The alternator charges the battery while the engine runs and powers everything electrical. Both are consumable parts with a service life, and on a used car at least one of them has usually been replaced already — or is due.

Open the file →Moderate repair

Air conditioning compressor failure

The compressor is the pump in the air conditioning loop. When it seizes it can send metal debris through the whole system, which turns a component replacement into a system job.

Open the file →Wear item

Suspension and steering noise

Bushings, ball joints, link rods and strut mounts are rubber and grease components that wear continuously. They rarely fail suddenly; they get gradually noisier and vaguer, which is why a test drive on a rough road tells you more than one on smooth pavement.

Open the file →Safety recall

A replacement battery that can move and short out

The original battery fits. A replacement one may not — and if it moves in the tray it can touch the hold-down bracket and short. Toyota recalled 1,853,568 cars for it. This is a used-car problem by construction: it can only exist on a car whose battery has been changed, which after ten years is most of them.

Open the file →