[dwinter]

Hi,

I'm seriously looking at buying a Gen 4 GLX 2008 with about 100k on the clock. I'm planning on checking the following:

• Door panels - misalignment and signs of accident
  Underneath - signs of serious off-roading (dents, scrapes, rust etc)
  CV boots - check not torn or cracked
  Paintwork - signs of scratches, heavy off-road use
  Interior - general condition, brake pedal (does it match mileage?)
  Tyres - check for uneven wear as sign of old shocks
  4WD system - check all in working order
  Engine - check for excessive smoking on start-up and revving
  Engine - check dipstick oil for white, milky color
  Engine - check color of coolant - not brown or rust colored
  Engine - check for blowby with engine oil cap removed
  Engine - check radiator for signs of knocks or dings
  General - speak to previous owner about car usage
  General - check the service history in book - if any doubt contact the dealer
  General - check that all gadgets and switches work

Have I missed anything?

A question about blowby, if there's no obvious blowby on the engine would you still complete a compression test or is this just a waste?

Thanks very much.
Cheers,
Dave

[Francois du Plessis]

The best is to take it for a test drive and ask lots of questions to the seller. Saying this, I just bought a 2008 3.8V6 with 76 000km without seeing it. Had it delivered only to drive it 4 weeks later.Had to go on sellers word. Was on holiday with my wife's Exeed SWB as my car packed up the fisrt day (obviously a compitition brand) and was looking for a Pajero with low km. On the other hand, what can be wrong with a Pajero with such low km? My wife is a better judge of character and I let her do the deal. After she spoke to the seller she said " what a nice guy - I trust him". This I just had to share as this way of buying is not recommended. All information was obtained from the seller, he knows the car best. There are still some good people left in this world.

[dwinter]

Thanks Francois.

I went over it yesterday (only the outside- they couldn't access the keys) carefully and plan to drive it today.

I'm going to chat to the previous owner today - he traded the car in so I'm hoping he'll give me the "warts and all" story…

The car hasn't got a tow bar - which I'm happy with as I assume it hasn't had a life of hard towing - but the car does have air helpers. Maybe it carried heavy loads?