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Buying a Used Car A car is a big investment, possibly the largest or second largest purchase you'll ever make. For most of us that means borrowing from a bank, credit union or some other financial institution. So it's a good idea to shop around for the best interest rates before you purchase. Decide how much you want to pay for the car, set a maximum and don't go over it.Cars come with some built-in expenses that should also be included in your total cost calculations. In addition to sales tax, registration and insurance costs, put aside some funds for a mechanical inspection. An extended warranty can also be a good investment or it's a good idea to keep a little "nest egg" ($500 to $1000) for possible repairs, if neededA hasty purchase can be a future headache when buying a used car. To avoid the lemons you have to do some research. There's lots of good auto consumer information available on the Internet and publications like Consumer Reports are excellent, which you can probably also find at your local public library. BCAA members you can get use car reviews and book values on its web site.Armed with all this information you should be able to draw up a short list of cars in your price range that you expect will meet your needs. Now you're ready to go "kick tires" and shop around for the right one. If you're buying a car from another individual (private sale), it's wise to do a lien and accident search.Keep in mind that almost every used car will have some flaws. What you want to avoid is a big costly fix, a vehicle with major mechanical or body problems. Ask the seller about the car's accident record, history of ownership and service record. If the seller is co-operative in answering your questions, chances are good that he has nothing to hide.What to look for:Check odometer reading: the average distance is 18,000 to 20,000-km per year. Does the odometer reading correspond with the general condition? Excessive wear on the pedal rubbers, upholstery and carpeting could indicate a great deal of driving. Inspect the car body by scanning along the side of it for dents, ripples or signs of repainting which might indicate recent bodywork. Check the body for rusting. Bottom of all doors, wheel openings and lower body panels are prime locations. Paint blisters or cracking can be signs of rusting under paint or worse - rust perforation from the other side of the panel. Check the tire treads for excessive wear. Four new tires would be an expensive start. Is there a spare wheel, jack and wheel wrench? Are they in good condition? Do the doors, trunk and hood fit and close snugly? Try the door lock mechanism and window regulator to see if they work. Do the windows close completely. Check for damp carpets or a musty, damp smell inside the car, which could indicate a leak of some sort. Press down each corner of the vehicle. It should come to rest quickly. If it keeps bouncing, the shock absorbers probably need replacing. If the engine is cold remove the radiator cap and check level and condition of coolant. Check engine side or radiator for signs of leakage or corrosion. re-check for leaks after road test. Do not remove radiator cap when engine is warm. Road testing:If the car looks promising, take it for a road test. A quiet, residential area or an open space is the best testing environment. Does the car start immediately and idle smoothly once warm? Are the engine gauges and warning lights operating? Check again while driving. Try all the accessories, buttons and switches. Try the park brake and see if the brake warning light comes on. On both smooth and rough surfaces, start and stop the car, drive forward and backward, make several turns in both directions. For most automobiles there should be no more than 50mm (2 inches) plain in the steering wheel. Listen for unusual noises. Make several sharp turns at low speed. The steering shouldn't stiffen up and bind. If there is power steering, no squeaks, moans or sudden increase of steering effort should occur. Either descend a long hill with your foot off the accelerator, or in a flat area, decelerate from 80km/h to about 25km/h without using the brake. Then step hard on the accelerator. If there is heavy blue exhaust smoke, the engine may need an overhaul. Try several emergency stops to check the brakes. They should feel firm, not spongy and should not grab or swerve the car. Try the transmission in all gears. Manual transmissions should shift moothly and not grind. Automatic transmissions that allow excessive engine speeds between gears may need major repairs. The purchase:Time has come to sign the papers! A dealer "Conditional Sale Agreement" is a legal and binding document and should state clearly all the conditions of the sale, including:Full description of the vehicle Full purchase price Terms for payment Trade-in allowance if applicable Any warranty or guarantee agreed upon Repairs agreed upon by both parties Last but not least, before you buy any car, have it checked by a reputable auto mechanic. In the Greater Vancouver area BCAA operates a mobile and station inspection service. Rates are very competitive and special discounts are available to BCAA members.
