ok I have decided to get a 2nd gen to use as a sh*tter.. this will be firstly to learn to drive manual and secondly to use when the TJ is in for mods as it has some pretty serious engine work in it's future :D

So went and had a look and decided I really like KR but will settle with any 2nd gen rada or magna that is in good nick and an ok colour....

so what should I be looking for? Any common issues that you find with them to keep an eye out or? What kind of kms is usual? I must admit I am a bit of a newbie at the whole 'really' used car thing as I have only bought one brand new and one that was 15000km so have not needed to look for probs on older cars

any help would be great
Thanks

ok I have decided to get a 2nd gen to use as a sh*tter.. this will be firstly to learn to drive manual and secondly to use when the TJ is in for mods as it has some pretty serious engine work in it's future :D

So went and had a look and decided I really like KR but will settle with any 2nd gen rada or magna that is in good nick and an ok colour....

so what should I be looking for? Any common issues that you find with them to keep an eye out or? What kind of kms is usual? I must admit I am a bit of a newbie at the whole 'really' used car thing as I have only bought one brand new and one that was 15000km so have not needed to look for probs on older cars

any help would be great
Thanks

Well firstly if you're going to learn how to drive a manual car you wont be getting a verada as they're ALL auto.
Secondly, get a V6, the extra poke is more than worth any extra cash.

*Check the usual things that wear in older cars like CV, stick your head underneath behind/infront of the front wheel(S) and check for a torn boot or grease getting flung everywhere.

*Check the suspension for rooted shocks and/or sad springs.

*Check the clutch, clutch travel and how it engages, do a quick take off and listen for noises in the engine bay (liek clunks) for mounts on the way out.

*Listen for noisey tappets, let the car idle for 5 mins then give it a stab to check for valve stem seals (puff of blue oily smoke will come out which means the seals are dead)

*Pull the oil dipstick out and check the oil colour and ask when its been changed (Dark oil on a recent change shows the rings are going/gone and there's blowby).

That'd be pretty much my check-list. Of course there'll be a hundred other things others can add to look for..

Look for

-Small Marks around exterior or edges of panels
-Number of km's (since you will be using this car as a beater, it shouldn't matter too much)
-Whether tyres r worn (so you don't have to pay for new tyres)
-Who was the owner? Older couple or hothead P plater
-Any modifications, may be illegal or unwanted
-Interior Condition, if someone looks after a Magna, it shows.
-Engine condition, check to make sure all components are working fine, or get an NRMA check
-Anything that points to car being recon'd after crash

NRMA checks also give you great peace of mind :)

When my brother bought his TR recently we checked:

- Clean straight body.
- Good paint.
- Close panel gaps.
- Crash damage.
- Smooth ride with no excessive rebound bounce (can indicate stuffs shocks I think).
- Interior for seat tears, trashed carpet, dash board cracks and whether all features working etc.
- Cabin rattles.
- Mileage.
- Smooth auto.
- Smooth motor, revs cleanly, no rough idle or stalling etc.
- Clean engine bay.
- Log book.
- No water in the boot and spare tyre well. (Indicates trunk leak).
- Decent tyres and braking performance.
- Decent rego or if not use as a bargaining tool.
- Steering feel with no or limited play from straight ahead.
- CV's. Just drive in circles and listen for any clicking noise.
- High speed feel (110kph).
- All lights/electrics work.

That is what comes to mind at the moment, but I'll post more if I remember anything else.

Cool guys this has been really helpful - I guess I will be getting a TR or TS since KR not manual - BUMMER!!!! :(
The body stuff is ok as will have panel beater with me to check it out just wanted to know if there were any magna specific things I should be looking out for - although it is going to be a beater I also want it to be an ok car as not sure how long I want it to last but really do not want to spend $$$ on it as that will be all going into the TJ
I will post pics when I get it

A guide for metro vehicles is 20,000k's per year, or county i believ is 35,000. So for a 4 year old car the k's should be 80,000 etc.. basic math.

cough buy mine lol. :P

no one said the obvious , first thing look for is four wheels and a sterring wheel

no one said the obvious , first thing look for is four wheels and a sterring wheel

And a spare...:D

no one said the obvious , first thing look for is four wheels and a sterring wheel

lol i was thinking the same thing!

do the basics first: check for the correct colour fluids in the engine bay. make sure the oil isnt milky and isnt totally black.

check for blue smoke blowing, do this by letting the car idle for at least 10 minutes. this will tell you if it needs the valve stem seals replacing.

check that the auto will come out of overdrive smooth when car is cold. this will give u a rough indication of the autos condition...and also a smooth shift.

check for a knocking sound in the steering rack by turning the steering wheel left and right quickly a few times.

timing belt is a bit hard to check lol, so try and check log books and or reciepts of when it was done.


other than that thats about it.

and btw, there were manual KS veradas....but they were limited editions and rarely pop up for sale.

oh one last thing....dont like the qoute " get a 2nd gen for a $hitter"......

let us know how u go with it :D

look for a v6 - 5 speed manual cuz the rest of the combinations are fairly ordinary

check timing belt, cv joints, and shocks the rest should be sweet also make sure they have to books with it it will tell you alot about the car

Thanks for all of this guys - I have a much better idea of what to look for now which is great...

Yeah you know it is getting less and less like a sh*tter every day I think about it as I am sure that I wil make it nice - defintly get a zorst etc and will probably end up being the every day car so want it to be something I am happy with - the original idea was just to get a little hatchback crap thing to basically kill until rego ran out then get rid of it and cut my losses now I am thinking 2nd gen it is going to be more of a long term prospect.... and you never know once I finish with the TJ the 2nd gen may start to get more attention :D

there was a rada manual touring wagon on ebay the other day..198000kms looked to be in great condition.