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Handling Money Without Going Broke 

Living Frugally 

Houses, Cars, and Other Black Holes 

Checking Used Vehicles 

Resealing a Bosch VE Injection Pump

Helper Springs for MK1 VW Rabbit    

Repair Worn Alternator Mounting 

Do It Yourself Front End Alignment 

  Handling Money Without Going Broke

This is a small collection of mostly common-sense approaches to keeping finances in working order for us folks at the shallow end of the wealth pool. Financial freedom simply means having more money than you need. Very few people have such control over their earning power that they can achieve financial freedom from the income end. The key is not how much you make, it is how much you don't spend.

        "A penny saved is a penny earned" ... not so! It is MORE than a penny earned. When you earn, you pay taxes on it first. When you don't spend, it is 100% yours to keep. Saving should be the first item on the list of things to pay, not the last as it usually is.

        Put savings first, before anything not a life-or-death matter. Cheap-out even on the house or the car before you shortchange savings. Always max out a 401K if available, or contribute to a Roth IRA if not. Save a minimum of 10% of your before-tax pay. When you get a raise, set aside at least 1/4, preferably 1/2, for savings. You managed before with less, you can certainly manage with a little more. Take a careful look at this chart. And by the way, if you put money into a conservative balanced mutual fund with low expenses and resist the urge to tinker with it, you can indeed get the 8% average annual return the chart assumes. It just won't be steady, but an up and down process that averages out to a very similar result. I've done it and it works (the 8% return, not the amount, unfortunately).

       Here's the real kicker. Let's say you put in your money from age 25 to 35, then don't put in another dime. Your buddy begins at age 35 and forks over for the full 30 years until age 65. You would give up the same amount your buddy will accumulate, or $493K. So you end up with $1123K - $493K = $630K, or 28% more even though you put in only a third as much.   TIME TIME TIME ... start early!!!!! Catching up at the end, or even at the middle, is a loser approach.  Good choices for beginners are conservative balanced funds from Vanguard or T. Rowe Price. Set up a plan for automatically investing a certain amount every month or every quarter. This technique, called dollar cost averaging, makes the normal ups and downs of market prices much less important than if you put a large amount in once a year.

    By far the most useful thing you can do to stretch your dollars is not hire others to do things for you, because the great majority of the bill is the labor charge - you're paying the laborer's living, his benefits, and all his company's operating expenses with money you get taxed on before it hits your pocket.   Most routine repairs and maintenance are not that hard if you start small and get the feel for it. Those folks you would hire aren't exactly rocket scientists, now are they? Pick something simple, read a how-to book or look on the internet, and take your time. The money you save on the first job pays for the tools, and after that it's all gravy. Cooking instead of buying pre-prepared items works the same way. Quit wasting money hiring that invisible chef. The internet is loaded with recipe sites. Keep it simple and save a fortune. Time away from the job isn't just for goofing off. A fool and his money are soon parted, and the same goes for the lazy.

        Don't go into debt for anything you can live without, and that is usually anything smaller than a car. Debt is an absolute killer of financial stability and should be avoided like the plague. A vehicle and a house are the rare exceptions, and then only because they are (usually) necessary but expensive. If you have more than two credit cards and do not pay them off in full every month, there is something VERY wrong with how you're spending. If you don't have the money for something, YOU CANNOT AFFORD IT. Got the concept? Cable/satellite TV, cell phone plans above bare emergency, magazine subscriptions, and the like are just fluff and really add up. If you have credit card debt, you've got no business paying for fluff.

        Never pay for routine household expenses like food, cleaning products, clothes, and such by credit card unless the money to pay for it all is already in your checking account and will not be touched by any direct-billed expense. Paying cash for these things from a set of budget envelopes is far safer. The very first month you cannot pay off your cards in full, STOP USING THEM until they are paid off. Determine what happened, and if it was not a total anomaly that won't get repeated, change your methods. FAST!

