the inspection before -not after -you buy the car 👍🏻
Mine not so bad 😛 quick oil change and I hope the shop will tell me there's no engine damage in the filter I give to them.
If the rear is pulled and you get hit in the rear, the crush zone is damaged and you could be injured or worse if you get hit there once more...
If you put extra metal work over there the crush zone is to strong and you end up with the same problem
That's why in Germany you car is declared a total if one of these zones are hit
Some People get what they need and if it works for them it is a good working car
Thanks Dave
I’ll never understand why any dealer would try to sell a car like this to the public.
I can’t imagine the number of unhappy customers come-backs, and so on.
Not all money is good money.
unless it's VERY discounted, i'd say no. even with only 5000 miles. good inspection tho.
Because LESS MONEY. This car has been hit, but also seems to be mechanically sound and still be a good car.
Id buy it if it was super cheap
Great tips Dave! Another sure way to inspect for possible water damage is to fully extract the seatbelts, and look at the last few inches of the seat belt for mold or water stains! The retracting unit is mounted low inside the door jambs. I have spotted many flooded cars and trucks that way!
my dad got a "factory used" 77 Ford wagon. the dealer said "no accidents". almost right away we noticed a line forming on the left rear side. it started rusting and we found that entire panel had nearly 2 inches of bondo. pieces kept falling off and by the time he quit driving it (22 years) that panel was missing about 3 inches from the bottom. I drove it to the scrap yard and was never happier then watching it get crushed!
Dave inspects Tesla: “See how the body panels line up? This has been in a major accident”
Love this channel btw - wish had the opportunity to work at your shop when I worked on cars
Lol!!😂😂😂
Ha ha yes I've heard Teslas are notorious for this. Thanks for the share
They have gotten better in recent years. Except for the Cybertruck.
My daughter has 2023 honda civic hatchback sport. The body panels look the same , same with trunk lid. At top , there huge gaps, and she never been in any accidents
@@StormsparkPegasus Thats the nature of stainless steel though, they always spring back after being pressure stamped so the only way to get them curving the right way is to bend it more than what you need and hope it springs back to where you need it.
Before buying any car, truck, suv or motorcycle should be a priority to have an inspection, this includes new cars previously owned and heavily used and abused vehicles! Unless you are comfortable driving junk, and over paying for it! Point in mind is that 2 years ago I went with a friend to give him a second set of eyes during inspection, on a brand new car, when walking up to the car I notices a difference in the paint, and also some of the body lines didn’t look right ( wide at the top/ narrow at the bottom) on the left side, and on the right side it looked almost perfect. The other issues I noticed were in the paint itself, orange peel, fish eyes & dirt! Looked for any carfax info (none existed) and the car had 16 miles on it!
So after walking a way from this car, I asked the sales manager “were there any injuries from the wreck this car was in?” And surprisingly he answered no, but how did you figure out it was wrecked? And I told him that I work at the dealership across the street 😂!
Honestly kudos to the customer for bringing it in at all.
For about 15 years I helped my family and children buy cars. I learned a lot from Dave. I guess I have been lucky buying used cars. I have bought a new one for myself but my kids can't afford new cars.
Scariest thing will be potential water leaks. Im dealing with that now from a used car hit in rear. Heavy rain causes back floor to get wet
My first car was a 1980 Honda (pre Civic) CVCC. It was sold to my father and I from a, "trusted friend" local used car division salesman that worked for the local Honda dealer. This was my first car out of high school. I graduated in 1989, so the car was 9 years old by the time we (dad and I) purchased it. It took me two years to figure out that our, "trusted friend" had completely threw us under the bus with this little car. The right rear quarter was completely squashed and literally had about 1.5 inches of Bondo on the rear quarter. Everyone, please pay the small bit of cash and get a used car inspection before you sign for a title (and also, since it is modern day, do a title search! Was it flooded, totaled, welded back together from two different cars?).
