Any advise on what I should be concerned most about? I imagine most of the vehicles this old will have 90,000+ miles. In terms of regular maintenance, what should I check for or even request to have done?

The timing belt is one that comes to mind. If it hasn't been replace yet, what are the chances that a dealership will do this prior to the sale as part of the deal? What else?

Thank you!

 

The timing belt is the big thing. You can look at a maintenance schedule to see if anything jumps out at you, but those are boring things these days. A modern car will be just fine as long as it gets regular oil changes and a clean air filter every once in a while.

When you find a car you like take it to an honest independent shop and ask them to perform a basic checkup. Tell them you are considering buying the car and they will know what to do. Things they will probably check:

- They will wiggle the wheels to check for sound joints
- They will inspect the various joints and boots
- They will check for play in the diff. if AWD
- They will do a visual inspection of the brakes and may look for rusted lines
- They should check the spark plugs and do a compression test
- They should check the level and color of the steering, brake, and coolant fluids, and transmission fluid if accessible

You should also verify function of all the electronic controls and make sure the check engine light comes on during the lamp check (at key in) and then shuts off once the car is running.

Make sure you get records on if/when the timing belt was changed and if you don't have that information plan on changing it immediately (unless it is a timing chain in which case it is not a wear item).

 

Gagnar, thanks for the information. I'll do exactly that!