What to check when buying a used ute
By Jack Alderton · 5 Mar 2026 · 6 min read
A used dual cab is the most expensive cheap car you will ever buy. Pay the right money for a good one and it will work for a decade; buy a neglected example and the repair bill will rival a boat. The difference between the two is rarely visible from the driver's seat, so here is the ten-minute inspection that protects your money before you even arrange a test drive.
Start with paperwork, not the car. A logbook with consistent dealer or specialist stamps beats a folder of vague receipts, and a PPSR certificate confirms there is no finance owing, no written-off record and no odometer discrepancy. Ask who used the vehicle: an owner-driver working one site is a very different prospect to a fleet unit that spent its life on corrugated mine roads.
“Start with paperwork, not the car.”
Then kneel down. Chassis rails should be straight, rust-free and free of fresh paint hiding repairs; check around the spring hangers and the front of the rails where cracking starts. In the tub, scuffed paint is honest, but kinked wheel arches and stretched bolt holes tell of overloading. Look underneath for weeping diffs, a wet bellhousing indicating a rear main seal, and any rust in the crossmembers.
On the test drive, listen more than you talk. A whine that rises and falls with road speed suggests diff bearings; a clunk on take-up points at driveline slop or a worn tailshaft centre bearing. Manual utes need a clutch that engages smoothly near the top of the pedal with no burning smell after a hill start. On diesels, check for blow-by by resting the oil cap loosely at idle, and always insist on a cold start so you can hear it.
Do not skip the 4x4 checks. Engage low range on a stretch of gravel or grass and confirm it selects and drives without banging, then check that the front hubs or axle actuators operate as they should. Look for signs of water ingress — silt in the tub rails, foggy tail lights, corrosion on the seat rails — which mark flood crossings gone wrong. A well-fitted snorkel is no bad thing; a badly fitted one is worse than none.
Finally, have the roadworthy or safety certificate in hand, in whatever form your state requires, and get an independent inspection if the asking price is above fifteen thousand dollars. Check that the tyres are a matched set with legal tread, because four fresh all-terrains is a $1,500 surprise nobody budgets for. A good ute holds its value stubbornly, which is exactly why the bad ones get dressed up for sale. Ten careful minutes with a torch beats three regrettable years.