BUYER TIPS FOR SECOND HAND CARS,Part5  

TRANSMISSION

Automatic vs manual, both has it´s vantages, do you like relax driving, or you may prefer the sporty style? In order to examine an automatic transmission from a used car, check it with the transmission oil dipstick and see how the oil looks like, it should be transparent and clear. If it is dirty and black, metal chips from the transmission are solved. If the oil has a burnt smell additionally, then an gearbox trouble is to be expected soon.

To test the automatic transmisson while driving, do the following: when starting the car, the gear shift has to be on “P” position. After starting the engine, wait till the engine speed settled down at approx. 650-850 revolutions, go to “D” for drive now and step on the brake, next choose “R” for reverse, still step on the brake. Within one second the car should make a gentle jerk backwards. Now change to “N” for neutral, still with your foot on the brake and go to “D”, the car should make a gentle jerk forward within one second too. Do the same procedure with “1”, “2” and if necessary “3”. If these changes are too jerky, you notice strange noises, or it needs more than 3 seconds for the change to be done, then it points to a massive wearout, or the damage of the clutch.

While doing a test drive up to 60 km/h, two smooth shifting processes had to take place, from “1” to “2” and “2” to “3”. With younger used cars this is more difficult to sense.

Other problems can show up also, either with a cold engine, or warm engine you might have problems to change the gears, this can point to an expensive repair.

Try the “kick-down”, drive with approximately 40-50 km/h, than push the accelerator strongly, a switching operation towards a lower shifting course should take place automatically. If you notice this to happen very jerky, or it happens nothing at, than the used car is not a good choice.

With the purchase of a handswitched used car, there are two ways to check the transmission. First check for oil stains on the transmission, the transmission has to be dry. The Motor should run without any background noises. Examine the clutch of the used car as follows: with the engine running, stepp on the brake, go to 2. gear and let go of the clutch pedal. The car should make a jerk forward and the engine should stop. In case the engine should not stop working, the clutch is worn out to much. A similar test can be done to examine the function of the cluch: drive with a speed of approx. 30 km/h than switch into the 3. course and depress the accelerotor pedal, if you notice that only the engine speed rises, but not the speed of the car itself, it shows that the clutch is worn out and is in need of repair. While driving the car, all courses should be used easily and without further noises.

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