It got you around for 2 years though. Did the repair job not hold up?
@@BigWheel. it was four years, held together by Bondo. It had a carburetor issue that I wasn’t willing to dive into and sold it for nearly as much as I paid for it (Yes, I gave all the history I knew.).
Pre civic? My first new car was a 1976 Honda Civic CVCC. Paid a little over $4000. Drove it for 18 years (I rebuilt the engine myself at 100,000 miles). My brother owned an earlier Civic.
@@jamiesuejeffery Does not sound like that bad of a deal then if you drove a 9-13 year old car for 4 years with minimal issues. And got close to what you paid for it to boot.
Also worth noting if a car smells TOO good. If they absolutely douse it in some sort of scent, it could be to try and cover up mold/water damage. Had this happen to me once on a private sale beater I bought
I think I will buy Daves used car inspection program for my brothers kids who are just now getting their licenses. Maybe I'll even find a few tips. I was giving him driving lessons last week and his kid asked me why cars need oil. This boy graduated high school at top of his class. 😅
Great uncle 👍😃. Thanks for helping the younger generation learn
That phone call was amazing to me. Wish i could find a mechanic with that kind of attitude and knowledge
I would run it though a car wash to make sure the hatch doesn’t leak. 😉
Thank you Dave, already have some experience with inspections but I think supporting you and get direct knowledge from family like yours is worth more, and way beyond what you charge for it. Thank you so much again, will spend my weekend learning and closing gaps in my inspection process. Much love and apriciationg in everything you guys do for automotive community! You are great example what automotive industry should be around the country.
Did the CarFax show that the vehicle had been in an accident? Great info Dave - thanks for sharing.
I believe that many vehicles sold on used car lots were purchased at auctions. I stay away from used car lots.
Most dealerships get a lot of their inventory from auctions.
@subbassrules Many dealerships around here may accept older tradeins, but if they are older than 10 years, they send them to auction. Used vehicle lot owners would then bid on them and often buy them.
1:13 Wow 😨 señor Dave!!! You are doing great forensics on the vehicle and the first red flag is the air bags that is like a sour thumb that screams airbags deployed that means Colisión👀😳😩😩😩let’s be aware and make our money worth Gracias 🙏 señor Dave!!! You keep up the great work…Saludos!!!👋😃👋
My last car I purchased: ‘19 Chrysler Pacífica for the family had a “clean” CarFax record.. After replacing its radiator, I found it had been in an accident before. Nothing major thankfully, but you can no longer trust those car reports.
You are correct. Unfortunately, Carfax cannot tell you if the car has been in a wreck and been repaired outside of insurance.
He said use all five of your senses when doing a used car inspection. I want to know what Dave wants me to taste. 😂
😂👍
Hopefully not the antifreeze.
A mechanic knows what every fluid taste like. I’ve swallowed my fair share of oil, coolant/anti freeze, brake fluid, transmission fluid, gear oil.
@@ryanalexander984you’re getting cancer early my boy 😂
@cyberbaz Well the oil of course!!! He doesn't want you to just smell it, he wants you to taste it just like Derek @ Vice Grip Garage does!!! That way you can double-check your nose by tasting for gasoline or even a sweet coolant mixture thereby indicating a coolant leak somewhere!!! If he doesn't like the person, he recommends they taste the battery acid. (Providing it's still a lead acid battery) 😂😂😂🇺🇸🇺🇸
My family had a wheel alignment and brake shop for 50 years. Just bought a new (used) truck and they looked at me like I was nuts because I crawling under it with a flashlight. Listening and feeling while you are driving it is huge. Great tips.
I could understand if it was half the price but if it’s a $18,000 car instead of a $22,000 car I can’t quite say that’s worth it. Specially, since there are going to be a whole host of potential problems from seemingly minor ones like having difficulty ensuring it, or weakened/unplaced damage parts. And truth be told whatever amount you’re saving on the front end you’re gonna lose more on the back if you ever go to sell it.
