JoeMidnight

Hey Everyone,

So I'm just a few days away from picking up the new ride!

I'm trying to put together a list of things that I will need to go over and review to make sure the car is PERFECT prior to driving it off the lot.

I am looking for everyone's input because I know that if I don't make a checklist, I will end up going there. seeing the car and wanting to leave in 10 minutes due to excitement!

1- check fenders, bumpers for imperfections
2- check tires (any bulges, tire look low?)
3- inspect rims (scratches, paint defects)
4- check lights
5- inspect windshield for any damage
6- inspect the body for any obvious scratches in paint
7- check the trunk ( make sure that everything looks as it should)


Moving onto inside of the car

8- check instrument cluster (lights all work)
9- check stereo and speakers (do they work? are there any sound issues with speakers)
10- check seats, stitching for tears or pulls
11-look for any any damage on leather or fabric seats
12- check dials and ***** to make sure all is operating normally
13- check windows operate normal


Moving onto under the hood

14- most importantly, make sure you don't see any leaks.
15- check to see that everything is capped ( engine cap, rad cap, powersteering cap) is all there and tight.
16-check fluid levels.
17-listen for any weird and unusual sounds and ask for clarification, if you do hear something you are unsure of.


I know that most of this would be covered under warranty but, wouldn't it be nice to know that any possible issues would be identified BEFORE you took it home and realized something wasn't right?





Feel free to add and or elaborate on anything that I might have already mentioned. more information the better! and yes, I am going to be **** and will go through this list when I pick up my car.

VidPro

My best advice is to bring someone with you if you can. Whenever I look at a car I always try and bring a buddy along to keep me grounded and to have another pair of eyes on it. This way my excitement doesn't make me miss and important issue.

JoeMidnight

Excellent Advice! my sales guy plans on doing the walk around with me. I trust him (otherwise I would not have bought from him) but that still isn't the same as having a friend with you. I was planning on having my wife just drop me off and then head back to work. I'm going to ask her to do a walk around as well and make sure that I don't don't miss anything.

VidPro

Yeah the wife idea is perfect. If I know one thing and one thing only it's that my wife will put me back in my place. . . ahem . . . will find a way to crush my dreams er . . . will make sure I don't do something stupid.

No really that's a good idea.

spqr

I assume you're getting an s197

Body:
The sides have a line that points out from the car that runs along near the door handle. It's an easy places to get scratches.

I would see if you can get them to take it to the service shop and put it on a lift. They did that for me and I was able to look under the car to really check for rust. Previous owner was up north on salted roads so I wanted to see what damage there was. Similar salt damage can occur near the coast.

Engine:
From what I understand, most dealerships change the airfilter and oil as soon as they get the car, so you can't necessarily get any indiciation of maintenance from them.

You may be able to get the service dept to pull a spark plug for you. You can check for fouling and general decomposition. Depending on the mileage, it may not tell you much. There are picture charts to help with this.

Tires:
Look for uneven wear, lots of wear, etc. If the tires are old, that's a cost you'll have to eat pretty soon. It can be a point of negotiation. If the tires have uneven wear, it can be an indication of a bad alignment (and possibly poor maintenance), or hard driving.

Speakers:
I got my car used, and the sales dept cranked the bass. The speakers were already crap from the factory, and were pretty much gone when I got them. A cheap replacement set will be miles ahead of the stock ones.

Interior:
a place that wears really quickly are the buttons on the steering wheel. Also, depending on the IQ of the prior owner, there may be lots of scratches around the ignition.

Stock floor mats kind of suck; the basic set from AM is far better in quality, and comes with rear mats so passengers don't dirty up your carpet.

Spare Tire:
If you want a spare or goop, look for it. Ask about it. Sometimes they'll throw one in for free or at cost to sweeten the deal.

Spare key:
ask if they have both keys

Maintenance schedule:
familiarize yourself with scheduled maintenance. See if there's something big coming up. Ask for records and see if something major was skipped because they were about to sell it.

Glenn

I wouldn't let them detail it. Tell them to leave it dirty and do not mount the front plate if you don't want it mounted. Your list looks good and post a pic of the wife walking around the car with you.

JoeMidnight

Guys, thanks for the input. if its okay I am going to edit my first post with all of your feedback to help people whom may be interested in this and eliminate the need to combining the posts in this thread!


Yep its an S197 and I will DEFINITELY post pics asap

it dropped from 5 days yesterday to 2days just now

spqr

you know... as we're in the s197 forum, i felt pretty confident.

also, as you're from canadia, i'm sure you're aware of the evils of salty roads.

best of luck with the buy!

