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Evaluation of used cars examines some particular elements of the car and based on such review may have firm guarantees about the goodness of your purchase.

External components

Bodywork

For being immediately visible, is the first yardstick of used cars, but looks can be misleading, so do not rely too much not to receive unpleasant surprises. In any case, we consider some particular aspects:

* Visible damage
Check the presence of scratches, bruises and other signs: often the seller does not agree to repair them because of the cost is often high and often reduced the effectiveness of interventions on the body.
* Color
The color is a bit discolored for a used car does not give cause for concern: a good polish or a complete repainting solutions are optimal in terms of cost and ensure satisfactory results.

Aesthetics

Check the overall condition of the body, evaluated  used car from the aesthetic point of view to see if, overall, is to your liking, and if that is what suits you.
From the aesthetic point of view, the changes can be of various types, the size of tire use of unconventional colors. Something that you would never normally do not please you can end up in its final realization, but consider that the car is a commodity of which you should never daily stews, or you find yourself wanting to buy a different model in a few months!

* Miscellaneous changes

Changes that may be made to the original are of various types and depend on the imagination of the owner. Tires larger, different mirrors, stickers, air intakes and so on more spectacular than you can customize your car, but, as new owners, when they want to return to “normal” of the replacements will be fully your responsibility. For this reason the evaluation of used cars tend to suffer from adverse changes in aesthetics. You must also consider that, whatever the nature of changes, not all are required by law (as in the case of the tinted windows), some have to be declared on the vehicle registration document, which will be checked at the examination of documents car.

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Most people, when they buy new tyres, ask: “What mileage will I get from these tyres?” What they should be asking is: “How do I get the best mileage from these tyres?”

To extend its life, a tyre must run straight down the road, perfectly balanced, with an inflation pressure exactly right to carry the load on board and cope with the speed being traveled at.

It’s of paramount importance that tyres are fitted to true-running rims, and as a weekend of four-wheel driving can often result in a buckled or damaged wheel.

Even ‘run-outs’ of only a millimeter or so in the wheel-rims are magnified significantly by the time this movement reaches the larger diameter of the tyre tread on the road.

This lateral and radial wander unbalances the tyre, induces a higher rate of wear, and in extreme cases can completely wipe off the tread blocks to a feathered edge.

Mis-alignment of a vehicle’s suspension is another major contributor to poor mileage on both 4WDs and regular passenger cars.

In recent years the tyre industry has adopted the policy of ‘total alignment’, where a vehicle is aligned on both front and rear axles to ensure correct performance.

If the vehicle’s alignment is out, tyres bear the brunt of this in terms of wear and ultimate durability, areas already stressed by the cornering and acceleration capabilities of today’s cars and 4WDs.

Never accept that once tyres are fitted and balanced, there’s no need to re-balance.

In fact, as tyres wear their balance is affected, so if you’re really trying to maximise durability it’s a good idea to have the wheel/tyre assembly re-balanced about every 5000 km or so.

Regardless of a vehicle’s age or condition, tyre rotation – swapping tyres from axle to axle and side to side – will evenly distribute the type of wear each position induces.

In general terms, a tyre that steers will wear at the shoulders – while a tyre that drives will wear more evenly across the tread face but at a greater rate – especially when towing.

Inflation pressure is the other area that will have a significant effect on tyre wear. Low inflation pressures will result in more tread squirm on the road surface and therefore reduced mileage.

This situation is aggravated further if heavy loads are carried or continuous high speeds are maintained, without compensation to the inflation pressure being used.

Pressures detailed on the vehicle’s tyre placard should be maintained and increases suggested for high loads and high speeds adhered to.

In short, to maximize tyre life what you need to do is select the right tyre for you 4WD, mount it on a ‘true’ rim, make sure the vehicle is correctly aligned, and keep the correct inflation pressures.

Some off-roaders swear by them, others at them. I’m ambivalent, provided that the decision to trail or not to trail is done properly. For instance, an overloaded solo vehicle, with teeter-tottering handling is no way to avoid towing a trailer.

The trick with trailer towing is to pack the right stuff in it, set up the balance correctly and drive it properly. For a start, don’t expect eggs to travel intact in your trailer, but tools, spares, recovery and camping gear will be quite happy.

Towing a correctly set-up trailer shouldn’t be a problem, provided your good quality, correctly inflated tyres match the load – they should be rarely more than 25 psi and often much less -and your wheel bearings have been recently checked and repacked.

Many off-roaders come to grief when it comes time to manoeuvre the little beast, because everything has to be done backwards, with your head craned around like an ibis. You have to push when logic says pull and soon everything is in a jackknifed mess and you blame everybody else and swear you’ll never tow another bloody trailer any bloody where ever.

It doesn’t have to be like that. The best way to back a trailer is by using your mirrors, like the truckies do, rather than trying to drive with your head half unscrewed. If you can’t see the back corners of your trailer in your mirrors, change the mirrors or put reflective plastic ‘wands’ or flexibly mounted flags on the corners.

Then practise backing, using the mirrors, on your own, in a very quiet parking lot, where there are no Rolls Royces to scrape. If you take some witches hats – old soft drink bottles do very nicely -mark out a little slalom course and back the trailer through it. Some people get the hang of it quickly, while others need a few such peaceful days before becoming successfully backwardly mobile.

Once you can back skilfully, the horrors of manoeuvring your trailer into tight spots in front of a smirking crowd vanish. Also, you’ll be much more confident if you have to back and fill a bit when getting through tight spots in the bush.

A correctly balanced trailer, with its tyres at the right pressure for the road and load conditions, should trundle along behind through most places your 4WD will go, but very soft or steep pinches may catch you out. A tyre pressure drop is often the answer, but if all else fails, you’ll probably find it best to separate 4WD and trailer, then winch the trailer through. A hand winch is fine for pulling a single axle trailer which is usually a quarter your 4WD’s weight. If you regularly do this, a large-diameter, inflatable jockey wheel is a good investment.