With the popularity of the new car market, the change of people's concept of buying cars and the rise of the replacement boom, the second-hand car market in China is also on fire. However, due to various reasons, the domestic used car market is mixed, and there are not a few cases of dishonest operation. As for how ordinary consumers choose used cars, in addition to finding used car dealers with good integrity, good reputation and a certain scale, more often it depends on consumers' own eyes. At present, private consumers who buy used cars can be mainly divided into two categories. The first category is many novices who just got their driver's licenses. They are going to spend less money to buy a car and practice their hands first, and then change to a new car when the car technology is mature. The second kind of consumers prefer high-end cars or pay more attention to the "face effect" brought by vehicles, which belongs to the category of buying good cars with less money. Officials believe that these two types of consumers have propped up the domestic private market for buying used cars for their own use. Take a compact car that has been in operation for three years and the new car price is 6.5438+0.5 million yuan as an example. The car is in good condition, and the second-hand market price is about 6.5438+0 million yuan, which can save more than 50 thousand yuan compared with the total cost of buying a new car. If it is a more advanced model, such as BMW 5 Series, Audi A6L, etc. , three years of used cars can save more than 6.5438+10,000 yuan, and the high cost performance is inevitably exciting. Today, the editor will also talk to you briefly in combination with this personal demand. As an ordinary consumer, how to buy used cars and how to stop buying "accident cars"? What is an "accident car"? Before the official opening, let's popularize the definition standard of "accident car" in the field of used cars. "Accident vehicle" generally refers to vehicles with structural damage. At the same time, soaking cars and burning cars also belong to the category of "special accident cars". The so-called structural damage is an automobile that will hurt the cross beam, frame and other parts after the vehicle collides or is damaged, and it needs to be cut and welded before it can be repaired. Known as the "accident car." Generally speaking, it is a car with "internal injuries". As for the paint surface and sheet metal damage caused by scraping or slight rear-end collision, such "skin injury" does not belong to the accident vehicle. ● Accident car-a car that caused structural loss and "internal injury" to the vehicle due to an accident ● A "skin injury" that did not hurt the frame, beam and other important parts cannot be called an accident car. The editor consulted some people in the used car industry on how to distinguish the losses caused by ordinary accidents from the "accident cars" judged by the used car industry. In general, it is considered that the longitudinal beam, cross beam, floor, spare tire floor, fender and tailboard of a vehicle belong to an "accident vehicle" after cutting and welding, but if it is only sheet metal repair rather than cutting and welding, it depends on the situation. In short, the "accident car" in the second-hand car is not what we usually think of in the process of using the car, such as scratched paint, sunken sheet metal, slight rear-end collision (without hurting the water tank) and so on. Serious rear-end collision (injury to the longitudinal beam or airbag opening), vehicle side collision and rollover are all "accident vehicles". The normal process of buying a used car must be to look at the appearance first, and then look at the interior. If both are satisfied, then we will judge whether this car belongs to an accident car later. But due to the particularity of this article, I think it is necessary to break this order today. Let's talk about how to judge the "accident car" first, and then talk about what needs attention in the appearance and interior of used cars. A simple way to judge whether it belongs to an accident car: measure the size and remove the interior trim panel. Generally speaking, to buy a used car, you only need to find a reputable and honest merchant. When you choose a car, they have the obligation to tell you whether the car you like belongs to an accident car and which parts have suffered internal injuries. However, due to the chaotic situation in the domestic used car market, it is inevitable that there will be dishonest management, so it is necessary for everyone to learn how to judge accident cars. Step 1: See if the overall cleanliness of the engine room is particularly clean. The first step is to open the engine cover and observe the integrity of the engine room first. It is normal that a large amount of dust will accumulate in the engine compartment of the vehicle after long-term use. However, if you find that a certain part is obviously cleaner than other places and need to pay attention, we can doubt or guess whether this place has been repaired. Otherwise, there is no reason to clean it specially, right? Step 2: Measure the distance between the front suspension bracket and the headlight, and compare the wheelbase length between the left and right sides. Step 2: You can measure the distance between the bracket on the front shock absorber and the headlight with a common tape measure, and