Krohn

Just double checking... Is it brand new, or used?

If new, or used, check out the Radio display for residue left over from the protective film.

JoeMidnight

Brand New! special order exactly to how I want it.

Yes, I do unfortunately i have Kept most of my cars between 10-12 years and I haven't really had any rust issues with any of them ranging from my Hondas to Hyundai's. I'm hoping that this first ever bought North American car will be as good to me as well and not rust out on me.

spqr

Well, congrats on a new one! Most of what i said was concerning a used one. Much easier process when new.

The rear end will come rusty from the factory. It's supposed to be like that. However, being up north, you may want to look into trying to coat/seal it.

laserred38

Mine won't be rusty part of the reason I really wanted the Track Pack versus the Brembo Package

El Coyote GT/CS

Be sure to check the spare, jack, wrench and gas funnel. Also, the accessory package for the sun visor. And, a full tank of gas!

Have them demonstrate and sync your phone with you too!

14Glassback

I truthfully would not worry so much about trying every button and feature of the vehicle. That is why you have a Warranty. But you need to check closely everything cosmetic with the car. I would suggest allowing the dealer to clean the car, that way you can inspect the paint. Some guys request to not have it washed but I think it would be easier to miss things. Plus you know you will clean it better when you get home. Also check your spare key. I was given mine in a envelope. I did not think twice to look at it. Once I opened the envelope (Weeks Later) the key looked like it had been kicked all the way from Flat Rock to the Omaha Dealer. Also, I am sure this issue has been corrected, but my brake fluid was overfilled from the Factory. I caught it in time but brake fluid leaked out the top of my Master Cylinder after driving. I removed almost 40 mL of extra brake fluid. Good Luck!

laserred38

Ugh that's terrible!

Remember to check the edges of the hood and trunk lid for paint bubbling. It's still a common issue and I'd rather it be documented on DAY ONE rather than have it come up later and have the dealer say it's something you did...

silverstate777

I’d check the VIN on the dash and door jam against the window sticker and other documents. You should have a copy of your order with the options selected. My new 2006 Crown Victoria VIN wasn’t correct when I went to pick it up and a couple of options were missing. Dealer was cool and apologetic, had to file a mis-build document with Ford and install the missing options because I was not going to accept the car like that. At least the exterior color (Arizona Beige) was right ...

RubyRedMCA_Beast

Congratulations! I see you ordered the MCA package, it's a lot more rare than the other packages. Your car will look great in white, especially with the Performance Pack wheels. You made the right choice!

Here is mine when I got her last November.


And here she is 2 weekends ago at an autocross.

JoeMidnight

Thanks Buddy! I totally agree. the MCA package does make the car look more special and different from the standard crop of mustangs with the more traditional grill. Ever since, ordering this car, I've seen A LOT of mustangs on the road ranging from the fox body style to the current generations and they are all in MINT condition. my immediate neighbor owns a 2010 Shelby and a 2008 V6 mustang (winter vehicle) he is just as eager to see my car!

COTUS is showing that tomorrow will be "ZERO" days left! I know that the car has been delivered to the rail yard in toronto (70KM from my dealer) i'm really hoping that they will call me tomorrow. if not, i'm going to just show up

I will post pictures ASAP!

Your car looks great BTW!

RubyRedMCA_Beast

Yeah I can't wait to see pictures! There are a couple of MCA Mustangs around me but none are white. I think your car will look really sharp with that color and the dark wheels and stripe kit.

After the 2014 model year is over (late summer) you can request from Ford a letter that shows exactly how many other vehicles were built identical to yours. It lists engine/trans/etc, all options, and tells you 1 out XXX vehicles were built to this spec. It's 40 bucks I think but definitely worth it. If I recall correctly there were less than 3,000 MCA editions sold for the 2013 model year, I'm guessing 2014 will be similar.

Enjoy your new car!

Jazzman442

I picked mine up last week. I was just as meticulous as all of the rest. I was there right after they took it off the truck. I had them keep everything and put it in the trunk stickers screws everything they took off. I looked over the car and found a few things but nothing to worry about. When I washed her this weekend I noticed that the exhaust pipes out the back had scratches and gouges in them. I am really upset but never thought to look there. I'll be at the dealer in the moring.. FYI

In all the paper work they kept I found the start build sheet and the finish build sheet. It was built in one day. It is really cool reading.