My insurance company will estimate the value of a salvage title car at 50 - 70% of the value of a clean title car. So if you wreck the vehicle, that's what they'd give you. Rule of thumb: Don't pay more that what it will be insured for.
Couldn't agree more. They'd be much better off in the long run buying something without all the issues. A 20% savings for a slapped together car is crazy. And good luck whenever they eventually want to sell it. Nice Civics hold their value very well.
usually it's at least 30% cheaper. But Hondas and Toyotas are crazy overpriced on the US market. And you're right 4K discount for this car ain't worth it. It should be around 14-15 tops
Dave! DAVE! DAVE! The few the proud the DAVE!!! 😊
Love your channel, wish there were more honest people like yourself in this world. also wish you were in Rhode Island
Why would anyone buy this ?!?! Metal fatigues for god sakes. Sod putting my family in that for saving a couple of grand. Awesome video, thank you for sharing.
Alright Dave! I love your content and perspective, I don't work fulltime at the dealer anymore but I still tinker and help friends/family and strive to do the best work. I bought your used car inspection, I had one from the dealer I worked for but it left so much out. Let's see if it's the real deal!
I wish I had done this ! I financed a 07 Tahoe without an inspection and I had to replace engine and tranny before I had the truck one year. That oversight cost me $6,200
No... buying a general motors product cost you $6.200
Appreciate your honest and informative videos. I work in Commercial HVACR, a trade that has it share of unprofessional technicians. I believe in doing a quality job for my customers and if I don’t know the exact problem, let them know. 25 years and I still have some original customers. I’m sure your company has a bunch of repeat customers as well. Thanks for the Videos, Dave.
Good information, I bought a 2020 Tundra, perfect truck no issues and the first weekend I was shopping and left the tundra at home. My security cameras start alerting me and sending me video clips and it shows some guy looking under the truck, trying to see inside… I figured out what he was looking for, catalytic converters, my Tundra has 4 believe it or not. I called my insurance to see if that’s a common item stolen and they said it’s the number one claim with the Tundra. Then I called my local Toyota dealership and they said the wait time for the catalytic converters was 4-6 months. Get a good security system..
😂😂😂@onsmashmedia9162
@onsmashmedia9162 Look to see that a used Tundra has all 4 cats before buying. The innocent fellow was merely practicing his used Tundra inspection skills.
Living in the country has it's perks.
Who asked?
Next time pain the VIN and/or License plate numbers on your cat converters.
I think it makes sense to pay a little money for a used car inspection when you're paying that much money for the car. (My last car was $700, hubby's truck was $7k.) My family has always purchased cars that're 10+ years old, and rather than have a payment, we pay for repairs (you'd be surprised how far $2400/year can get you in repairs and maintenance if you've got "good bones"). Insurance is way cheaper, too. But every used car purchase is a family affair since my mom (RIP) and dad are both more mechanically minded than myself and have rebuilt engines and vehicles in their heyday. And the first place we take the car is our mechanic for a list of what it needs done ASAP. My mom bought newer used rigs, and routinely worked in a 3-day renege clause into the deal, which gives her time to take the vehicle to a couple different places for thorough inspections.
As the driver of an '04 Toyota, which I've owned for 4+ years now, I agree with your advice! Buy gently used and take care of it, at least mechanically, as best as you can. And for the tasks you're not able to do on your own, find a trustworthy mechanic, if at all possible--sometimes local technical schools or community colleges take cars and provide free labor, as these would-be technicians need a variety and quantity of vehicles to attain their ASE certifications.
My wife and I place $150 into a sinking fund every month for car maintenance & repairs. In the last several years, there has only been one time where that fund was not adequate to fix any issue we've had, whether I needed a battery, alternator, tires, or just routine fluid changes. And in that one case, we made sure we had enough room in my monthly budget that it didn't hurt my overall finances. We pay less than $1800/yr (averaging over several years) for two vehicles with no loans--we're coming out way better than your average American commuters.