        Little stuff adds up. Look at the pocket-change type purchases you make every day without thinking because they're only a couple of dollars. If you piss away $2 a day at work 5 days a week, that's $10 a week or $520 a year. If you go out every weekend and blow $30, that's $1,560 a year. Put them together and you're easily throwing away two mortgage payments every year or five car payments. Brown bag lunch instead of going to the cafeteria, skip the vending machines, get in on an office coffee pool or bring a thermos, pick up a pizza and stay in on the weekend. Small, careless spending is death by inches, but death all the same.

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   Living Frugally

         Being frugal does not mean living without what you need, it means being careful about separating need from want, then getting the best value for the money on what you truly need. You can in fact indulge wants, but save for them (separately from your long term savings!) and buy them only from that separate "fun stuff" savings account, never with the regular household budget.

        Forget brand-names, trends, or style. All you're paying for is advertising, which does you no good whatsoever. Everything you intend to buy should have a necessary function or purpose. If it doesn't, it is a want and goes to the bottom of the list. You need shoes, you don't need Nike. So when you shop, look for the best value that meets the function, end of process. You will sometimes hit a clinker, but you hit clinkers in name-brand stuff, too. Better a $10 dud than a $50 dud. Many off-brands are made by the same manufacturer as the name brand, they just don't carry the label or the style is less fancy.

        Look for good used major appliances. You can get a much better value on a refrigerator or washer from a used appliance dealer who has been in business for a good while and offers a 30-day warranty. Look for an appliance that is at least several years old but looks well cared for, and isn't more than about 5-6 years old for a washer or 8-10 for a refrigerator. There is often a label on the back with date of manufacture. These appliances have long life spans, and the dealer checks them out well so as to avoid a warranty service call. Unless you live in a tiny apartment, skip the dryer until you have money to burn. Set up a clothesline outside or use an indoor clothes tree or string some lines in the basement. Put a small fan in the room on a low setting. Dryers are not cheap to buy and costly to run, especially the electric ones.

        Used furniture is an even better deal. The first stops should be thrift shops like Salvation Army, Goodwill, and so on. Ask around if there is a local thrift shop - they often don't advertise much or at all. A church is a good place to ask. Even if you have to rent a truck for a day to get the stuff, you'll be far far ahead of buying new. Just have your items paid for - the stores will usually give you a claim ticket and hold them for a while - and make one big run for multiple pieces. And it is pretty easy to check furniture, just try moving parts (drawers, doors, etc) for function. Look inside or underneath to see if it is made of wood or particle board. I usually avoid particle stuff, the joints fail too easily in moving and are almost impossible to repair. So what if it doesn't match - all those dollars in your savings account match perfectly.   The second best source is commercial used furniture stores (check yellow pages), but the deals aren't half as good. And don't be afraid to buy a clean used mattress. The dust-mite thing is so overblown it's ridiculous. Many mattresses are from higher-end hotels/motels which replace their stock regularly, but in any event if you're finicky just use a mattress cover.

        For office-type clothes, you never have to pay retail unless you're an unusual size. Clothing at thrift shops is so plentiful, so excellent quality (usually much better than you could afford new), and so ridiculously cheap you're nuts if you buy new. Check your yellow pages under Thrift or ask around. If you're a tradesman, though, you're probably not going to find anything. An off-rental clothes mail order company, such as Walt's Wholesale, is your best bet. Sometimes flea-market stores carry the off-rental clothes.

        The biggest thing you can do to control food cost is stop casual eating out! You spend more in one meal than groceries for several days. If you're out shopping and have to eat out, either get a pre-made sandwich from a grocery deli, or go to a fast food place and pick two items off the dollar menu and drink water. My quickest answer is two regular McDonald's hamburgers - the least fat and most protein for the calories of anything on the menu, the lowest calorie sandwich, and the whole meal is under $2. A side salad is less calories (if you go very light on the dressing) but no protein so you get hungry again fast - a salad plus one burger is a decent compromise. You can pack a lunch for the ultimate savings, but even a simple burger out once in a while is economical fun. But always drink water. If you're dying for a pop, buy a 25¢ Sam's Choice one from WalMart vending machine.

