In late March I hope to take delivery of a new E90. The obvious checks I will make - that an engine has been installed, that there's a wheel at each corner, that it doesn't show obvious signs of having been shunted by a JCB.
But what are the less well known checks I should make to ensure it's been built and PDId properly?
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I think the 'checks' to be made might be summarised by terms like 'using the car as you ordinarily would' & taking it back to the shop you bought if from if anything goes wrong.
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It's easy to be paranoid, but equally naive to assume that a new car is pristine. Check the bodywork very carefully - it's not unusual for "remedial" work to have been done, sometimes a lot more than a scratch repair. I had a new white Golf once that was a different colour on one side; it was a company car, the company wasn't bothered, so I ignored it but I would have been very cross had it been my money.
The PDI adjustments, levels etc I worry less about as they are mostly either easily fixed or checked yourself.
Check the number plates - I know of several instances of the wrong plates being fitted, or a number being transposed - and if yours has the wrong number on the back, keep quiet ;-)
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>>and if yours has the wrong number on the back, keep quiet
Tch tch!
Many cameras capture the front of the vehicle ;>)
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I think it is important to have your new car positioned where you can properly scrutinise its bodywork/paintwork. All to often, with the clutter at dealerships, this isn?t possible.
My existing car was brought to my home.
Clk Sec
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A good test for resprayed areas (new cars are often damaged before sale) is to look at all the panels under monochromatic light. A sodium or mercury vapour streetlamp will do nicely - choose the colour of light according to the colour of the car.
659.
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A good test for resprayed areas
Should you reject a car if it's been resprayed?
I got my car when it was just over 3 yrs old. It turns out that it had been resprayed on one side, although I'm not even sure that the previous owner was aware of this. It's not easy to spot, but there's a bit of overspray on the door handle, and some paint flaking off by the side rubbing strip. There are signs of rust on both panels that have been resprayed, but nowhere else on the whole car. The car's over 8 years old now, so I haven't done too bad, but the rust will really spoil what would have still been a nice car in a few years time.
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If your new car is a Peugeot check all the bulbs work.. or even exist.
We bought a new 106 with no bulbs in the boot light. Missed by dealer at PDI... fortunnately I insisted on inspecting it myself before taking deivery.
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>If your new car is a Peugeot check all the bulbs work.. or even exist.
It's an E90. I think all bulbs except for the fog lamps are optional extras. ;-)
Kevin...
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