Picking a good test drive route

It can be a great feeling when you finally find a car amongst the thousands available that suits you down to the ground and falls into your price bracket. However, you should not get carried away as private sellers and dealers will use your enthusiasm and interest to make sure you pay over the odds for it. It is vital to keep a cool head and do all the things that you always would when buying a second hand car like checking the service history, undergoing a thorough inspection and taking it for that all important test drive.

The test drive is so important that when accessing the merits of say used cars in Manchester that you give the car a thorough test run by thinking your route out carefully to see how the car copes in all road surfaces. Remember, around a thirty-minute test drive is the only chance you’ll get to get behind the wheel, so make the most of it by including the following:

Inner city driving

The sheer number of cars on the road means that you can spend a lot of your time in a traffic jam, so take your car into congested areas. This will give you an opportunity to see how it copes with regular stopping and starting as well as constant gear changes which will highlight any issues with the clutch and gearbox. Use this test as a chance to see how it manoeuvres around town in your regular routine as well as remember you are the one that has to live with it.

Motorways

Spending a lot of time in the fast lane is a big test for cars, especially second hand ones. Including a short stint on the motorway during a test drive will always be beneficial. Listen out for any knocking noises and just feel how the car copes at speed as it can often be an indication of what condition the car is actually in underneath.

Country roads

Winding roads can cause a lot of trouble for cars that have been in accidents that the seller is trying to cover up. On country roads you are checking for the handling being tight and direct as this will highlight problems with the chassis and steering rack. If applicable, try and test the cars’ ability to climb a reasonably steep hill as well as an emergency stop and a hill start for good measure.

Always make the most of a test drive as it can show up any deficiencies in a car that you will not notice on just an inspection.