1. Bodywork:
1.1. We look at the gaps - for a car with a normal body, all slots along the length should be the same width.
1.2. We look at various seams (in the trunk, under the decorative floor) - they must be sealed with something like putty.
1.3. If the car has not been tinted, traces of paint should not be on any rubber and plastic body parts, tubes, wires, engine.
1.4. Compare the paint in the engine compartment and on the fenders - it should be the same.
1.5. Decals and decals are often applied to hide body defects.
1.6. Examine the side members carefully. If there was a blow and they were pulled out, traces still remain: knocked down paint and folds on the metal surface. To see this, they must be cleaned of dirt.
1.7. All doors should close in the same way, with the same sound and with the same force. If this is not the case, then the body is probably behaving.
1.8. Pay attention to the wheels. The main thing is that the rubber is worn out evenly, and there are no traces of impacts on the disks.
1.9. Each car has two or three places where it starts to rust. This usually happens under the rubber seals of windows, doors and trunk.
2. Engine, we inspect for a cold one:
2.1. As soon as the hood is opened, immediately smell the air above the engine - there should be absolutely no smell of gasoline.
2.2. Inspect all engine parts and assemblies for traces of oil. There should be no oil drips on a working engine.
2.3. If you find at least one nut or bolt with crumpled edges, it means that the engine has been "climbed".
2.4. If you see any gasket, traces of white or black sealant, paint or varnish - know that it was made in our country. The Japanese use only a gray-silver sealant, which is almost invisible.
2.5. If there is a black pasty coating inside the oil filler neck, the engine is probably overheating.
2.6. For a fully functional engine, everything that is visible inside the filler neck should be golden. If you find carbon deposits, you cannot trust such an engine without further diagnostics.
2.7. Overheating: rust in the area of ​​the radiator filler neck, or rust in the expansion tank.
2.8. Antifreeze should not be cloudy and opaque, and should not have oil stains and streaks on the surface.
2.9. The oil in the power steering reservoir and in the automatic transmission must have the same color (red-brown), be transparent and free of impurities, and, most importantly, smell the same. A burnt smell is unacceptable.
2.10. Inspect all rubber products on the engine. There should be no cracks on them. Pay special attention to high voltage wires, pipes and belts of the generator drive, pump, etc.
2.11. The engine cooling fan, if the engine is cold, should rotate with light hand force. There should be no backlash.
2.12. On the subject of oil zhora: we look at the candles (if allowed to unscrew), the color of the pipe from the inside.
3. Engine, put a newspaper under it, start:
3.1. As soon as the engine has started, open the radiator cap and make sure no air bubbles emerge from there. Otherwise, the engine must be diagnosed at a service station.
3.2. With the engine running, carefully open the oil filler cap. Make sure that oil droplets are trying to pop out from the inside, and there is an oil mist inside.
3.3. If with the lid open at approximately 1000 rpm. exhaust gases come out, which means there is overpressure in the crankcase and the piston group needs repair.
3.4. We put the cap on the neck. If the cover bounces, then the engine will soon require repair, but for now it will have increased oil consumption.
3.5. After warming up (1-2 minutes), when the arrow of the temperature gauge enters the operating range, touch the upper radiator pipe. It must be cold because the thermostat is still closed.
3.6. If the engine heats up for a long time, the radiator pipes are warm, not hot, then the thermostat is faulty or not at all.
3.7. Press the gas pedal sharply and fully. The engine should jerk and revive quickly, without interruptions or knocks. When the speed decreases, the engine jerks are not allowed. Crank the engine gently to about 3000 rpm. and release the accelerator pedal sharply. With a decrease in speed, jerking is not allowed.
3.8. When idle speed is established, turn on the interior heater motor, headlights, pressing the brake, put the automatic control knob in position "D" and sharply turn the steering wheel all the way to the right, then to the left. The engine should not stall. During all operations, someone familiar should listen to the engine for suspicious noises (the hood must be open).