        The next biggest thing for cutting food cost is cooking your own. Prepared foods are hideously expensive per serving, and the lower-priced types are often loaded with salt and fat. You also get the opportunity for more servings of healthful vegetables for less money. If you're accustomed to fast food and/or prepared stuff, it will be gradual process of retraining your taste away from simple fat & salt toward a wider range of flavors, so be prepared to keep at it for an extended time. What people like is 95% simply what they are used to. Starches are always cheap, so I won't bother with them. Just remember that white potatoes and corn are not vegetables, they're starches. Pasta is much more nutritious per calorie than rice or potatoes.

•         The most reliably economical vegetable is green cabbage. Most folks way overcook it and ruin it. Shred or chop, cook it in a large pot with just a little water stirring often, and stop when it has turned bright green and somewhat transparent. Pour in a few cups of cool water and stir to stop the cooking. If you want bigger pieces, quarter it, cut out the core, and separate the leaves before cooking as described. Look for spices / sauces / garnishes to add flavor to the cooked cabbage, but trying to cook flavors into it usually overcooks it. Check out the net for flavoring ideas.
•         Frozen chopped broccoli and mixed vegetables are usually a good buy. Change the taste by adding a little ginger during cooking sometimes, or serve with a dash of soy sauce. Again, cook until bright but no longer crunchy, avoid overcooking.
•         Make or use a can of inexpensive vegetable soup and add leftover cooked veges to the heated soup. A little leftover meat chopped small is also a nice addition. Adding an extra half volume of water helps it be not too thick and especially with canned soup reduces saltiness.
•         Learn to use dry beans to at least extend soups and substitute for half to two-thirds of the meat in dishes. The different kinds are fairly interchangeable. Wash, put in a pot of water (about 4X as much water as beans) before going to bed. Next day dump off that water, add new water to cover and a pinch of salt and cook. Or drain soaked beans in the morning, put them with new water in a crockpot, and set on low to cook while you're gone for the day. Drain and save cooked beans in the refrigerator. Add cooked beans to your dishes and cook as usual. Beans have little flavor of their own and taste like whatever you cook them in. But they do absorb flavors, so you may need to increase spices a bit. Just resist the temptation to add salt - try a touch of sugar and /or vinegar, or maybe a teaspoon of vegetable oil. Substitute some canned tomatoes or sauce for water.
•         Use a tiny bit of soup base (solid, comes in a screw-top jar) to improve the flavor in dishes where you substitute beans for part of the meat. Forget boullion; it is just dirty salt and worthless. A good side dish is simply beans simmered in ham broth from soup base. Try chicken or beef as a change of pace. By the way, if you eat beans regularly there is not a gas problem; that happens from the sudden change of diet when folks eat them rarely.

        Coupons are almost never a good deal unless you already use that particular brand, and you should be avoiding name brands as much as possible. Try to find a local or store brand that is good enough to do the job. I've had very good results with the WalMart brands (True Value, Equate) and the Best Choice off-brand. Most national name brands aren't much, if any, better than a good off-brand. The higher cost is nearly entirely advertising, a complete waste to you. This is especially true of breakfast cereals. Stick to the bagged or store brands. There's little difference and the cost is far less. The supposed health benefits of the fancy brands are little if any better than generic raisin bran or cheerios. The cheapest breakfast is cooked cereal (store or off-brand of course) or an egg and a couple of pieces of whole-wheat toast. Make it a sandwich, maybe? One egg yolk a day is harmless to anyone; add another white if you like.

        If you must have pizza from time to time, forget the national brands, especially delivered. You're easily paying half the cost in advertising. Try using a frozen store-brand type and add some chopped vegetables, extra spices, and a little extra cheese and bake it yourself. When you get more adventurous, buy frozen crust and add your own sauce and toppings. If you must have carryout, check the yellow pages for a small pizza shop nearby and pick it up yourself. Some of the hole-in-the-wall shops make great pizza at a very reasonable cost picked up, and it often tastes better than the big names. But limit the buying-out to once a week.

