Mechanic exposes one trick to look out for when buying used car that means you should walk away

Buying second-hand is often a go to for many things.

Maybe you’ve started buying clothes on Vinted to save a bit of money and, you know, help out the planet and all that.

And while there are many things you wouldn’t buy already used, one of the most common second-hand things to buy is a set of wheels.

Getting an old banger is almost a rite of passage for your first car and many of us even go on to buy used cars again.

So, while you might think you’re a bit of a pro when it comes to picking one out, there’s a trick you should be mindful of.

Or, if you’re yet to buy your first second hand car, then this is something to know.

A mechanic exposed the one trick to look out for when buying a used car that means you should walk away from the deal.

Over on TikTok, user '@jackofallbeards' showed a Jeep that from a first look, seems to be totally fine.

“This is a 2015 Jeep Cherokee, 159,000 miles. You’re gonna see a lot of vehicles like this on the market right now,” he explains.

“It’s not the vehicle in specific, but something that it has that—I want y’all to look out for oil on the dipstick. Near perfect, super clean. That itself is not a red flag.”

But while you might think the second-hand car looks perfectly fine, he reveals there is a problem lurking inside.

The lad pulls off the oil cap and as he slowly removes it, the red flag stars to wave.

It pulls off pretty slowly, like there’s something sticky trying to pull it back.

He says: "You see how it strings? That means they put some super thick stuff in here.

“If you ever see the oil get stringing off the oil cap like that, run away.”

A pro on giving ‘car buying tips’, the lad demonstrates that while the car starts up and sounds fine, problems starts to make themselves clear as he gives the engine a rev.

“She needs a motor,” he says.

Following up in another video, he says he reckons the previous owner might have used a thicker oil to fix an issue which might have been a quick fix but has left an underlying problem.

Therefore, the car needs an expensive fix – not exactly something you want when you’re buying a second-hand car to save cash. So, when you do, try following his example to check everything’s working fine.

Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@jackofallbeards / Getty Stock Photo

Topics: Cars, TikTok

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_