The Test Drive

• What you want: all functions of the engine and transmission should be smooth, immediate, and relatively quiet.

In terms of the test drive I will be referring to the engine and transmission together, as they work hand in hand. Without the engine, the car won't move, just as without the transmission, the car won't move. Either one can be functional separately, however are pretty much useless without the other.

Test driving the car is important because it can show any problems or potential problems the car might have.

One of the most important parts of the test drive is listening to each transition from starting the car, to turning the car off.

Starting the car should be easy, and fast. Easy meaning the key turns freely, the car starts smoothly, quietly, and in a matter of seconds. Assuming you have started and driven a car before, you should be familiar with how it generally sounds. Although all cars sound different, the same principals apply.

Shifting the car from the parked position to the drive position should pretty much feel the same, smooth, quiet, and immediate. This applies to shifting from park through neutral, through drive, and 1st, 2nd, overdrive, or whatever positions are available in any particular car.

There are so many things to listen for when test driving a car. There are also different conditions that affect how the car runs. It is hard to believe, but the weather or what time of year it is can affect how the car runs. Not only those, but whether the car is cold, or warmed up, different speeds, braking, excelerating, etc. Have you ever told your mechanic for example, your car only does it when you are driving over 60mph?

Again, I am referring to the functions of the engine and transmission. You are probably going to hear and feel alot of things since you have never driven this car before. Even though I am focusing on the engine and transmission, any loud noises etc. applies to the rest of the car also. So in a way it doesn't matter if you can't tell exactly where the problem is coming from, because no matter what or where it is, it may mean trouble.

After you start the car, whether you take a few minutes to let it warm up or not, is up to you. If it is summertime and it's 80 degrees outside, then you don't really need to warm it up. If it's winter, or the weather is somewhere below 50 degrees outside, then driving it cold as opposed to warmed up can definately make a difference.

As I was saying before about the different conditions that can affect how the car runs, sometimes cars will only "duplicate" the problem under certain conditions. Have you ever brought your car to the repair shop and when you went to pick it up, the mechanic said he could not "duplicate" the problem? In other words, he couldn't get the car to do it so he could see or hear it. Keep in mind, when I refer to "it", I am talking about a particular noise or maybe something you feel the car doing while you are driving. Just for the record, honestly, if your mechanic doesn't experience the problem themself, how can they identify what it is? So when they tell you they didn't hear it or feel it, don't be mad at them. It is just plain logic. Mechanics are not magicians.

Although an experienced mechanic will probably be able to diagnose the problem from your description of it, without confirming it, there is no gaurantee that their diagnosis will be correct. So do yourself a favor and save your money until you know for sure what the problem is. On the other hand, you can also go from repair shop to repair shop and still not know what is wrong with the car.

Back to conditions. Generally a cold car is going to seem sluggish. So when you drive out of the car lot, and the car has no "get up and go" this can be normal. As you are driving, the engine should sound relatively quiet. When I say relatively quiet, I mean there shouldn't be any loud noises. Noises such as sqeeling, tapping, rattling, grinding, etc. For the most part, if you hear anything like that, it could indicate a problem. Again, you are going to have to use your judgement. In your travels, listen to how other cars sound. When you are sitting at a red traffic light, listen to the noises around you. Maybe when you are walking through a parking lot, and people are driving past you, listen to how their cars sound. This can help you identify between normal sounds and bad sounds.

All the things I have talked about apply to the test drive from starting the car to turning it off. This can give you a relatively decent idea of the mechanical condition of the car.

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