I sometimes think it'd be nice to have a newer car with a bunch of creature comforts, but then I remember how much money I've saved by not purchasing more car than I strictly need.
@@0num4 We do the same; our gas and oil budget is inflated about $150/month on average. I feel like nothing stings more than a car payment and a repair bill in the same month! I also have full coverage on our rigs just in case. They may not be worth a ton relatively, but dropping thousands on a replacement or big collision bill unexpectedly can be ruinous.
My brother let someone borrow his car and they rear ended someone. He doesn't have the money laying around to fix it, so he's out a car that he purchased less than a month before the accident. (We are going to help him within reason.)
Little did I know writing this comment that my '09 Camry would be totaled the very next week! So glad I had full coverage because I was able to have my insurance pay for the car, and they can dink around with the other driver's insurance while I car shop.
I just found your channel because of a neighbor and have to THANK YOU! SUBBED!
Yesssir I’m excited for the 6.7 videos yesssir love the videos
One of the best videos I've ever seen, Dave cares about us.
Dave thank you for the information I’m learning more more videos like this please
Good catch. It is good to see someone willing to do right by their customer.
If your customer is worth their salt they will be grateful for your input.
I had purchased a used truck from a dealer just to find it was a "catrena car" having mud in the eye level break light. The vin showed tilt and telescopic wheel but no. It also showed factory cruise control and power windows but not there. The truck met my minimum requirements so no loud complaints. They also tried very hard to get me to buy an srt-10 truck but I did not want that much vehicle.
I told them if I wanted a hot truck I could build it for less than half what they were asking with more performance.
They did not believe me so I showed them on my phone and added up the numbers for them. The sales guy wanted to "colab" on a race truck. I excused myself and told one of the mechanics about this while he laughed at the guy.
For me, viewing these videos is less about the action, and more about watching the masterclass in customer service! The fact that we can see how transparent you are with your customers shows you have absolutely nothing to hide.
As it should be!
Dave for president 2024!
He'd make a better Secretary of transportation than Pete Buttplug
2028. Trump 2024🎉
Lololololol That was hilarious.
What a douche
Dave would make a wonderful President !! Great idea
I really hope Trump wins in 2024 Not that he is a likable candidate, but who cares about likable or politically correct. We all should focus on the real issues and decide for the candidate that can truly make America Great Again and Again !!
I love how you ended the call with "thanks for talking to me". I do the same, and it can sound strange to some people. Until you have dealt with certain people, you don't understand why and how much you appreciate a customer that will take the time and energy to understand what you are telling them.
Love this video and the info. Thanks Dave.
Very welcome
Dave, this is a great service you provide for buyers and a great lesson for anyone that is looking for a vehicle.
This shop needs its own show.
The problem is it's ALREADY its own show or at least that's what it's trying to be- just like most of those awful Velocity channel shows, no real mechanical or diagnostic education going on here, just a lot of "captain obvious" stuff that anyone with common sense would already know. This channel and shop are far more concerned about putting out and profiting from filler content than providing anything meaningful. Makes me wonder why they're so hard up for YT money. Terrible waste of bandwidth just like 90% of YT and social media in general.
Once cars are wrecked and "repaired", they rust like crazy
I don’t disagree at all, seen it a number of times myself
But ironically I DD an ex-salvage car that is corroding on the original side of the car
All good on the smacked rear 1/4 that’s almost 10yr into its post-repair life
Depends where you live
Dave is in UT, nothing rusts out there. Even here in the rust belt, if there repair is done properly it's fine. The thing is, there are only a few shops in the region that actually do proper repairs, so most repaired cars will rust.
In Utah? Ain't nothing rusting in Utah.