measure diagonally. Before the measurement, we don't need to know what the standard data is, but as long as the measured data on both sides are the same, or the error is within 5 mm, it is normal. In order to prove this point, we specially found a Corolla accident car for comparison, and found that the data measured by the accident car was actually 15 mm, which was obviously problematic. Step 3: Check whether the water tank frame, tailgate and A/B/C column are in good condition, check whether there are any traces of sheet metal cutting, and complete various data measurements. It is found that there is no difference between the above data, and basically 80% of the work of eliminating accident vehicles has been completed. After that, observe whether the water tank frame, the rear tail plate and the floors on both sides of the rear spare tire are intact, and whether there are obvious traces of sheet metal or cutting and welding. It doesn't matter if there are slight traces of sheet metal, but if there are traces of cutting or welding, it proves that this is an accident car. After that, if you really like this car and get the consent of the car dealer, you can remove the sealing strip around the door and see if there are any non-original welding marks on the A/B/C pillar. Because these local mean times are covered with panels, there are few decorations such as polishing and painting after repair, so these places are also important points to judge whether the car belongs to an accident car. Of course, the consent of the car dealer must be obtained before the sealing strip and the interior trim panel are removed, otherwise no one wants to watch their car being rashly removed. Step 4: Set up the vehicle, check whether the engine leaks oil or water, and check whether the longitudinal beam is damaged. The last accident vehicle inspection item is to set up the vehicle to see if the chassis is damaged. Among them, the main observation is whether the longitudinal beam and cross beam are abnormal, and whether the engine, gearbox and water tank are leaking oil and water. However, because the vehicle setting is more troublesome, and it will delay a lot of time, if the general used car dealers only provide this service to the real intended customers, they need to pay a certain deposit in advance. Therefore, I would like to remind everyone that, in view of the relatively irregular domestic used car market, before taking the last step, you must think about whether you really want to buy this car, otherwise it will waste time and may even lead to disputes, which is not good. Appearance appraisal: observe the overall feeling of the vehicle, pay special attention to whether the joints are symmetrical ● Step 1: Look at the paint close to the body at a distance of one meter from the vehicle. Look at this metal piece. The first step in identifying used cars is to look at their appearance. This is not to say that the length of the car is good, but to see how the overall feeling of the car is. As the saying goes, that's right. This is really difficult to quantify, and can only be said to be the first feeling. The way to look at the appearance is to stand one meter away from the four corners of the vehicle, and the line of sight is flush with the waistline of the vehicle. This makes it easier to see the condition of the vehicle paint surface, whether there is color difference, whether the gloss is consistent and so on. ● Step 2: Check whether the seams of the car body are even and smooth, and whether there is a feeling of cutting hands. Look at the gloss and color difference, and then look at the seams between various parts of the car body. Mainly check whether the joint is uniform and whether the corner treatment is smooth. Under normal circumstances, the joint treatment of "original parts" without sheet metal repair will be symmetrical, and it is unlikely to be coarse and fine. Moreover, when touched by hand, the seam edge is also very smooth, and there is basically no obvious feeling of "cutting hands". ● Step 3: See whether the aging degree of the front and rear headlight components of the vehicle is new replacement or obvious aging. See if the date of manufacture of vehicle glass is consistent with the whole vehicle. After the exterior paint and joint treatment are determined, it depends on the color of the front and rear lights of the vehicle. Under normal circumstances, after several years of use, it is normal for the surface of lamps to wear or age to some extent, but the aging degree of all external lamps, especially the plastic surface of the whole vehicle should be roughly the same. If you find that a lamp is particularly new, or the plastic is particularly yellow, you need to pay special attention. If it is a particularly new headlight, we will wonder if there has been a collision in this part recently and the accessories have been replaced. If a headlight is yellow and aging is particularly serious, it is necessary to doubt whether it is a by-product accessory. The last step of appearance inspection is to observe the label on the glass of the whole vehicle to see if it belongs to the same factory year and is consistent with the factory year of the whole vehicle. In the process of daily car use, it is inevitable that the car body paint will rub or have minor accidents, so when you find some doubts about the car exterior paint or headlights, you need to pay more