If someone was to ask me how would I go about buying a used car, what would a good strategy be? I would start by suggesting they read this post Used Car Buyers internet tools don’t say as much as a good look..

A good old fashioned, remove the spark plugs and hook a compression tester is the most accurate way to extract a bunch of good information about the engine in your prospective used car or even the car you drive now.

Not to mention that some shops have extremely expensive machines ($40,000.00) that analyze every portion of your engine, including a method of checking the balance between cylinders to virtually test the compression in an engine. It is a fine test on a currently good running engine, in a car you own and know to drive well. Especially if you want the engine checked for it’s maximum drive-ability.

However, it can’t tell you as accurately as hooking uo a compression gauge to each cylinder and not only checking compression, but doing a bleed down test and actually seeing the compression numbers instead of a virtual test. You can learn things like how long the cylinder holds compression. this can reveal bad or failing piston rings or weak and leaky valve guides and or seals.

It may be time a time consuming test, but it can prevent you from having to buy a good used engine for the car or truck you just bought. If the compression is good and you want to buy the vehicle, then have the repair shop put a set of quality spark plugs in it then..

So many other components can be tested your head would spin, but an engine or transmission failure is rather costly. Avoid the need for a rebuilt engine in your new-used car by reading more about your car on the GotEngines.com blog, and how to avoid unnecessary bills from not maintaining your car properly.