        Avoid pop as a beverage, restrict it to an occasional treat even if you're buying a store brand. It is either a lot of empty calories, or if diet stuff it is just flavored water.

•         If you want fruit juice, buy frozen and dilute with 2X to 3X the water called for. It will be a lot more refreshing and less heavy, especially orange juice.
•         Try a bargain beverage mix such as Flavor Aid and use about 1/2 the sugar called for, plus a tiny pinch of salt per half gallon. Or use 2/3 the sugar but half-again as much water (three quarts instead of two).
•         Economize milk by mixing 2% liquid milk with reconstituted dry milk. Just give it a day to rest before using and you'll avoid the dry milk taste. I never could get used to dry milk alone as a beverage, but adding 1/3 cup dry milk to a big mug of coffee in addition to your normal suger/creamer works great.

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   Houses, Cars, and Other Black Holes

Vehicles in General

        Cars can be budget killers. Forget style, appearance, and all that. A fancy, powerful and expensive vehicle doesn't make you a superior person, it makes you a bigger fool unless you have money to burn. A car has one purpose: reliable transportation. That does not mean buy the tinniest econobox in existence, but it does mean be careful and honest about separating your wants from your needs. Then throw out the wants. And the more features a vehicle has, the more there is to go wrong. This is especially important if you're buying a used car with significant mileage. Power windows, locks, seats and such are nothing but trouble.

•         Balance fuel mileage with cost to buy; the best deal is usually a lower-end compact car. A low priced battleship will sink you in the end. You can always overstuff a smallish car once in a while, but you cannot dump the extra weight of a larger one for the daily commute to work. Better to be uncomfortable once in a rare while than get nicked at the pump every week.
•         Learn to drive a manual. No automatic, lockup types included, can match the efficiency of a simple gearbox, let alone the reliability. Replacing a clutch is seriously cheaper than rebuilding an automatic, and if you take the time to learn the right way to use a clutch, it should last well over 100K miles. My Geo Metro has 160K on the original clutch and is still going strong.
•         Do your own routine maintenance such as oil & filter, belts, fluids, miscellaneous lubrication, and minor adjustments - if those ordinary folks at the quick-lube can do it, so can you, and it does not take fancy tools. A large piece of cardboard makes an easy surface to slide on under the car (always use a jackstand if you go under, they're cheap).
•         Buy the shop manual for your vehicle, and from time to time read a section. Gradually you'll get a better feel for how things work. Even if you don't do the work yourself, you won't be totally in the dark when things go wrong. A shop is much less likely to take advantage if you know what's what. Haynes manuals are readily available at most parts stores, and include a decent smattering of introductory material.
•         A good used car is almost always a much better deal than a new one. This is particularly true if you are familiar enough with checking out a vehicle that you can do a decent assessment on a higher-mileage vehicle at a smaller used car dealer. See the Checking Used Cars section.

Buying A Vehicle

        Develop a narrow list of potential makes, models, or types of vehicles before you go shopping. Check the going prices for the vehicles on the web first. If you're not buying with cash, hunt for your lender and know how much of a loan you can easily get at a payment that you can comfortably handle. ALWAYS subtract your savings payment before you decide how much you can afford. NEVER sacrifice savings for a higher priced vehicle - make do with a lesser vehicle, buy used, whatever it takes.

•         When you go to look at vehicles, take a notebook with you and use it at every stop: take names, details, and prices. Do NOT take any means of buying anything - no checkbook, no credit cards.
•         If your lender can give you a pre-approval letter, take it to show you're not a flake. But make it clear you'll sign nothing that day and stick to it.
•         Don't fall for the "today only" price gambit or "another buyer is interested" BS.   If they try that, tell them politely that any price that won't hold for a few days you're not interested in anyway, or that it is the other buyer's lucky day. They'll usually get the message and quit the games. If not, leave and cross that seller off your list. Always be businesslike, polite but firm. Only after you have checked a number of sellers, gone home, thought it through, and made a calm decision do you go back and actually buy.
•         Don't play games with the sales folks, just as you don't want them to play games with you. You've done your homework and know what the vehicle is worth including the normal seller markup, so if the seller is still too high, just show your research and offer that you'd like to buy but you think the price is a bit on the high side. If they agree and give you a price you can accept, you're done. If not, then thank them politely and leave, and move on to the next vehicle/seller on your list. Remember, it's not personal, it's just business.

