Anybody has some experience with buying 2nd hand mianbaoche or car generaly in KM? Can u recomend what to check specially that kinda type of car?

Alexez
Not sure about China 2nd hand mianbaoche - but simple things include:
1. Site along the body lines of the vehicle for ripples in the sheet metal - ripples indicate accidents and body work. If you see ripples, then ask the seller if the vehicle has ever been in a serious accident. If they lie - walk away.
2. Check the brakes, lights, spare tire, flat tire tools (jack and tire iron, and reflective triangle). These things are required and checked for the road inspection certificate...that you paste on the windshield.
3. Open the engine hood - see if the engine looks clean - look for signs of rust. If you know where to look, open the air filter and check the filter - should be NEW.
4. Check the oil - see if they changed the oil or if it's a dirty black color (meaning you'll have to pay for an oil change after buying the vehicle).
5. Bounce the front and rear of the vehicle to test the shock absorbers. Check this against new cars of similar make and model. The shock absorbers should be rather stiff - not "mushy".

6. Look under the vehicle for signs of fluid leaks - major fluid leaks include but are not limited to oil leaks, transmission fluid leaks, and brake oil leaks - all seriously not good and expensive things to repair or replace.
7. Check the tires for tread depth and uneven wear.
8. Minor thing - but check the windshield wiper blades - make sure they're new AND work well - test the washer fluid - make sure that works also - but it'll displease the seller as it'll kind smudge up the windows and body.
9. Check UNDER the floor mats for signs of rust or water damage.

10. Finally, take it for a test drive - make sure the vehicle drives straight and doesn't pull to either the right or left. Check the brakes using hard braking (but NOT skidding). If the brakes stutter - you'll either have to replace the drums or discs - depending on the braking system.
11. Listen to the engine - it should sound smooth and relatively quiet in idle. Rev the engine and listen to how it settles back to idle. You're listening for unusual sounds - like coughing, spitting, and tapping sounds - all indicative of engine trouble.

Good luck with your search - you'll be experience an entirely new realm of creative yet blatant lying. Enjoy!

Very good! Thanks very much!

2nd hand they run less than 8k rmb. you will have to replace break discs, wheels, filters, oil, and suspension. all together about 14k plus. you can buy them new for 16k to 20k.

Excellent tips. Bookmarked.

Info above is somewhat vague.. copy & paste from a DYI website.

Real evaluations rely on knowledge. Working on vehicles in North America and China opens your eyes on how you can get ripped off here. Uneducated "mechanics" are plentiful in Kunming.
The most common mistake is having a vehicle with water in the cooling system instead of proper Rad Fluid. Their logic is to save you 150 rmb but you eventually burn/ruin your engine when you climb a mountain pass on the highway.

I offer a used vehicle evaluation service.

Mike 158 2525 6431

laotou's post has a bunch of useful points but it's not the end of the list:

1) even more effective, than looking for rippled metal, look for uneven or asymmetric gaps at all doors, and edges. That is much harder to fix for a mechanic, after an accident.

3) a clean engine is bad, coz it means that the seller washed the engine, and the more modern the car is, the worse it is for the engine. Plus usually engines are washed while the engine is running, and that means the engine and systems are hot and the water is cool. It leaves condensation in the water sensitive electronics. A 'dirty' or 'sweaty' engine is healthy[er], as long as there is no oil leakage.

...watch out that there are no major oil or water leaks around the sealants

4) The oil color is less important, for example; full-synthetic motor-oil,in a modern engine doesn't change color easily. Most important is the smell, if it smells of gasoline it means that it's a short distance car, and the life expectancy of the engine is shorter, due to oil-thinning.
Also check if there is water in the oil [indicated by a whitish residue, some mechanics call it engine-smegma, you will know why,- when you see it].

Also check the coolant/water if you see an oil-layer swimming on the water. All indications for ruptured motorblock sealants. [=expensive repair]

10) wobbly brakes can still function normally. Plus a stutter could be a problem not related to the brakes. [Stabiliseretc.]

11] modern engines have an emergency-run, if there are problems with the engine it will switch to a default mode, so even if something is wrong, you [non mechanic] wouldn't necessarily hear it by revs and the engine seems to run normal. Although it's far from ok.

Laofenzi si right about it you may pay more for fixing a shabby 2nd hand MBC, than for buying a new one.

This is my advise:
First advise ....
buy new cars, you have much more room to negotiate the price, since the salesman has a bigger profit margin, than a 2nd hand car seller. Whenever there comes a new model or a new modification, they old model price drops.

/or if you can't or don't want to afford one, buy second hand cars no older than one year. Their price drop should be steep enough to dodge a new car's budget, but they still have manufacturer-warranty. Plus customers usually treat their cars well in the first year and go to all inspections and check-ups.

If you want to buy 2nd hand. Go to a garage, hire the mechanic for a day and a few hundred RMB's, to go and check the car, for and with you.

Let him or her pretend to be a buddy of yours, wanting to help you buy a car. A good mechanic can hear and see things a layman couldn't.

Another option is [works in Europe, in most places]
Before you go out test driving a car, talk to a buddy or a garage mechanic and tell him you will come driving by, with 2 or three [test drive] cars, they will put it on the lift and give it a thorough check, maybe even link it to the diagnostic computer.
A mechanic can find out major damage and problems in a few minutes.

The last thing, if you like the car, write a contract with the shop owner/seller. Ask the seller to put in it that,- for the price you agreed upon, the seller will on his bill, fix all road safety repairs and will give you a 1 year warranty on all moving parts. Most sellers in China won't do it for sure, but by their reaction you can at least see, in what kind of state the car is.

If he thinks for a moment if it's feasible, the car may be in pretty good shape. If it only takes him a split second 'til he bursts out a "No!" the car may be a rolling wreckage. And if he agrees then you have a place to go to when things break. He will probably still try to screw you over but better than nothing.

At last,
Always chose a car that around abundantly, if stuff breaks you will be able to get parts easily and mechanics, knowing the car and it's 'diseases'.

I am looking to buy a mianbao che in the next few weeks as well. Let me know what happened or how it went.

Cheers...

@alexez
As @mike4g_air noted - nothing beats hands-on experience. It is best if you bring a mechanic or someone VERY knowledgable about vehicle systems operations, repair, and maintenance - ESPECIALLY with the model(s) of vehicles you seek to purchase.

As you're buying a used vehicle - I'll assume budget is a concern - but spend a little on the initial due diligence or you may be adding lots of verbose expletives to your daily commute.

I found a few beaten MBC on 58.com starting from 4000RMB up to 20000RMB for the awesome big ones .

A friend of mine told me that he bought one, at a 2nd hand car market. less than 2 years old, still a bit warranty, for a little over 12000RMB, still runs fine, and so far so major repairs. that was 2 years back.

Sometimes you get lucky i guess.

i really suggest buying new, there are a ton of dealers. 12k you can get a 5 seater with plenty of boot space. 16k to 20k for 8 seater with boot space for bags n shit.