Before anything else: smoke at the exhaust on a cold start, engine noise at idle, the gearbox through every gear, how it behaves under braking, the air conditioning running, and damp inside the cabin. These six turn a good deal into a money pit, and all of them can be checked in a twenty-minute test drive.
A perfect car whose papers do not follow is not a car you buy. Ask for the registration document and check the name matches the person in front of you, plus customs paperwork if the vehicle was imported. Compare the chassis number on the document with the one stamped on the vehicle — not only the one on the dashboard.
Run your hand along door and bonnet seams: uneven gaps, paint that catches the light differently from one panel to the next, chipped paint on hinge bolts, or overspray on rubber seals all tell you about a repair. A repaired car is not disqualified — but the price should reflect it, and you should know before you negotiate.
The guided checklist walks you through the points in the right order and tells you what to look at, including what should make you walk away. It does not replace a mechanic: on a car you seriously want, a physical inspection by a professional is the best risk-for-money in the whole purchase.
In this order: the papers (registration in the right name, customs documents if imported, matching chassis number), then the mechanics on a cold start — smoke, noises, dashboard lights — then a test drive covering braking, every gear and the air conditioning. Finish with signs of bodywork repair.
Look at the evenness of the panel gaps, how paint catches the light from panel to panel, the paint on hinge bolts, and overspray on rubber seals. A chassis alignment check by a mechanic confirms or clears it when the signs add up.
On a car you are ready to buy, yes. An inspection costs a fraction of an engine or gearbox rebuild, and it is the last moment you can still walk away having lost nothing.