Houses

        In buying a house, don't let the mortgage payment be over 30% of your take-home pay unless your car is paid off, and even then stay below 35%. There are lots of side-expenses that will creep up on you. And a house is NOT an investment; it just lets you recover some of your expenses whereas rent is a dead loss. Only in rare circumstances in exceptional areas does the appreciation on a house outpace inflation, financing costs, and maintenance. Have a good idea how much of what sort of space you truly need and don't go overboard. Less is more. You carry the cost of space whether you use it or not. Don't fall into the trap of buying the most house you can afford; instead, seek out what you need at the lowest cost. A more modest house and a bigger investment account will do you far more good in the long run.

•         DO NOT NOT NOT use creative financing. If you have to play games to squeak out the payment you CANNOT afford that house. Get real, stay real. Before doing anything, work with a conservative mortgage broker or website tools to determine the largest 30-yr fixed mortgage you can handle based on the payment limits above. Get pre-qualified for a specific loan amount before you shop. You can always pay extra on the loan when you can manage it, and that comes directly off principle. I cut a 30-yr mortgage to more like 20-yr just by overpaying $50-100 a month in the early years when the payment is almost entirely interest.
•         If it is a seller's market in your area (monitor the financial news), wait to buy if you can. In a buyer's market, especially if time is on your side, consider making an offer at least 5% low even for a house well inside your price range.  But always do it in writing and make double-sure the offer states that you have the right to walk away if you have accepted someone else's offer. An offer is a legal contract so C.Y.A.
•         Don't use the seller's home inspector, get your own, and make any offer contingent on there being no significant problems in the inspection report. That way you don't pay for an inspection unless the seller has accepted your offer.
•         Forget "cuteness" or style or anything like that. A house is just a place to live, not a fashion statement, except for the more-money-than-brains crowd. Think rooms, function, square feet, layout, and basic sturdiness and ease of repair. Fancy styling, woodwork, and rooflines are a bugger to maintain or repair.
•         You get a better value on a place that's below-average for the area than one at average, and avoid anything above average for its neighborhood. Improvements that you make that take a place above average waste your money.
•         If you're at all handy, look for a basically sound but poorly maintained place. It is mostly labor with relatively cheap materials to spruce up a dowdy place, and the increase in value far outstrips your expenses.

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  Checking Out Used Vehicles

        It is straightforward to check out the simple control functions (check them all, even the little ones) and cosmetic things on a used car, and normal safety inspections where they are required take of some other things. But if you're on a tight budget the usual "take it to your mechanic" advice is ludicrous ... who has the money, much less the mechanic, to do that?? Here are a series of checks that most people, even the only semi-handy, can perform to weed out some of the time bombs and hidden problems.

        Modern vehicles have service items that come due at around 70-90K miles, some of which can be pricey: fuel pump & filter(s), timing belt, brakes, sometimes water pump. If you're looking for a bargain and are handy, newer vehicles approaching this mileage often sell at discount due to the cost of impending service. On an older vehicle without service records and mileage around some multiple of 70K miles, assume that you're going to need to do these items as soon as possible. Don't take anyone's word for it, because the fuel pump and timing belt fail without warning and a failed timing belt can also seriously damage the engine on some models.

