What to bring for your first meeting with the car you are going to buy?

[AMG_BENZ]

When you find a CLK55 that you are interested, you going to inspect it before test drive it. We know the obvious to inspect with our naked eyes, but the damage is still hidden. That is when we need tools to discover the unseen damage. After you realize there is no problem with the car, then it's the best time to pay for PPI with your local MB dealer. Here are the tools I am thinking of my head: 1) Micrometer (brake rotors) 2) Rubber magnet with wrapped soft cloth or paper towel. (Body filler) 3) Flashlight. (Engine, paint, etc.) 4) Nylon gloves. (Oil) 5) Inspection mirror. (Engine, suspension, transmission, anything under the car.) 6) Paint gauge. The tools sound like good ideas, but the problem is the seller may be uncomfortable with your tools. The micrometer is used to measure the width of the brake rotors (since AMG brakes are pretty expensive), but you have to take off the tires to measure the rotors effectivelys. The seller would against it, because it has potential to harm you and his/her car. Scanning the entire body with a rubber magnet would paranoid the seller for scratching the paints. However, I don't see anything is wrong with the nylon gloves, inspection mirror and paint gauge. The paint gauge is useful to determine the width of the paint thickness. That is the way to see if this car is being painted from the body repair. It's very pricey, though. This is not a concern if you still plan to take it to the MB dealer (since they have it in the shop). Overall, I still think it's the best to use your visual inspection with your naked eyes. If you are 100% sure the car is what you really want, you will send it to the PPI and hope it passes. If it passes, then you know that this car is what you really want.

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[ambit]

I purchased mine from a dealership and they let me take it out for a test drive by myself. I brought my OBDII and CarSoft scanners. That let me know the CPS sensor needed to be replaced. I also somehow completely missed that the driveside keyless go button on the handle was dead.


These are all things to check as well:
How many miles do you have on your CLK? & list your problems

[AMG_BENZ]

Originally Posted by ambit

I purchased mine from a dealership and they let me take it out for a test drive by myself. I brought my OBDII and CarSoft scanners. That let me know the CPS sensor needed to be replaced. I also somehow completely missed that the driveside keyless go button on the handle was dead.


These are all things to check as well:
How many miles do you have on your CLK? & list your problems

How much does it cost to replace the CPS sensor? I notice you're not alone about the driverside keyless issue. I would like to know the price for the repair, also.

By the way, the link shows me there are minor problems. That is the reason why I am looking to buy a CLK55.

[ambit]

I did the CPS myself, it is only 1 bolt but a pain in the rear to get to. I think the part was $80ish?

Driverside handle was ~$130 and again only 1 bolt to fix it.

[boxeswithknobs]

You can wrap the magnet in felt so the pait is protected.

An OBD reader is highly recommended to pull codes and observed specific diagnostic info. I have a Kiwi PLX, but there are a variety of units available, both Bluetooth and Wifi, or dedicated.

All good points tho!

[AMG_BENZ]

For the OBD reader, I have never experienced with it. Do you think any seller would allow me to do that? I still don't know how to operate it.

[boxeswithknobs]

That's definitely one for the seller - 50/50 chance? Who knows?

Doesn't hurt you as a buyer to bring it along. You can always say it's the same thing the dealers use. If you're planning to spend $10-50k+ on a vehicle, the more information, the better, I say!

I serious, informed seller shouldn't have a problem with it, they might even have their own OBD reader.

[Nachtsturm]

I always bring my two best tools with me when inspecting a car for purchase.

My hands and eyes.

[MarcusF]

Two words: receipts and PPI. As a seller, nobody is putting my car on jacks and checking anything. They aren't rubbing every square inch of my car with a magnet (and scratching the paint). If the receipts and a PPI aren't enough, they can go play MacGyver on someone else's car.

[AMG_BENZ]

Now, I figure the best tools to inspect on someone's car are the non-contact tools like the flashlgiht and inspection mirror. The contact tools like OBD, micrometer, and magnet are going to be uncomfortable for the seller. PPI is still the best, but it's always the last thing to do before exchanging the money.

[MarcusF]

I’ve been told I sound ‘gruff’. Maybe it’s the brevity from posting on my cell, so let me try again from a PC.

Looking at from look at it from the seller’s perspective:

On my car, no micrometer is needed because anyone can see the wear lip on the disks. But even if a prospective buyer couldn’t see the disks, there is absolutely no way I’d let someone I don’t know, drive up and put my car on jack stands. I don’t think the buyer has insurance to cover the “what ifs”. What if the car falls off the jacks? What if it lands on them? What if their $20 bottle jack blows a seal while my car is in the air? “I think” if the prospective buyer gets hurt, there’s a good chance they’ll want to contact my insurance company. Rather than going through all that, “in my opinion”, that’s what receipts are for. Receipts show the brakes were done x-many miles ago and the maintenance schedule is regularly followed. Those same receipts should answer most pre-PPI / “can I crawl under your car” type questions. The PPI then verifies the receipts. If I let the guy put the car on jacks, what’s next? Check the transmission while they’re under there? Flex discs? Diff side seals?

Rubbing my car with a magnet? In the words of a famous comedian, “I say nay, nay”. (see, if I were gruff I’d say “What is this? <expletive deleted> amateur hour???”.) If the goal is to find body filler, the prospective buyer would have to rub every inch of the car, and that still doesn’t tell him what he wants to know. Think about it. Someone caves in the front of a car. New bumper, new hood, new fenders, paint and a for sale sign. In this instance, there is no body filler. How do you tell that the nose (or whole car) has been reshot? There’s a specific tool for that, and in the common vernacular - it ain’t a magnet. If the prospective buyer doesn’t have the proper tool (and unless I’m mistaken, a paint thickness gauge costs about $300, which is more than PPI), why would I, as a seller, allow him to go on a witch hunt? Pull the air cleaner assembly to look for oil leaks? How do I know the prospective buyer knows what he or she is doing? I’ll pull it, they can look, and I’ll put it back. Why? If they R&R the cleaner and don’t seal the MAF properly when they put it back on, the car will run oddly on the test drive. You know what happens next – the buyer is going to want to discuss a price reduction for my odd running vehicle. Not knowing that the buyer is the reason for the bizarre running, I may be inclined to agree. After all, I wanted to sell it when I thought it was running good. I especially want it gone if it’s running bad.

The point is, in my estimation, if someone wanted to buy my car, I’d supply maintenance receipts. Since no one trusts anyone, they can then choose the dealer, and the dealer can perform the PPI. Not Pep Boys, not the corner gas station, and definitely not the buyer in my garage. I might even go so far as to say, “if you buy the car, I’ll split the PPI cost.” Of course, if they don’t buy it, the guy who used to be a prospective buyer can eat the cost.

In my humble opinion, of course.

[AMG_BENZ]

Thanks for the explanation about the reciepts. I am glad to learn all that things before I buy my own car for the first time. I enjoy your "gruff" sense of humor, since it makes sense on those unnecessary strategies to inspect the car.

If the seller doesn't provide the reciepts, then would you say it's a bad sign? It's possible that the seller is either shady or a first-time seller, who doesn't know about the impotant of the receipts. It's still funny that I remember a couple of car dealers told me they don't have the reciepts, when I looked at CLK430s last summer.