What to look when buying a 1990 Toyota Hilux 106

[Anjana Gunasekera]

Hi All

 

I found a vehicle that seems good for me. a 1990 Toyota hilux 106 for 4200000

What are the things that i have to look out for when buying this ?

I can take a mechanic and check it out. - specially since i m buying a 30+ year old vehicle what do i need to watch out for ?

 

TIA for the answers.

[iRage]

13 hours ago, Anjana Gunasekera said:

what do i need to watch out for ?

Rust ! Check for rust on the body and the chassis. Make sure that whatever rust would have been there it has been fixed properly (you are looking at a 30+ year old car so rust would be natural). Places prone to rust are the wheel wells and surrounding areas. Floorboard corners. Front strut mounts.

General check up of the engine and transmission (as always) for lack of compression, oil leaks, etc...but pay attention to the transfer case and the front and rear differentials. Some careless owners do not maintain them and they start making grinding noises (but they will still keep working).

Check the rear suspension...early models have an issue of the rear sagging. 

Toyotas of the era have a bit of an issue with electronics so make sure things like power window switches, etc..work.

Get the mechanic to do the preliminary inspection and if you like it...talk to the owner about taking it for a proper inspection at a place like Car checks or the agents. Their inspections look in to the above in much more details, i.e. beyond what you can see with your eyes. Pus they put it up on the hoist and stuff and give it a thorough inpection of the chassis so they check for accident damage etc. 

[Anjana Gunasekera]

On 8/13/2022 at 9:24 AM, iRage said:

Rust ! Check for rust on the body and the chassis. Make sure that whatever rust would have been there it has been fixed properly (you are looking at a 30+ year old car so rust would be natural). Places prone to rust are the wheel wells and surrounding areas. Floorboard corners. Front strut mounts.

General check up of the engine and transmission (as always) for lack of compression, oil leaks, etc...but pay attention to the transfer case and the front and rear differentials. Some careless owners do not maintain them and they start making grinding noises (but they will still keep working).

Check the rear suspension...early models have an issue of the rear sagging. 

Toyotas of the era have a bit of an issue with electronics so make sure things like power window switches, etc..work.

Get the mechanic to do the preliminary inspection and if you like it...talk to the owner about taking it for a proper inspection at a place like Car checks or the agents. Their inspections look in to the above in much more details, i.e. beyond what you can see with your eyes. Pus they put it up on the hoist and stuff and give it a thorough inpection of the chassis so they check for accident damage etc. 

Hi irage

some owners dont like to drive their cars to the Carcheck at Kohuwala
do you have any contacts of mechanics who will be willing to do the same ?

[iRage]

17 minutes ago, Anjana Gunasekera said:

some owners dont like to drive their cars to the Carcheck at Kohuwala

To be honest...that by itself should be a warning sign (either that a. the car is bad or b. they don't care what the condition is but only care about getting their price and pushing all the issues on the new owner). If there is nothing wrong with the car then the seller should have no issue doing a car check at the agent or a place like car checks. Then the only thing should be a matter of negotiating who should be footing the bill. In fact, most sellers now a days get a car check done themselves so that they can use it to show their car is legit.

18 minutes ago, Anjana Gunasekera said:

do you have any contacts of mechanics who will be willing to do the same ?

To be honest....a mechanic on site will not be able to do the same kind of inspection because they won't have the equipment to do it. E.g., a mechanic on site will not have a hoist to lift up the car and check the chassis (for accident damage, rust, etc...) or even check if there is any play in the wheels, steering components, etc...so instead of a 100+ check list a mechanic on site will barely be able to do only half.

[MaleCortana]

No car check, no deal. As long as seller's are open about body related issues (its only normal for cars that age to have a few knocks here and there) they shouldn't have any qualms taking a car to carchecks.

[Educated_Buyya]

nadda waasiyak?