Used Car Buying - Interior Inspection

What the interior says about the car maintenance history

Those who are meticulous at maintaining the interior of a car are often meticulous about the maintenance and repairs the car receives also. When you encounter a used car for sale that has a spotless interior the chances that the car has been maintained well increases. Conversely a car that is filthy and shows signs of wear on the seats, dash, console, doors and floor likely has been maintained less than a clean car.





Specifically you should check the condition of the gas, brake and clutch pedals. Cars which have been driven hard or have been driven mostly inside of cities where the constant starting and stopping wears the car faster than highway driving will show wear more extensively on the gas and brake pedals. Be sure to check the floor underneath the gas pedal for signs of wear that may be present in a car where the driver has repeatedly floored the gas pedal.

How to verify the mileage of a used car

When inspecting the interior of the car be sure to visually inspect the odometer in the dash which is the official mileage on the car. Since the mileage on the car has such a dramatic impact on the resale value of the car many unscrupulous sellers will try to deceive you with the amount of miles on the car. An analogue odometer can be "rolled back" to reflect a value lower than the actual mileage of the car.


This is one of the oldest tricks to look for and you can tell an odometer has been rolled back because the numbers will no longer line up properly. In addition to the appearance of the numbers on the odometer you can cross compare the condition of the car interior with the total mileage on the car. If an odometer reads a very low number and looks somewhat fishy because the numbers do not line up well, check the gas and brake pedals for wear. A car with low mileage should have gas, brake and clutch pedals with minimal to no wear visible.

Digital and analogue odometer tampering

Digital odometers available on some newer cars are far less likely to have been tampered with than analogue odometers. An analogue odometer can be compromised simply by disconnecting the speedometer. Since the odometer and speedometer are connected, once you have disconnected the speedometer the odometer will no longer accumulate miles.


A car could be driven for years and tens of thousands of miles and then have the speedometer reconnected before selling. This is just another reason that it is important to evaluate the person selling the car when buying a used car. If the seller seems like they are hiding something from you or you find inconsistencies with the maintenance history and mileage logs that appear on work orders - just walk away.


Continue to the section of the used car buying tutorial that deals with rust and inspecting the body and frame of a used car.