Number of photos
More photos will help to assess the condition of the car and compare it with the declared mileage.
If there are few pictures in the ad, ask the seller to photograph the whole car or some details.
Photo quality
If the car looks interesting, but the photo is in the shade of a high wall or in an underground parking lot, check if the seller can take a photo of the car in good lighting. By themselves, bad photos do not mean anything: not everyone has experience selling cars, and a person may not be aware of how important the pictures are. But the refusal to provide additional photos is strange: it rarely happens that such a transaction is insignificant for the seller and he does not have time to take an extra photo.
More photos will help to assess the condition of the car and compare it with the declared mileage.
If there are few pictures in the ad, ask the seller to photograph the whole car or some details.
Photo quality
If the car looks interesting, but the photo is in the shade of a high wall or in an underground parking lot, check if the seller can take a photo of the car in good lighting. By themselves, bad photos do not mean anything: not everyone has experience selling cars, and a person may not be aware of how important the pictures are. But the refusal to provide additional photos is strange: it rarely happens that such a transaction is insignificant for the seller and he does not have time to take an extra photo.
Body and interior cleanliness
A dirty bodywork can be an accident, or it can help hide scratches and dents. Ask the seller to wash the car if you are going to inspect. If the interior is shiny with grease, and you cannot see what color it is behind the dirt, then you have a car that was treated carelessly. It is highly likely that it was poorly maintained: the wrong oil was poured, cheap consumables were installed, repaired anywhere and when necessary. This is an option from which you can and should knock down the price - the money saved will come in handy to put everything in order.
Cleanliness of the engine compartment
While the car is being used, everything under the hood is covered with an even layer of dust, thanks to which you can see where it is flowing from and what was changed. A completely clean engine, gearbox and coolant pipes look good, but this makes the diagnosis very difficult. Oil leaks can become noticeable after a run of more than one hundred kilometers; on a clean surface, they will not be seen even in a specialized service.
Clearances
This is the name of the distance between the body elements. Most modern cars will have curves and asymmetrical gaps only after a poor-quality body repair. It is difficult to assess the condition of the body from photographs, but a crooked tailgate or hood can most likely be noticed.
Steering wheel and seats
With a mileage of up to 100,000 km\mi, the interior usually looks fresh: the steering wheel does not shine, the texture is visible on the skin, the seat is intact. With high mileage on the driver’s seat, the sidewall is wiped. For a car that has served as a taxi for a long time, the back row of seats will be pressed and wiped. To hide traces of high mileage, sellers can put braids on the steering wheel, and covers on the seats. Look under them during the inspection: there may be a tattered and greasy interior of a car that no one liked. Covers or braids are rarely found in premium cars. If the mileage has exceeded 200,000 km\mi, then the steering wheel is likely to be overturned, and the worn out parts of the seat upholstery will be replaced.
Headlights, lanterns and fog lights
As a rule, on cars with high mileage, factory windows become cloudy and whitish due to the oncoming flow of dust. If the car has muddy headlights, and the mileage is declared up to 100,000 km\mi, then it is possible that it was twisted. Take a closer look at the photo of the front of the car: do all the lights look the same? Don’t feel like the right headlight is different from the left? For cars with a range of up to 200,000 km\mi, a new headlight is a likely sign of an accident.
A dirty bodywork can be an accident, or it can help hide scratches and dents. Ask the seller to wash the car if you are going to inspect. If the interior is shiny with grease, and you cannot see what color it is behind the dirt, then you have a car that was treated carelessly. It is highly likely that it was poorly maintained: the wrong oil was poured, cheap consumables were installed, repaired anywhere and when necessary. This is an option from which you can and should knock down the price - the money saved will come in handy to put everything in order.
Cleanliness of the engine compartment
While the car is being used, everything under the hood is covered with an even layer of dust, thanks to which you can see where it is flowing from and what was changed. A completely clean engine, gearbox and coolant pipes look good, but this makes the diagnosis very difficult. Oil leaks can become noticeable after a run of more than one hundred kilometers; on a clean surface, they will not be seen even in a specialized service.
Clearances
This is the name of the distance between the body elements. Most modern cars will have curves and asymmetrical gaps only after a poor-quality body repair. It is difficult to assess the condition of the body from photographs, but a crooked tailgate or hood can most likely be noticed.
Steering wheel and seats
With a mileage of up to 100,000 km\mi, the interior usually looks fresh: the steering wheel does not shine, the texture is visible on the skin, the seat is intact. With high mileage on the driver’s seat, the sidewall is wiped. For a car that has served as a taxi for a long time, the back row of seats will be pressed and wiped. To hide traces of high mileage, sellers can put braids on the steering wheel, and covers on the seats. Look under them during the inspection: there may be a tattered and greasy interior of a car that no one liked. Covers or braids are rarely found in premium cars. If the mileage has exceeded 200,000 km\mi, then the steering wheel is likely to be overturned, and the worn out parts of the seat upholstery will be replaced.
Headlights, lanterns and fog lights
As a rule, on cars with high mileage, factory windows become cloudy and whitish due to the oncoming flow of dust. If the car has muddy headlights, and the mileage is declared up to 100,000 km\mi, then it is possible that it was twisted. Take a closer look at the photo of the front of the car: do all the lights look the same? Don’t feel like the right headlight is different from the left? For cars with a range of up to 200,000 km\mi, a new headlight is a likely sign of an accident.