3.9. Check the smoke in the exhaust. At idle, the smoke is almost invisible. As the RPM increases, the smoke becomes visible, but it should be pale blue in color. Black smoke means a malfunction of the fuel system, blue - the flow of oil into the combustion chambers, thick white smoke - the flow of antifreeze or water. In frosty or damp weather, smoke color is not a good enough indication of engine malfunction.
3.10. Start the engine, wait 10-15 seconds, turn off the engine and turn on the ignition again. If the emergency oil pressure reduction light comes on immediately, the engine is worn out. A good engine has high oil pressure in the system for up to 5 seconds.
3.11. With the engine running, engage the different transmission modes one by one. There should be no changes in the background noise.
3.12. Now that the check of the engine is basically finished, remove the newspaper that was spread beforehand from under it. If at least one drop of oil appears on it, the engine requires some kind of repair.
4. Walking:
4.1. Any car (except for large cars with a small engine) with two passengers, if it starts abruptly from a place, must turn the wheels in place. By checking that the car is capable of squealing rubber, you will ensure that the clutch is in satisfactory condition.
4.2. To check the condition of the drives of a front-wheel drive vehicle, unscrew the wheels all the way (both to the left and to the right) and start off sharply (on the rise). If the drive is in normal condition, you will not hear any clicks.
4.3. Use your weight to swing each of the four corners of the car with both hands. The machine should not do a second roll if the shock absorbers are normal. There shouldn't be any knocks.
4.4. Compare the distance between the edge of the fender and the tire tread of "your" car and others. This will determine whether the springs and springs have sagged or not.
4.5. Rock the steering wheel. There should be no knocking.
4.6. Try to inspect the brake disc. Its surface should be smooth and shiny, without scoring and radial waviness.
4.7. If possible, take a ride, preferably on a dirt road.
5. Salon.
5.1. Try to turn on and off all the buttons in the car, twist all the knobs, move all the levers, ask about their purpose. Switch on the radio and tune it to a frequency that does not have a transmitting station. Start the engine. Stop the engine. There should be no change in speaker noise.
5.2. Take a close look at the dashboard. Maybe any of the emergency bulbs have been turned off.
6. Under the car:
6.1. Pay attention to traces of oil on the gearbox, rear axle and on the underbody in front of the units.
6.2. Look for leaks in the shock absorbers, if the rubber bumpers and shock absorbers are intact.
6.3. Pay attention to the anthers of the wheel drives and steering. There should be no cracks or breaks on them.
7. We look at the documents and compare the numbers of the body and engine. The excuses that this figure will not be corrected at the customs in 5 minutes, it would have been 5 minutes long ago that he would have fixed it. Addition from the Namesake ("In NSK, often when you check the numbers, the sold one shouts:" Look at the docks, and I'll dive into the engine - I will dictate. "
8. We punch the year and month of the car release by the engine number. If we cannot do this from a mobile, then we send an SMS to a person who currently has the Internet.
9. Check for snag:
9.1. Dampness.
9.2. A specific smell, and, as a result, a lot of stinks.
9.3. We look at all the electrics - it does not work.
9.4. We turn on the conder and gradually sort out all the positions (at the feet, on the glass, etc.), see if the air duct flaps switch or not.
9.5. We look at the bolts in the engine and fasteners, and those that are difficult to get to in order to clean the same unism.
9.6. In the cabin, we look at the vertical adjustment of the seats (twists), sometimes they are rusted.
9.7. We look at the brackets for attaching the decorative floor in the trunk.
9.8. Fine sand particles can be hidden under the rubber door seals.
9.9. We open the driver's door and remove the sill, fold back the carpet to see a block with wires and chips sticking out of it at the bottom, pull out the chip and look at the contacts - if everything is fine, then the contacts inside the chip should be of normal copper color, and if the snorkel, then there you can see everything from white bloom to dirt and other nonsense.
9.10. We look at the mold when the floor is folded (on the inside of the carpet).
9.11. We look at the headlights - after water gets in, they darken.

Items 3.2 and 3.4 are not valid for all engines
all this is suitable for gasoline engines