Some "crash repair" shops use etch primer and then paint without using the proper epoxy primer that a good restoration paint shop would use. Epoxy primer forms an impervious barrier whereas etch primer does not. (Of course the factory body is originally dip galvanised, which is not practical for a repaired car.)
You are such a wise man! God Bless you, protect you and your family!!
As always you have great information 👍
After watching Dave’s UA-cam videos for months, I don’t want to go anywhere but Dave’s shop so I know what I’m truly getting
Prestman Auto is a dealership in Utah that primarily sells rebuilt/restored vehicles, so I'm sure the customer knows about the previous damage
Perhaps they know there was a wreck, but many customers simply don't know the questions to ask. This is why Dave's advice is so valuable.
so, there is a sign out front TELLING the less informed, that this is what they do???
@@0num4 Yeah it's still very valuable knowledge to understand the issues that could have popped up. If the price is right a wrecked car isn't necessarily a deal breaker as long as you know what needs to be accounted for. This car will probably drive a long time even with the back damage.
Outstanding! Thank you for making and sharing your videos with us!!
My pleasure!
Dave knows cars
Hats off to all good, truthful mechanics!
My 21 civic has the active driver assist b/s. Camera behind the windshield and emitter or receiver behind the “H” on the front bumper. That stuff is 1k plus.
Great video. Just did an A/C condenser on the same year Sport model. Thank you Dave
I would run run run from this one as soon as dave said it took a hit in the back. I dont care if it was $5K its not worth it. It will be constant headaches until it goes to the yard.
@robertbell525 Not necessarily. I bought a salvage title Miata from the second owner. He had photos of the mostly read-end damage. No airbags deployed. I showed the photos to an autobody shop guy with 30 years experience. He told me it'd be fine. The only part I had to replace was a slightly bent tie rod. That was 12 years ago, and the car has been perfect. I did have suspension components replaced, not because they were bad, but because the stock components were too floaty.
I just started watching you and must say you are an interesting person that generally seems to want to help people not get taken by those selling shinny objects. Being a mechanic myself when I go out to purchase a used car I always try and get the skinny on the car to see if I am willing to fix it myself or not. I just recently purchased a 2008 Honda Fit for commuting and diagnosed that the clock spring is bad as the cruse control doesn't work and the air bag light is on. I took it to the dealer to get fixed as I don't have a computer to reset the vehicle after the clock spring is replaced and they told me it was the cruse control switch and I'd need to get a new air bag. I had them try the switch first and then they called me back telling me it was the tape inside of the steering wheel trying their hardest to call it something else to only have me correctly call it the "Clock Spring," lol back to my original diagnosis. So for me a lot of time has been wasted so as a punishment some things that I was going to allow them to do I took off the list as I will go ahead and get off my lazy butt and do it as one thing I don't like is my time being wasted.
I feel you are doing a great job trying to get folks to start asking the right questions and/or taking the right course of actions when trying to purchase a used car.😇 Thanks for looking out for the little guys/gals.
In 2018, I bought a 2014 Jetta SE that CarFax said was in a major accident on the right front. The title was completely clear. The price was really low, so I went to look at it. My wife was checking out the car, and I opened the hood. I looked at the unibody on the right front, and everything was totally factory. The fender had been repainted, and was a great color match. I drove the car and it tracked perfectly. Believe it or not, I bought the car at $5000 below retail. Learn how to check out used cars. It will pay off.
Garryowen!
I drive a 20 y/o Toyota sedan and my wife has a 12 year old Chrysler van. While I wouldn't like to purchase another car or replace one at this time, you simply never know what sorts of curve balls life may throw your way. It's better to come to the car hunt forearmed with this sort of knowledge. Thanks for your service to your customers & viewers, Dave!
Your so helpful! Thank you !
Glad it was helpful!
Dave… I’m glad you are doing things the right way… thank you sir
It's wild to me how huge these wrecked title sales places are getting around here. Prestman, neXgen and others. Sooooo many of them.
as some one who does this for a living ( inspecting auction cars ) at least 90% of the cars i look at have had at least one panel painted/worked on. great video!
