Welcome to a new series at Driving, one in which we chronicle the adventures of a new driver getting the keys to a decade-old economy car with 347,000 kilometres on the clock. We will be talking about smart ways to buy a used vehicle, how best to approach simple repairs, plus ways to make an affordable second-hand car safe and look good. We hope you find it helpful.
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No matter the generation, there are certain milestones in the lives of most teens which tend to be permanently etched in the history books of their minds – a specific holiday, first date, or that time they decided to make like Superman and jump off the backyard patio. Perhaps the latter is a strangely specific example. Anyway.
Then there’s cars. If one were to heed the blathering from umpteen dour naysayers and hysterical people with hyphenated last names, you’d think today’s generation of high school kids couldn’t give a toss about cars. “Teens aren’t interested in getting a driver’s licence!” thunders one story, while another prattles and mocks a kid who can’t drive a stick or set points on an ignition.
No, Uncle Walt, they probably can’t. But can you properly set up a FYP on TikTok or control the finer points of an Nvidia RTX video card? Or, more relevant to this story, how about correctly reading the codes in a modern car or tweak the programming in an EV to eke out more power? Interests – and powertrain types – change over time, but a teenage desire for freedom and getting the hell out of the house will remain the same until the cosmos consumes us all.
Picking the right car for your teen
My own teenage son, squarely on the edge of seventeen, eagerly earned the first step of his graduated driver’s licence for that precise reason. Sure, our household has a reliable late-model vehicle on which he has been practicing but picking up a compact car on which he could learn the basics of maintenance whilst imbuing a sense of accomplishment and responsibility was deemed logical, so flurry of Marketplace ads followed until a set of affordable candidates were winnowed from a larger pool.
One such ad promised a 2014 Kia Rio sedan painted that weird bluish-purple they all seemed to be that year and with average mileage on the clock. “Good car,” was the reply on Messenger. Lucas went to check it out and reported back.
“Didn’t run at all,” he said.
Onwards to a Ford Focus hatchback, then, one from the waning days of New Edge styling and occupying that weird Twilight Zone of in-car tech when CD players ruled supreme but Bluetooth was something that only occurred after drinking too much Glacier Freeze Gatorade. The car was located close to his school so I agreed to meet him there after class. But upon my arrival, he was sitting on the curb with his back to a lopsided Focus.
“Didn’t run at all,” he said, without irony, as he climbed into the passenger seat of my car.
Five investigations later, he happened upon a 2013 Hyundai Elantra which was clean yet bore an odometer showing mileage approaching that of a one-way trip to the moon, not to mention a set of front wheel bearings apparently packed with beach sand. Still, there were no structural rust issues (remarkable given our roads) and the 1.8L four-banger engine ran without complaint (remarkable given its reputation). Young people or new drivers are always advised to invest a few bucks in a pre-purchase inspection from a certified mechanic, since those folks can sniff out problems mortals like us are likely to miss.
Is the used car worth your time and money?
Nevertheless, there are some items anyone can examine to determine if a used car is worth your time prior to getting an inspection.
- Are the tires in acceptable shape? Are they all the same size and brand? Don’t laugh; that can be a sure-fire way to tell if a car has been maintained on a shoestring.
- Lift the hood and check the oil – use YouTube to look up how to do that prior to seeing the car – to learn if it smells burnt or is a terrifying milkshake colour (you don’t want either of those things).
- Try not to look at a used car at night or in the rain since those conditions can mask leaks.
- Even small things like the radio station presets can offer a clue as to the previous owner’s personality.
Our province doesn’t have consumer protections such as those offered by OMVIC or similar agencies, so anyone reading this in provinces which do have those programs should take full advantage of the paperwork and disclosures required of used car vendors. After privately warning my now-excited teenager I would be negotiating to try and save a few bucks, I offered 60% of the asking price. The owner countered with 80% of his original ask and we shook hands with a nod and wink. East coast lifestyle – nothing like it. Elsewhere in the country, we’d heartily recommend meeting prospective sellers in a well-lit area where you feel safe. If you’re wondering, kiddo had saved this cash on his own, making him far more responsible than I ever was at the same age.
Make sure to learn what is required in your province for ownership transfer paperwork; some places have registration papers, others need a written bill of sale, yet more need a certificate for possession. Most jurisdictions have some sort of vehicle transfer form on the reverse side of the car’s registration, part of which is given to the seller with the other kept by the new owner. Licence plates stay with the car in some provinces, but not all. It’s best to research and learn what is required in your situation ahead of time.
After sorting transport of the new-to-him Elantra back to our house, we found ourselves in possession of a compact sedan complete with two sets of keys and an owner’s manual. There were even snow brushes in the backseat and a set of steel winter wheels in the trunk. The air conditioning worked, as did the satellite radio and handbrake. A single Check Engine light was lit kind of an eternal flame to teenage angst but the 1.8L Nu engine, the subject of lawsuits and recalls for premature grenading, ran fine and idled well. My take is that if the mill has made it to 347,000 kilometres, any piston slap or sludge issues would have shown themselves by now and the engine will either hang on until he’s finished high school or run forever.
What’s next?
Our next instalment in this series will talk about basic maintenance, along with how to tackle a few simple repairs to get your new driver safely on the road.
Milestones, all of them. Sure beats trying and failing to fly like Superman.
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