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Many might hesitate before buying a used car that has already got 100,000 kilometres or far more on the odometer. But think twice, as a higher mileage is not necessarily bad news, says a German car association.<\/p>\n
Rather, look twice if you are considering an older car that seems to have been driven remarkably little, so that you don’t fall for any trickery involving the dials.<\/p>\n
What really counts are the car’s general condition and how the vehicle has been used beforehand, says Germany’s ADAC club.<\/p>\n
Take a long-distance car that is started once in the morning and then runs for five hours at a stretch at optimum operating temperature. That may be in better shape than a family car that has only ever driven three kilometres to the bakery or school and has therefore experienced many unhealthy cold starts.<\/p>\n
To gain an objective picture of the vehicle you are looking at, you’ll need to look beyond the odometer and the car’s age.<\/p>\n
Often, depending on where you live, you may have a local garage that will assess the vehicle for you. Costs naturally vary but could be around $100.<\/p>\n
Research has shown batteries, alternators and coil springs to be most common parts to fail on a car, while rapidly advancing electronics have increased the likelihood of more complicated and expensive faults.<\/p>\n
If you’re buying an electric, then you’ll also need to take a close look at battery health. Taking the car for a test drive for a few hours to see how quickly the battery drains likely isn’t an option, so to be able to a specialist to determine the so-called State of Health (SoH), an independent battery check with a certificate is possibly your best option.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n