QUICK AND EASY CHECKS

•     Remove the oil fill cap, usually on the valve cover, and look around with a strong flashlight. A dental-type inspection mirror is a great help. Bare metal should look metallic, dull grey or shiny if a machined surface. If everything except the cam lobes has a smooth brown varnish look, but otherwise all is clean, the oil wasn't changed often enough. Not a good sign, but not a disaster as long as the cam lobes are smoothly shiny (dicker down the price, though). Any roughness or large scratches are very bad news. If there is any amount of particles or bits of black solid material lying in low spots, or you can wipe obvious sludge with your fingertip, then the engine was very badly maintained - walk away.
•     At each corner of the vehicle, preferably at the bumper or a strong corner of the body, place your foot or hands firmly, heave down hard and let off suddenly. The vehicle should jump back up, fall a little, and stop moving. If it bobs up and down the shock or strut is bad at that corner.
•     Look carefully at the tire treads for even wear. Edges or the center evenly worn a little bit more just means over or under inflation (note: underinflation, edges worn more than center, can permanently damage a tire). But if only the inner or outer edge is worn more, or if there are any repeated wear bars or patches around the circumference, there are serious alignment or suspension problems.
•     When the vehicle engine is cold, remove the radiator cap and use a strong flashlight if necessary to look at the tops of the radiator tubes. Significant amounts of lumpy, whitish deposits on or in the mouths of the tubes indicate probable clogging and the radiator may need work or replacement.
•     Look carefully at the overall engine compartment. Some dirt, oil on surfaces, and surface rust is normal. An unusually pretty engine compartment has probably been pressure cleaned, and the water forced into various connectors and sensors will cause endless headaches in the future. If everything is evenly covered in oil or oily dirt there is probably a gasket leak and road draft has spread the oil. Oil all over hoses, wiring, and sensors will cause trouble in time. So, you want to see not too dirty, not too clean.

CHECKING DRIVETRAIN & FRONT SUSPENSION

        Do this only on level ground. For a manual tranny, put it in any low gear. For an automatic (bleh!) put it in park. Set the steering straight and lock it if you can. Jack up one front wheel until it comes off the ground and perform these tests. Then repeat on the other side.

•     Grasp the tire at the tread on opposite sides and try to rotate it back and forth, and put some muscle into it. It should move only a tiny fraction of an inch and stop hard in both directions. If there is noticeable slop or a mushy feel most likely the CV joints are shot.
•     Now try to make it turn inward and outward, as if being steered (this works best if the steering is locked). It should not budge the tiniest bit. If it moves just a hair and stops hard there is some wear in the steering or suspension. Any noticeable movement means worn out tie rod ends, balljoints, or both.
•     Pull and push on both sides at the same time, as if trying to pull off the wheel or put it on. Don't get the car rocking or it may come off the jack, but put some force behind the effort. It should not budge a bit and feel solid. If it moves a little inward & outward and stops hard, it's probably worn wheel bearings. If it moves and feels mushy, it is probably bad balljoints or suspension bushings.
•     Put the tranny in neutral. Spin the tire with your fingertips in constant contact with the sidewall while listening and feeling for roughness. There may be some faint scraping noise from the brake disk, this is not unusual. Any "rumbling" or gritty feel, or clicking or pulsing in time with the wheel hints at bad bearings or CV joints.
•     Look either through the wheel slot and behind the wheel to see the brake caliper, pads, and disk surface (I'm assuming front disk brakes). You can usually see the inner disk surface through the splash shield where the caliper mounts. The inner & outer pads should be of similar thickness, and the surface of the caliper should look dry. Uneven wear or a wet look may indicate a stuck or leaking caliper that will need replacement. Look at the surface of the disk. There should be a wide, smooth shiny band all the way around on both sides. A rusty or pitted disk will need replacement, and lack of shine on one side indicates a stuck caliper.
•     For a FWD vehicle, If you have a large piece of cardboard you can lay it on the ground and slide under the vehicle to get a good look at the CV joint and steering rack boots for age cracks or tears. A flashlight helps a lot. If you go underneath, be sure to use a jackstand (cheap at any auto parts store) as backup to the jack. Rotate the tire to check all sides of the CV boots. While you're there, look at the exhaust for bad rust or missing mounts, the brake lines for rust damage (wet/oily looking spots), and the engine& tranny mounts for separating between the rubber part and the metal part, especially if they are oily.

