‘That tells you, most likely, the car’s been in a front-end wreck’: Mechanic reveals 5 things to check for when buying a new car

There’s nothing in Dave Bell’s biography on the About Us page for Dave’s Auto Center. But when you watch his clips about evaluating used cars to avoid buying a lemon, you see someone so meticulous in his approach to everything automotive-related that you kind of assume he’s got the type of discipline that gets drilled into folks who have gone through basic training.

Clearly, the guy is serious about preventing his clients from getting a car or truck that’s going to see constant fix-it trips in a very short duration.

In a recent TikTok clip from his @davesautocenter account with more than 700,000 views, Bell offers a quick checklist of five things even an automotive novice can look out for when considering purchasing a used car.

5 things to check before you buy a used car

Bell’s quickie inspection starts under the hood and a look directly up at the underside of the hood. If there’s no tags or stickers from the original manufacturer, Bell warns it’s almost certainly a replacement hood. “That tells you most likely the car has been in a front-end rep because they've just repainted it and haven't put the stickers under the hood,” he says.

Second warning sign: Look directly down once the hood is open and check for any missing bolts and clips that should be in place to secure components that look shiny and brand new.

Third, Bell points out a bumper with a paint tone that doesn’t quite match an adjacent body and is showing paint trimming that is flaking away. That, along with a panel pulling away at a corner, tells you a panel has likely been replaced and quickly painted without the time and attention to do it well.

The fourth problem to look for is seams on doors or trunk openings with a gap large enough to insert your finger into.

“A major indicator that perhaps has been wrecked in the rear,” Bell advises.

Last, he shows us a wiring harness that’s being held in place (barely) with zip ties, and then shows other small components improperly installed with no attention to detail.

“If there's things just flopping around, it means that an inferior body shop did the work,” Bell said, not even attempting to hide his disdain for maintenance workers with no pride in their work.

How to avoid small problems that can get expensive fast

In addition to running a garage that seems to be pretty well respected among the inhabitants of Centerville, Utah, Bell has made another business out of helping potential used car customers aware of the many hidden signs to look out for when sizing up a potential purchase. In a YouTube video he goes into a much longer and detailed rundown of how to avoid problems that can be easily overlooked but costly to get fixed.

Some of the advice is incredibly basic, like checking every single automatic window, lock and remote mirror to make sure they’re working properly.

But an “Aha!” moment comes when he brandishes a meter that can detect the thickness of the paint on a vehicle. Using the roof paint as a baseline, since there’s almost no reason to do a paint job on a roof, in the video he finds thicknesses all over an SUV he’s inspecting that vary by up to half a millimeter.

That, he warns, is an indicator there’s been extensive paint work all over the vehicle. And then when he looks under that hood and sees no original manufacturer tags or stickers, he becomes suspicious it’s been in a wreck and had extensive repairs.

Comments on the clip were packed with appreciation for Bell’s wisdom and assistance, with one noting, “I ran right outside and looked under the hood of the Lincoln and I just bought thank God it has the original stickers.”

A couple had some additions to the checklist.

@davesautocenter Tips to tell if a Used Car has been wrecked. Don’t Buy a Nightmare. Download the checklist for FREE #carrepair #autoshop #autorepair #usedcar #enginerepair ♬ original sound - Davesautocenter

“Pedals, no one touches them and can tell you true life of vehicle,” one of them advised.
And another advised taking a peak at the under carriage; “Number 6: Frame rust. I almost bought a $15k car and the frame was in such horrible condition; maybe had a year left in it.”

The Daily Dot reached out to Bell via email.

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The post ‘That tells you, most likely, the car’s been in a front-end wreck’: Mechanic reveals 5 things to check for when buying a new car appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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