Will be looking at a car for my cousin. Am not a mechanic but feel I can give the 76 Eldorado a very thorough condition assessment except for some things under the car. shocks, springs, control arms, etc.

Aside from driving the car, is there anything I can tell by looking and moving things ? Or would driving be the best indicator.

I know they have these car checker services but IIRC they don't do anything more than drive the car to assess suspension stuff

 

I couple things I have done. Push down over the front tire and see how it bounces back. It shouldnt bounce up and down. You can check front wheel bearings buy putting a foot at the base of the tire then grabbing the top of the tire and trying to pull towards you. You can feel how much play is there. Then crawl underneath and look. Hope this helps.

Larry