First off make sure you do a Carfax on it if they haven't already. some dealerships give that to you as part of the deal. According to CR it's on the high side of normal for that car (probably due to all the gadgets) so if it's been a rental it might not be a good deal. The CR reports lists some of the more common problems with it. If you can get them to give the car a once-over on the list below or if they have done it already they give you the report on the car. If you don't feel comfortable with that you can also take the car to a mechanic your comfortable with and they can do the once over too. Dealerships will usually let you do that. If they don't then there might be something wrong.
Cooling: This probably has the pink 100k mile coolant. When you check that stuff it's important to have them check the PH balance of the coolant. If its off from normal it can corrode the plastic of the cooling system.
Electrical: I guess from the link i found it has some issues with electrical. Most seems to be the anti-theft passkey having problems. I guess if it starts then no problems. otherwise just make sure you check all the lights, switches etc. http://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Impala/2002/electrical/index.shtml
Suspension: On this one do the old bounce test and see if there is any obvious leaking from the struts. Also check tire wear. If the wear is off you might have issues with the suspension too. Besides just an alignment.
Brakes: Obviously the big one is just the pads on this one. Also make sure that after you pump the pedal then push hard on the pedal that it doesn't fade to the floor after a little while of pressure.
Exhaust: Umm, if it's loud then...(GRIN) I suppose you can also just check to see if anything is obviously rusting through hangers etc.
Hell I can't think of anything else. Does all that make sense?
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Date: 2007-04-02 08:30 pm (UTC)First off make sure you do a Carfax on it if they haven't already. some dealerships give that to you as part of the deal. According to CR it's on the high side of normal for that car (probably due to all the gadgets) so if it's been a rental it might not be a good deal. The CR reports lists some of the more common problems with it. If you can get them to give the car a once-over on the list below or if they have done it already they give you the report on the car. If you don't feel comfortable with that you can also take the car to a mechanic your comfortable with and they can do the once over too. Dealerships will usually let you do that. If they don't then there might be something wrong.
Cooling: This probably has the pink 100k mile coolant. When you check that stuff it's important to have them check the PH balance of the coolant. If its off from normal it can corrode the plastic of the cooling system.
Electrical: I guess from the link i found it has some issues with electrical. Most seems to be the anti-theft passkey having problems. I guess if it starts then no problems. otherwise just make sure you check all the lights, switches etc. http://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Impala/2002/electrical/index.shtml
Suspension: On this one do the old bounce test and see if there is any obvious leaking from the struts. Also check tire wear. If the wear is off you might have issues with the suspension too. Besides just an alignment.
Brakes: Obviously the big one is just the pads on this one. Also make sure that after you pump the pedal then push hard on the pedal that it doesn't fade to the floor after a little while of pressure.
Exhaust: Umm, if it's loud then...(GRIN) I suppose you can also just check to see if anything is obviously rusting through hangers etc.
Hell I can't think of anything else. Does all that make sense?