Quote:
Originally Posted by dipak1406 If the body of the car is in good condition and so is the engine, then can a person have a near hassle free ownership experience if he changes
a) clutch
b) suspension
c) tyres
of an 8 to 9 year old car or performance car. |
Unfortunately there isn't a simple answer to that. It really depends on how well the car was maintained during it's lifetime and how many miles it has done. Some cars/models wear better then others.
But as a general rule, I would never just start replacing bits and pieces. The tyres, it's easy to see and check what state they are in. If they're ok, leave them be.
Suspension, again its pretty simple to get a reasonable feel on the suspension by taking it for a test drive and doing a simple visual inspection. Suspension is also a bit of a 'large' term. The suspension consists of lots of different bits and pieces and it's very unlikely it will all need replacing, if any at all. Truth is that it is virtually impossible to predict on a working shock absorber how much life is left.
Springs don't really wear out, but occasionally they will break. The one thing I would be looking for on a 8-9 year old car, that has lived in India, would be all the various bushes in the suspension. They do wear out, hard work (e.g. bumpy roads), high temperature wears them down more rapidly. A good test drive can help and to some extend a visual inspection and some prodding around on all the links and leverage to check for any play is a pretty good indication. Same for all ball joints.
Clutch, might be a bit more difficult. Apart from a very simple test, few cars offer the possibility of actually measuring the wear on the clutch. So to some extend you have to take your luck here. Again, depending on car/model and a sort of average usage you might be able to make some educated guess as to what you can expect.
Actually these three "big ticket item" are probably the least of your worries. Like I said, tyres you know exactly what you are getting, so there simply is no risk.
Clutch and (most) suspension work is pretty straightforward. When cars get older there are a whole host of different little things that will start failing at some point in time. Each on its own, might not that big a thing, but it can add up the cost and for many at least equally important, the enjoyment/pleasure you get of owning a particular car. Or impact the reliability.
Everything ultimately wears out, or simply perishes over time. Some things you can check, but that's not a guarantee it won't break shortly afterwards. Bearings for instance, being subject to this. You can check the wheel bearings on a car and find them well within specifications. But on a 8-9 year old car with say 150.000 km on the clock that doesn't mean one or two might fail in the next 20.000km.
That's just how it works with bearings, they are perfect (more or less) until they break and then you just have to replace them. Other then keeping them (when possible) properly adjusted/oiled or waxed and protected not much you can do.
Same with for instance your master/slave cylinder of the brake and or the clutch system. Either they work perfect or they leak and need replacing. There is nothing in between, you can't even measure how much "life" is left on them.
There are a couple of thing I will always replace when I buy a second hand car. Just because my experience has shown you can get a lot of niggling little problems otherwise: Remember I tend to buy with approx 150.000km on the clock. Unless I see very creditable evidence that any of the below had been done very recently I would go ahead with the following:
- Replace all oil and oil/air filters Don't forget the transmission oil and the filter, same for the power steering!
- Flush the brake/clutch hydraulic fluids and have the system refilled completely
- Flush the cooling liquid system and refill completely
- Replace the distributor cap, rotor and all high tension leads. Over time they just perish and are going to give you all sorts of stupid, sometimes very difficult to diagnose problems.
- Unless they look brand new, I would replace all the V-belts that drive water pump, AC etc.
- Check the battery and on a car with lots of electronics (most modern cars) get it replaced with the highest capacity battery you can get your hands on.
- Check the fuel lines, any non-metal parts will bound to start leaking at some time in the future, it will just perish, so replace it.
Of course, the above only comes after a very exhaustive pre-sales check on many different aspects, including looking at the clutch, tires and suspension and a whole lot more. But even it that checks out I will still go ahead and do all these things as I described. Because I know it will make the car more drivable and more reliable for the kilometers to come.
So, its very difficult to give a simple answer to your question. There is some general direction. As I pointed out in an earlier post, I would always try and do some research on 'known issues' with a particular car/model. Best to check with the car/model specific owner forums on the internet. They tend to have the best and the most accurate information.
And of course, NEVER EVER buy a modern car without having it hooked up to a OBD analyzer, preferably a car/model specific one. It will save you a lot of headache.
Jeroen