The glued headlamp assem and messy seam sealer tell me it was a hack job and they were cutting corners trying to save money. Not exactly a comforting thought.
Dave your Extremely knowledgeable
Rear mufflers at 90 degrees is crazy to me I haven’t seen that a lot
Fantastic video Dave. You understand what people *need*. Not just what they want. The bog thickness in the rear quarters is alarming, but as you noted otherwise, the car is overall ok. Now just to get the price where it needs to be! 👍
My mate bought a very low kilometre 2012 BMW 320d for $aud35k. Original sticker price when new $aud$91k. I don’t have the heart to tell him it had a driver’s side rear quarter T-bone. The repair job is fairly good and no noises or odd tyre wear. So it will stay a secret. 😁👍
If the crumple zones have only been pulled and metal not replaced, then the chance of injury increases in a subsequent collision.
Good point! I just made a similar comment before reading yours...
Dave , you're welcome over here in the UK.
Hands off the wheel and hard brake test. Critical.
Dave, thanks for the advice on used cars for people who may need it. Now, let’s get back to the show. More in-depth repair (especially engine R&R’s and rebuilds) videos need to be next!
I have a 2006 Lexus. Owned it for 13 years. I will fix whatever is wrong with it myself. I know exactly what I got. Buying another car, unless brand new, is a crap shoot. People that take care of their cars like I do generally keep them. There’s a couple a hundred million cars in the United States. Don’t fall in love with something on a used car lot!! There’s a good reason why it’s there…. and it might be trouble.
Very instructive manual on buying a buying a used car. Deeply appreciate this video❤
Glad it was helpful!
We got a new 2025 Honda fresh off the delivery truck. It looks like they are now allowing child labor at the assembly plant to apply seam sealer. We also bought a new Honda in 2021. The front bumper cover wasn't aligned at all. Uneven gaps in the hood and side panels. Poor QC at the factory nowadays makes it difficult to judge the history of used vehicles.
Made in the USA?
@@WilliamMurphy-uv9pmHonda Alabama Auto Plant (AAP) in Lincoln, Alabama.
@@shawnterry9709 Thanks. That explains a few things.
22 years and i retired. Love ya dave keep the good info going brother. The youngs need this information. 🍻
That dealer needs to change the logo on their license plate from "I practically stole it" to" I thoroughly got ripped off!"
Underrated comment.
This guy literally is giving us life long advice god bless you Dave !
I am an ex mechanic and I learnt through experience to never trust anyone selling a car as too many outright lie, one particular vehicle that I was told by the owner was a low mileage no accident damage car had clearly not only had the speedo wound back, but clear evidence of major accident damage, my advice to anyone who does not understand cars is to get help, do not trust what the owner is stating as they want to off load the car and do not buy from small car yards as they get all the high mileage, accident damaged, non serviced garbage. A good mechanic should be able to tell what the mileage on a vehicle is from 20 metres back before even getting close to the car,
Great video & education! Absolutely love your channel, content, & all you do for everyone! I think you know Prestman Auto specializes in branded title cars tho Dave.
Do you not have a register of insurance wrecks in the US ?
Its not foolproof, not all wrecks are registered but here you just put the number into the database online and you know what catagory wreck it was.
Unfortunately no. We have Carfax that is a for profit reporting agency that most dealers and some shops use for mechanical work, though it is not required. But it seems that more and more accidents are not getting reported and/or the system is very slow. Had a friend that bought a car with a clean CarFax from a new car dealer and when they went to sell it years later there was a accident on the report, cost them a lot of money.
Nice job and explanation of what you did !
Blackstone-labs is worth every cent! They are busy so it takes a little while but the amount of information they give is amazing. I've tested my oil and transmission oil on my Titan and the oil on my wife's Highlander.
It's worth the money to know what you're dealing with!