The obvious symptom of an oil leak is a splash of oil beneath your second hand car.  

But, in actual fact, it may just be 5 other types of fluid mustered on the ground, such as brake fluid, transmission fluid, coolant, power steering fluid and fuel.

It’s therefore important to take note of the consistency and colour of the fluid causing a stockpile under your vehicle.

Struggling to figure out which fluid leak your used vehicle is causing? Colour is key:

• Brake fluid is causing a slippery, pale-brown leak.
• Oil is light brown or black.
• Transmission fuel is reddish, brown or black, and with a leak towards the centre of the car.
• Coolant fluid is either bright red, green or yellow.
• Power steering fluid looks like transmission fluid, however, the leak is positioned towards the front of the car.

Here are the early warning signs that your engine oil reservoir has been compromised.

• Your engine oil is always low – as indicated on your dashboard warning lights. Visit a petrol station to have it checked for any leaks or holes in the oil pan. If the problem is minor, do a DIY top-up on your engine oil at home and keep an eye out for how rapidly it drains.
• Blue smoke is an alarm for a compromised engine oil reservoir. You’ll notice blue emissions due to an oil leak onto the second hand car’s exhaust.
• If your manual transmission clutch is slipping, there’s definitely an oil leak at the back of the car engine.
• Your oil seems milky. This may be due to a crack in the engine block, causing the oil to mix with the vehicle’s water.

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