CHECKING REAR AXLE

Do this only on level ground. For a manual tranny, put it in any low gear. For an automatic put it in park. Set the steering straight and lock it if you can. It would still be best to chock the front wheels for front drive, absolutely necessary for rear drive. Jack one wheel off the ground, test, then repeat on the other side. Make sure the parking brake is off.

•     Grasp the tire on opposite sides and push on one side while pulling on the other, then quickly reverse the forces. Do this several times. There should be no perceptible movement or looseness. Even a tiny wiggle on a rear drive vehicle is seriously bad (but also very rare), indicating a major problem with both bearings and the drive axle. On a FWD vehicle it may be minor, further checks will tell.
•     On a FWD vehicle, spin the wheel with your fingertips in constant contact with the tire sidewall. It should spin freely and silently. Any gritty feel or rumbling means bad bearings. On a rear drive vehicle, put the tranny in neutral and rotate the wheel; you'll probably have to grasp the tread and turn it like a steering wheel. It will give some resistance but should turn smoothly with no gritty or bumpy feel. Put the tranny in gear and try to rotate the tire back and forth. It should move only a small fraction of an inch and stop hard. Sloppy movement, or an uneven / gritty / bumpy feel are signs of possible bearing, differential, or driveshaft problems.
•     On a rear drive, put in neutral. Pull the handbrake one notch and spin the wheel. Keep advancing the handbrake a notch at a time until the wheel drags but still turns, if possible. Rotate the wheel a couple of complete turns as you listen and gage the resistance. It should drag the same amount and if it makes sound the sound should be a consistent light scraping. If the drag changes significantly with the position of the wheel, the drum is warped, probably from overheating, and major work (brakes, bearings, seals) may be needed.
•     Look behind the wheel at the brake drum. It should be dry. If it is wet/oily looking, there is a problem with either the lubricant seal or a leaking wheel brake cylinder.

THE TEST DRIVE

•     Any modern fuel-injected vehicle should start quickly, even cold. In fact, be wary of any vehicle that the seller has pre-warmed for you. Come back tomorrow when it is cold. Turn on the ignition but don't crank the engine, wait 3 seconds, then crank. During the wait you may hear a faint buzzing from the rear; this is the fuel pump running and is normal. Long cranking, starting and dying, or balky starting indicate fuel pump, pressure regulator, or injection problems.
•     Go to an empty parking lot. Turn the steering hard one way and drive slowly in a circle several times, listening carefully for clicks or thumps that happen in time with the wheel rotation and feeling for any similar repeated jumps in the steering wheel. These indicate CV joint problems. Turn the steering hard the opposite way and repeat.
•     In the empty lot, accelerate to 25-35 mph in a straight line and take your hands off the wheel for a few seconds. The vehicle should continue to travel in a straight line. Significant drifting indicates steering or suspension problems. Now brake fairly hard with your hands off the wheel. The vehicle should remain on a straight course, though a slight veer is OK. A sharp veer from straight indicates serious front brake weakness on the side the vehicle turns away from. A moderate veer could be front or back brake weakness.
•     Drive until the vehicle is up to normal operating temperature and go to a highway with the steepest and longest uphill grade you can get to. Before you arrive at the start of the grade, slow as much as traffic will allow. Accelerate moderately hard up the grade and continue at the speed limit to the top. As you go up the grade and down the other side, keep checking the temperature gage; it should remain pegged on normal even in high summer. If it rises noticeably as the test proceeds, even if it does not overheat, the radiator is probably partially plugged. Also, any balking or surging on the way up the grade indicates fuel delivery problems, especially if it suddenly clears up as you let up on the accelerator.
•     Get on a long, straight stretch of road without significant traffic. Barely touch the steering wheel, and give it just tiny nudges on way or the other. The vehicle should take a new slightly different course with each nudge and continue on that course until you nudge again. If it wanders, or there is a significant "dead zone" where small steering wheel movements get no response or unpredictable response, there may be worn suspension or steering components or loose mountings. NOTE: some larger pickups with power steering do tend to have a tiny dead zone, but the response on either side if it should be stable.

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