What to check before buying a used car in Kolkata

Papers, before anything mechanical

• RC in the seller's name, and the chassis number on it matching the one stamped on the car.
• Insurance valid, and whether the no claim bonus is intact. A big claim history is a history.
• PUC current.
• Hypothecation cleared if there was ever a loan. If the RC still shows a bank, the car is not the seller's to sell.
• Pending challans, checked online against the registration number.

The two checks that matter here more than elsewhere

Flood damage. Kolkata floods. Lift the boot carpet and the spare wheel well and look for a silt line or rust where there should be none, check the seat rails underneath, and pull the seatbelt all the way out and look at the bottom of the webbing. A car that has sat in water will smell of it on a closed, hot day.

Corrosion. Coastal air and salt take the underside first. Look at the sills, the wheel arch lips and the boot floor from below, not from above.

Mechanical, in an hour

• Cold start. Ask the seller not to warm it up before you arrive; a lot is hidden by a warm engine.
• Oil cap and dipstick — mayonnaise on the cap means water where there should be oil.
• Tyres, including the date codes. Four different brands means four separate cheap decisions.
• Uneven panel gaps, or paint that does not match under sunlight, means a repair nobody mentioned.
• Drive it over a broken road at low speed with the radio off and the windows down.

Then negotiate on what you found

Every item above is either fine or a number. Tyres are a number. A service that is overdue is a number. Take the list with you.