Home » Articles » Maintenance » Selling a Used Car » The Anatomy of a Pre-Purchase Inspection

• Undercarriage inspection:

  • Rusted brake and fuel lines

  • Major fluid leaks

  • Loose or damaged suspension and steering parts

  • Manual transmission and differential levels and condition

  • Brake friction material and hardware

  • Condition of exhaust system

  • Tire condition (wear, tread depth, etc.)

  • Condition of frame (rust or severe damage)

    • External Inspection: Check all the lights. Also, a close look at the body by a trained eye usually brings to light any collision repairs or paint work that might have been done. This should be brought to the attention of the buyer, but should not necessarily disqualify the car, unless the repairs were done improperly.

    • If the car still looks good after this evaluation, then a compression test and electronic analysis are next to make sure the engine, electrical, and performance system are in good health.

      Inspections and their prices will vary based on the car. It might cost up to $100, but you could save thousands by not buying a "money pit." Be an informed consumer! Have a pre-purchase inspection done on the next pre-owned car under consideration.

      'Til next time -- keep rollin'

      

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By Bill Siuru, PhD, PE   

You've decided to tow a dinghy, or toad, behind your motor home so you will have a practical vehicle for running errands, sightseeing in urban areas or just going to dinner at a nice restaurant. There is much more to safe dinghy towing than just hitching up the family car behind a motor home.

For starters, just about every state and Canadian province requires towed vehicles over a certain weight, which varies with jurisdiction, have an independent braking system. This can be as low as 1,000, and in some states every towed vehicle requires braking. For a complete listing of laws, click on www.roadmasterinc.com or www.brakebuddy.com . Incidentally, the police are cracking down on unsafe towing. For example, British Columbia now aggressively enforces its 3000 pound limit for un-braked towed vehicles. Not only are tickets issued, the dinghy has to be disconnected and driven out of the province under its own power.

Even if it is not required by the you will be traveling in, installing a supplemental braking system could prevent a serious accident. Also the warranty on your RV could be voided if vehicles over a certain weight are towed without a supplemental braking system. Finally, you could be legally liable if an accident was caused by improper equipment.

There are a couple of ways to add supplemental braking. The easiest approach is to use a portable auxiliary braking system like the Roadmaster Even Brake™ or BrakeBuddy�. The more difficult approach is to use on the ties into the tow vehicle's hydraulic or air brake system.

Portable systems are installed in front of the driver's seat of the towed vehicle and attached to the brake pedal. When a sensor in the unit determines that the RV is decelerating, the unit releases air pressure to depress the brake pedal. While the Brake Buddy is a 'brakes off/brakes on' system, the Even Brake is a proportional braking system. Proportional means that the brakes on the towed vehicle are applied in unison and with approximately the same pressure as applied to the brakes on the towing vehicle.

Both units are portable and easily switched between vehicles.

For most situations, a tow bar is the best option - relatively inexpensive and little added weight. If you don't plan to tow regularly or the dinghy is very light, you can get by with a Rigid A-Frame tow bar. Cheap, but somewhat difficult to attach because the arms don't collapse or adjust. This means some jockeying to align the dinghy precisely to complete the hookup. Definitely, a two-person job.

For serious towing and a one-person job, a Collapsible or Self Aligning tow bar is a must. The self-aligning feature allows driving up close to the motor home and then lets the tow bar adjust to the vehicle's position. As you drive away, the arms extend, self-center and lock in place to provide a rigid tow bar.

Car-Mounted tow bars stay attached to the dinghy, folded up in the front. The attached tow bar...