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灌自己的水，让别人去喝吧 赏 2005-08-16#2
2,536 $0.00 Autopinion ? Canadian Car Buyers Bible! Bob McHugh ? Auto View A must read for anyone considering the purchase of a used, or even a new, vehicle, the twenty-third Canadian Automobile Association Autopinion survey, the largest of its kind in Canada, is based on the experience of over 20,000 fellow Canadian vehicle owners. It has consumer ratings on vehicles dating back ten years and more, in addition to general vehicle purchasing and driving trends in Canada. Autopinion 2003 is a supplement to the February issue of Carguide Magazine and includes detailed frequency of repair charts and owner ratings on 72 vehicles, by make and model. It tells you if other Canadians, who have owned a vehicle that you may be interested in buying, enjoyed owning it, how much it cost them to fix and maintain the vehicle and the types of repair problems they encountered. On the auto trivia side - did you know that the average Canadian household (with a CAA membership) has two drivers but only 1.8 vehicles? Perhaps a confusing statistic, especially if you’re the driver with the 0.8 car, until you read on and discover that in fact 40% of households have one vehicle, 44% have two and 16% have three or more.Getting back to the more significant statistics, perhaps the most incisive question on the survey is "if given the chance to go back in time, would you buy the same vehicle again?" To give you a sample of that you’ll find in the latest edition of Autopinion, I picked five popular mid to late nineties compact vehicles, attached the survey results on this question and added three more. Rating Scale for table below A. % Would repeat the same purchaseB. % Very Satisfied with vehicleC. % Very Satisfied with (dealer) ServiceD. $ Average annual cost of repairsMake/Model/Years % A % B % C $ D Chevrolet Cavalier 1995-2002 80 72 64 669 Honda Civic 1996-2000 91 89 68 605 Hyundai Accent 1995-1999 87 72 47 696 Toyota Corolla 1993-1997 96 92 76 702 Volkswagen Jetta 1993-1998 88 77 43 919 As you can see the results are fairly close but the Toyota Corolla, last years CAA Pyramid Award winner, did extremely well again and topped this group in three of the four categories I selected. Honda Civic is a close runner-up and considering its bargain-basement price the Hyundai Accent also did surprisingly well. The Autopinion survey results were tabulated by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants who will also determine the winner of the 2003 CAA Pyramid Award for Overall Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction and for Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction in the Light Truck Category. These awards will be announced at the Canadian International Auto Show, in Toronto, on February 13th.Just for the heck of it, I also compared this latest CAA survey with one done five years prior and some interesting though perhaps not too surprising trends emerged: 2002 1997 Avg distance driven/year 20,247 km 21,087 km Avg odometer reading 115,036 km 96,445 km Annual maintenance & repair costs $806 $701 Overall satisfaction with vehicle 79% 74% It would appear that since 1997, Canadian vehicle owners now like the vehicle they own even more, but drive it less, keep it longer and pay more for repairs ? it’s official! The February edition of Carguide (with the Autopinion supplement) should be on it’s way to, if not already at, most magazine outlets and BCAA Service Centres, where members get a discount on the purchase price.2003 Autopinion Supplement. To obtain a printed copy, pick up a copy of the Car Buyers' issue of Carguide Magazine at your local newsstand or at your local CAA office.评论
灌自己的水，让别人去喝吧 赏 2005-08-16#3 V
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斑斑给英译汉,好么评论
vivienne98 说:斑斑给英译汉,好么点击展开... 英文太烂
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英文太烂点击展开...
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vivienne98 说: 点击展开...还 ?
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zhou 说:还 ? 点击展开...这才是真正的FANS风范:不管三七24,只知
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实用又可以学英语，好啊！
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努力练琴，快乐成长欢迎光临肖老师温哥华钢琴教室实用又可以学英语，好啊！点击展开...英语那么好 ?俺就不信 .要不译一个试试
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VIVI你是有所不知啊，人急起来啥都能会呀。这些网站以前别人给的，上去去描过一眼，根本就不知道是干什么的，昨天一急上去看了看，单词多半不认识，但也知道他在说啥了，买前看就好了。
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灌自己的水，让别人去喝吧VIVI你是有所不知啊，人急起来啥都能会呀。这些网站以前别人给的，上去去描过一眼，根本就不知道是干什么的，昨天一急上去看了看，单词多半不认识，但也知道他在说啥了，买前看就好了。点击展开...谢谢八哥,俺使劲急一急
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