Wait for Bad Weather A blustery, rainy day will tell you more about a car than you’ll learn on a 75-degree summer afternoon. Is the highest windshield-wiper setting fast enough for you? Can the car get off the line at a stoplight without triggering the traction control? With the decreased grip, you might also learn a thing or two about the chassis, like whether it’s tail-happy, or if a mid-corner bump wants to bounce you into the ditch. Lose the Salesperson If you can, take the drive without the salesperson. How knowledgeable he is is beside the point—he’s distracting you. The first five minutes is when you’ll get the strongest impressions, when oddities jump out at you. That’s not the time to be nodding and saying, “Yeah, uh-huh, the car is a Wi-Fi hot spot? Nifty.” The first five minutes is when you’ll get the strongest impressionsKnow What You Want What annoyed you about your last car? Does the new one solve those problems? If, say, your old car didn’t have seat heaters and you decided your next car had to have them, don’t even test drive a car that doesn’t fill the bill. Test drives have a way of turning into purchases.Play With the Controls Pay attention to the interfaces—stereo, climate, navigation. A laggy touchscreen or confusing layout can sour you on a car more quickly than you think.Push the Engine Get out on a highway, somewhere you can merge and run hard through the first couple of gears. If the engine’s turbocharged, is there much lag between the time you step on the accelerator and when the turbo delivers its boost? If a car has a high redline, do you actually need to rev it that high to reach the power—that is, will it feel gutless unless you drive everywhere at 7,000 rpm? Does the engine sound smooth or coarse? Coarse can equate to sporty, but smooth might be what you want to live with. Pay Attention to the Chassis When you hit some railroad tracks, does it sound like you’re driving inside a bongo drum? The less the structure moves and rattles, the better the suspension system, and the better the ride will be over the life of the car. If a new car feels junky on these early bumps, it’s going to be ten times worse by the time it’s got 50,000 miles on it. Does it sound like you’re driving inside a bongo drum?Consider the ShifterDo you like it? Even on an automatic, there are all sorts of shifter layouts—knobs, levers, push-button systems, mechanical, and fully electronic. It might sound silly, but some people like a shifter with tactile feedback—not buttons, not an electronic stalk—so take that into consideration. Check the Camera If the car comes with a backup camera, test it. How’s the resolution? Some produce video that looks like a feed from a submarine exploring the Mariana Trench. And how long does it take to boot up? I’ve tried cameras so slow that I’m out the end of my driveway before it gets around to sending an image to the dash. Since you quickly come to rely on a backup camera, a bad one is worse than none at all. And a lot more expensive.Decode the JargonRuns like new: No discernible problemsNeeds TLC: Needs at least $1,500 of workRuns good: Runs well$2,00.00: $2,000Trade only: Some components acquired through illicit meansNewer tires: Tires are at least 3 years oldCall or text: TextSmall crack: Medium crackMedium crack: Large crackReliable: UglyNeeded soon: Needed six months agoNegotiable: Offer me $500 lessOBO: Offer me $500Easy fix: Symptomatic of a larger problemMechanic special: Might run eventuallyNeeds minor body-work: Needs bodyworkGreat for the price: Not greatCheck Engine light is on: I didn’t treat this car very wellRoomy: I have lived in this car at some pointThis story appears in the July/August 2015 issue of Popular Mechanics.Ezra DyerSenior EditorEzra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He’s now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive.
