Beloved TikTok mechanic Dave (@davesautocenter) has quickly become the patron saint of all things automotive repair on the popular social media platform. From letting folks know when whether or not it’s in a customer’s best interest to fix a damaged engine or feuding with another mechanic on the best way to repair a Nissan, Dave often posts car-related content.
Recently, he’s posted a pair of clips showing used car buyers the things they should be looking out for as they scope out potential new rides, giving breakdowns of both exterior and interior assessments in each respective clip. First, he begins with the outside of a 2023 Honda Civic, which has little details he urges folks to scrutinize that indicate it was probably in a rear collision.
“A 2023 Honda Civic brought from a dealer,” Dave states while holding up a yellow-tagged key fob up to the camera lens. “Now, that’s a pretty new car, but we’re still gonna do a used car inspection on it. Let’s go see what we can find. Before you even get a new car, look around it,” the man states, inspecting the vehicle. The first thing he sees? A deep panel gap between the rear driver’s side portion of the vehicle and the bumper. “Bam, right off the start, look at the gap here.”
The implications of a panel gap
He then spots another one in the trunk area, “Look at this gap here, look I put my whole dang finger in there.” He continues to move around the Honda Civic pointing out panel gaps all across the car along with other irregularities with the assembly process. On the rear passenger’s side window, he notices another detail, “Whenever you see this kind of white stuff here that’ll come off with your finger, that’s rubbing compound,” Dave says as he digs his fingernail into the material, scratching at it.
With the trunk popped open, he then begins to point out other imperfections that folks should keep an eye out for: “Molding that’s tore. You see on a 2023 you would never, you just wouldn’t have that. So the first indication for me is, possible wreck.” He moves around the vehicle, showing off even more details of the car that would indicate the car was in an accident, which could lead to a host of long term problems such as frame damage, which could affect other aspects of car’s drive and lead to premature wear of certain components due to these incongruities/shifts caused by a collision.
“See how this stuff’s not fitting in here?” he points out another portion of hatcback’s trunk liner, before lifting up the bed that houses the spare tire. “So look in here, this is glue, look at this panel, this has been majorly wrecked in the rear. Maybe you’re OK with that. Maybe the dealer’s disclosed it and you know, you just want a mechanically sound car but these are things that you can check real quick.”
@davesautocenter Be Like Dave, learn how to shake down a used car #usedcar #usedcars #autoshop #autorepair #carrepair ♬ original sound – Davesautocenter
Matching up panel gaps
Dave ambles on over to the front of the car and points out even more panel gaps between the hood and body of the Civic, “The distance on panels, see how they’re not matching up right? Now this is a Honda, they make a pretty nice car,” he says, indicating that the Japanese Auto Manufacturer probably isn’t going to let a whip off the assembly line looking like that.
“Okay, let’s go for a ride,” he says, before the clip cuts to him in the shop where he states he has a video check list folks should keep in mind when shopping for a used vehicle. “My used car inspection manual, which includes a 40 minute video is gonna teach you exactly how to be like Dave. And you’re not gonna waste thousands of dollars in unforeseen repairs or maintenance,” he states, promoting his $29 ebook.
In a follow-up video, he gives a bit more insight into what folks need to look at when purchasing a used a vehicle from the interior of the car as well.
@davesautocenter Be Like Dave used car inspection part 2 👨🔧 #autoshop #usedcars #autorepair #carrepair ♬ original sound – Davesautocenter
More advice on used vehicle inspections
Seated in the whip, he tells people what they should be looking for, but whatever you do, don’t start it right away: “First thing you’re gonna wanna do when you get in the car, don’t start the car just turn it on. You want to make sure that all your lights are illuminated like the check engine light, the airbag light, and you want to make sure that they’re on before you start the car.”
The reason for that? Shady sellers. “Because a lot of times people that are less than honest can remove that bulb because there is a problem and you’ll never see it illuminate because it’s been removed,” he says.
Some of the things he mentions folks should check seem like no-brainers, but then there are others, like seatbelt retraction, that could point to a deeper, potentially more expensive problem, if they aren’t properly assessed.
“If you do a good used car inspection you’ll use all five of your senses to do it. And this is before you take it to a shop,” he says.
Viewers weigh in
While a lot of people who agreed the vehicle’s been in the crash, a few felt that Dave’s trunk inspection wasn’t entirely accurate, referencing the fact that the “glue” he referred to was actually “seamsealer” and that is comes from the vehicle’s factory: “Tech at a Honda dealer here. The glue in the trunk is factory,” one person wrote.
While another replied: “that glue u see in the trunk is normal under the trunk mats my accord has that from the factory.”
Another person also said that folks should make sure to check the title of the vehicle to insure they weren’t purchasing a “rebuilt” car, writing: “Seeing the dealership plates i know that dealership sells a lot of rebuilt titles. The times I’ve been there the repair quality was never to my standards.”
Someone else, upon seeing the car didn’t think that after seeing the panel gaps and high probability (as Dave thought) that the car was in an accident, that the thing would be safe to drive: “No way thats mechanical sound.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Dave’s Auto Center via email for further comment.
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