attention. Of course, if you are a perfectionist when you buy a car and can't accept any loss of paint, you will have a bottom after reading the appearance. I know better than anyone whether I like it or not. In a word, appearance appraisal is a word, skeptics don't buy, buyers don't doubt. Interior inspection: Look at the mileage of the vehicle, the fault light and the degree of steering wheel wear ● Step 1: Turn on the power to let the vehicle self-check, and start the vehicle to observe the fault light. Read the mileage and look at the appearance of the vehicle. If you are satisfied, you can sit in the car and see how the interior of the vehicle is maintained. The first step is to twist the train key, turn on the switch to let the vehicle self-check, and then start the vehicle. See if there are any abnormal fault lights on the instrument panel, such as ABS, SRS and engine fault warning lights, which will light up during self-inspection, but should go out after the vehicle starts. If these lights are always on, it proves that there is something wrong with the car. ● Step 2: Check the wear and tear of the seat belt, steering wheel and gear lever, and infer the service state of the vehicle. After checking all kinds of warning lights, it's time to look at the mileage of the vehicle. As for the mileage, the editor thinks it's just a reference. In view of the current situation in the second-hand market, no one can guarantee whether the mileage of this car is true or not, and whether it has been adjusted intentionally or unintentionally. Therefore, it is a safe method to combine the mileage with the internal wear of the vehicle. To judge the wear of automobile interior, we can judge whether the mileage is true and whether the daily maintenance is in place by observing the wear of steering wheel, handlebar, seat belt, main driver's seat and accelerator brake pedal. Among them, the light-colored seat belt will definitely produce color difference after being used for a long time, so it can also be judged from the color of the car. Of course, if you encounter a "fugitive" who doesn't wear a seat belt at ordinary times, you need to observe the details such as the steering wheel, bumper and lower part of the seat. Among them, the steering wheel and handlebar are things that drivers need to contact every time they drive, and the wear degree of these two parts can well reflect the actual use and flatness of the vehicle. Take the average family car driving 20 thousand kilometers a year as an example, the steering wheel and handlebar should not have obvious wear or bright traces. On the contrary, if the mileage you see is only 20,000-30,000 kilometers, but the steering wheel is polished like a taxi, you will doubt the authenticity of the mileage. The third step: observe the "sanitary dead angle" of the vehicle and judge the car condition of the former owner. Nowadays, many car owners like to pack leather seats or seat covers for their cars, so it is not necessarily reliable to judge the use state of the vehicle from the wear degree of the seat surface. But careful buyers can reconfirm the maintenance of the car by observing the cleanliness of the carpet under the seat. There is a simple reason. The lower part of the seat belongs to the area of low concern and is almost ignored in car washing. Therefore, this "health corner" has become a good place to judge the car condition when buying a used car. From this "sanitary corner", we can see whether the owner usually cares about the vehicle. If it is a pure family car, it will be well maintained at ordinary times, and these places will accumulate a lot of dust at most. However, if all kinds of foreign objects are found here, cigarette butts and food residues are found, it can be seen that the former owner did not cherish the car at all. Editor's comment: Seeing this, many friends who are not very proficient in vehicles may feel guilty. Why is it so troublesome to choose a used car? In fact, you can see that I have written three pages here. In fact, the actual operation is not particularly troublesome. Except that it takes a little time to remove the vehicle sealing strip and jack up the vehicle, the inspection of the appearance and interior is basically not difficult, and there is basically no problem in looking pleasing to the eye. Many times, buying a used car is a kind of fate. In the right place, at the right time, you meet it, meet it, then it belongs to you. As for how to avoid buying an accident car, if you don't know much about cars, I think you should first find an honest and reputable car dealer to choose a car. After that, it is called "diagonal measurement" and "wheelbase measurement" in this paper, and it is observed whether there are traces of sheet metal, cutting or welding in key parts such as front fender, upper longitudinal beam, rear fender, rear tail plate and spare tire floor. Then observe whether the front and rear side rails and A/B/C pillars of the vehicle have been repaired or reshaped. If there are no problems in the above parts and the appearance and interior are satisfactory, then we can further discuss the price. Through this article, I hope everyone has a preliminary understanding of how to buy used cars. After all, with the further development of the automobile industry in China, the used car industry will eventually embark on the road of honest management and orderly development.