Car ownership in Malaysia is the most expensive in the world
after Singapore, because of the Resources curse. Singapore's car price is hefty for a reason because they wanted
to curb the car population in its limited land mass. Besides their government has done a lot to bring the public transport so much that it is convenience to the public. On the other hand Malaysia’s car is expensive
because of the interest of a selected few.
New cars were exorbitantly priced comparing the same model available
anywhere else in the world. Used car
price where not forgiving as well for common Japanese make because of the
quality perception.
Ever since the end of Malaysia 13th general
election, cost of living has been skyrocketing and if you’re one of those who are
considering a used car, here some finer points worth looking at when shopping
for a used car in Malaysia.
1. Stuffs to watch out for in the cabinet.
a. Seats, check for cracks, cuts, burnt hole and
scratches. This might look minor,
repair bill on these common essential can be hefty. As these are not common tear and wear, finding
the replacement can be time consuming, hard and costly.
b.
Safety belts.
Even though life span of safety belt is long, it does have a life span. The driver side seat belt of my own car ends
after the 11th years. The
front passenger side ended a year later.
You want to check carefully for rear safety belts, if you’re looking for
a family car.
c. Cigarettes lighter power socket. This is one common power socket that is
widely used nowadays to charge mobile device on the go. If you’re one of those using these gadgets you
might want to make sure this power source is working. Push in the socket to test whether the power
source is still functioning.
d. You want to ensure all electrical power stuffs
are working. These are windows, reverse
camera, sunroof, front and reverse sensor, etc.
2. Exterior
a. How do you know the car has been in a major accident?
a. How do you know the car has been in a major accident?
i.
You can bring along a mechanic to help
check. One common trick is to have a
look at the chassis. Repaired chassis
have different colour, bent or uneven surface on the beam. This can be checking on the bonnet and boot. This is what normally a used car dealer
would look at. You can learn this trick
by asking a dealer how to read the tell-tale sign, by pretending to be someone
who wanted to sell car.
ii. Check the joints on the whole car body. Take note of gaps between the doors, bumper gaps, taillights gaps and front grille.
iii. Check it up with the previous owner insurance company. But you can only do this if you know the previous owner’s insurer.
ii. Check the joints on the whole car body. Take note of gaps between the doors, bumper gaps, taillights gaps and front grille.
iii. Check it up with the previous owner insurance company. But you can only do this if you know the previous owner’s insurer.
b.
Look at all windows and windscreen for car
registration sand blast. In Malaysia,
you’re allowed to bring over your old registration number to your new car. If the previous owner had the car
registration number sand blasted onto all wind screens, all of them would need
to be changed to prevent unnecessary trouble from the authorities.
c.
Check on the lightings. Common modifications are headlamp, headlamp
cover, and fog lights. Many people are tempted
to change their headlights white, be it needs or trend, but what the previous
owner did may cause you headache you didn’t asked for. You would want to check the headlights. If it is white, HID or any other colour
than yellow, check under the bonnet for ballast. Illegal modified HID will have a ballast hanging;
OEM producer will have a proper fitting that fits well with your headlamps.
3. Start the engine.
a. Ask where chassis and engine number are. This is not for fun. Look for sign of tempering or colour
mismatch on the chassis number. Beware
of sign of covering up tempered chassis number. Take down the numbers and make sure they
match the number recorded in the car registration card. It can save you a lot of headache and heart-sick
later on.
b. Start the engine; listen to the sound coming from the engine compartment. Weird sound suggest problem with engine parts. Common sound from fan belt and bearing due to tear and wear were no big alarm.
b. Start the engine; listen to the sound coming from the engine compartment. Weird sound suggest problem with engine parts. Common sound from fan belt and bearing due to tear and wear were no big alarm.
c. Take a look at the exhaust pipe. If there are white or bluish smokes coming out from it, suggest engine oil leak into the engine. This require costly repair, probably an overhaul. Take a good look at the exhaust pipe, if it has an oily outlook chances are the leak is confirm.
