The used car market is increasingly developing, leading to the need to check cars before buying. However, according to advice from the Ninety Eight Auto Auto Repair, Maintenance and Care Center (Cat Lai ward, Ho Chi Minh City), checking can only help buyers reduce risks but it is difficult to guarantee detecting all problems of a car.
One of the information that buyers are most interested in is the kilometers displayed on the ODO meter.
Many people often observe the wear of the steering wheel, gear lever, seats, door handles or positions that are frequently in contact to estimate how much or how little the car has used.
However, these signs are for reference only. If the interior is carefully cared for or restored, details showing signs of degradation can be renewed, making it more difficult to assess with the naked eye.
Similarly, checking ODO (total distance meter for a vehicle) is also not simply looking at the numbers on the meter. Technicians can use diagnostic devices to read data stored in the vehicle's electronic controllers and compare it with the information displayed on the meter.
In addition to kilometers, some data related to operating time, speed or usage history can also be used to assess the rationality of ODO information. For example, technicians can compare operating time and average speed to see if the total recorded distance is appropriate.
However, electronic data sources are not always absolutely guaranteed. Because in reality, cases where data between electronic components is no longer consistent, making it difficult to accurately determine usage history can still occur.
Even replacing electronic parts or watches can cause the data to be checked to change. This is why buyers should not rely on a single parameter to conclude whether the car is interfered with or not.
In cases where the seller intentionally conceals vehicle history and invests costs to restore the interior, change components or process data, routine inspection is even more difficult to draw an absolute conclusion.
Therefore, buyers need to be especially careful with cars with unusually low prices or unclear maintenance history.
In essence, the purpose of checking a car is not necessarily to find a completely original car. More importantly, determine the actual condition, the items to be repaired, and the expected cost after purchase.
This approach helps buyers balance the selling price, vehicle condition and repair budget. An used car can still be a suitable choice if the defects are clearly identified, the repair cost is within financial capacity, and the car meets long-term usage needs.
Therefore, checking the car before purchase is still a necessary step, but buyers should see this as a risk assessment tool instead of an absolute guarantee of the car's history.
