When buying a used car you should check the clutch is ok… here is a mechanics-trick on how to do it.
to check the state of a clutch you can:
- pull-up the hand break completely
- put the gear-lever to a high-gear (e.g., 4)
- bring the engine high-up (as if you want to burn a light)
- release gently the clutch
Check the following:
- A good clutch will not slide and the result is that the car engine will shut-off (since the hand break is holding the car still, and the high gear is disadvantageous for the engine).
- A bad clutch will start sliding, the engine do not stop, the car doesn’t move, and you soon will smell dead-clutch.
In either case interrupt the experiment right-away (to avoid to further screw the poor clutch).
Enjoy your new car