AA/RAC inspections - worth it?

[adingley84]

Ok so I'm in the market for an Astra Vxr and will probably buy privately.

Has anyone got any good/bad experiences of having AA/RAC inspections? Is it just £170 down the pan for nothing, or worth it?

I've started a couple of threads that have been so useful in helping me to decide to 1) buy privately so I can get a feel for the previous owner and their likliness to have thrashed it's balls off. 2) Dont bother with an aftermarket warranty. ..they're generally useless.
FYI. - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by adingley84 on Friday 19th December 01:59

[Jimmyarm]

The question you need to ask is, does the inspection come with a 12 month manufacturer level warranty ?

No inspection can guarantee a cars reliability, all they do is give a snapshot of the cars rough condition at the time of the inspection.

[JimmyConwayNW]

A warranty is a lot more help than the AA inspection.

Load of rubbish and a lot of the AA mechanics will probably have you walking away from a decent car.

[adingley84]

Oh wow I really wasn't expecting such negative views about them.

My theory was to spot the problem and so avoid or be prepared to claim on a warranty, ensuring the issue will be covered.

So advice so far is:
Buy private
Don't get an inspection
Don't get a warranty

Obviously I'll use my own eyeballs and look/feel for any issues, just seems a risky approach?!

[Transiter]

adingley84 said:

Oh wow I really wasn't expecting such negative views about them.

My theory was to spot the problem and so avoid or be prepared to claim on a warranty, ensuring the issue will be covered.

So advice so far is:
Buy private
Don't get an inspection
Don't get a warranty

Obviously I'll use my own eyeballs and look/feel for any issues, just seems a risky approach?!

The issue with the inspection is that the AA guy will have a checklist, anything outside that checklist, he probably won't check. Just as with any car, anything he says is fine can break the next day.

I don't know what they look for but I'd imagine, unless it's your first car, you'd know if something was wrong from a test drive - steering vibration, braking vibrating, noises etc.

[alane29]

I dont think there worth the paper there written on ,open your eyes have a good look round and under the car test drive it listen for noises & vibrations .
Whats to say something wont break the day after the inspection .

Check the service history old mots etc

Trust your instincts , if the car feels dodgy it probably is .

[PositronicRay]

adingley84 said:

Oh wow I really wasn't expecting such negative views about them.

My theory was to spot the problem and so avoid or be prepared to claim on a warranty, ensuring the issue will be covered.

So advice so far is:
Buy private
Don't get an inspection
Don't get a warranty

Obviously I'll use my own eyeballs and look/feel for any issues, just seems a risky approach?!

Take someone experienced with you, as moral support.

[Chr1sch]

A couple of years ago I was selling an utterly immaculate, 8k miled Mini Cooper S, a bloke had an inspection done by the RAC and walked away as a result.

They wont share their findings with you which is even more frustrating. He was incredibly meticulous but told me about vacuum driven flaps in the exhaust etc on a test drive which was all utter crap.

Very odd experience in truth

[rallycross]

I've had lots of these done for customers and they are pretty much a waste of time on a specialist car, fine for basic checks on a regular car but when it's something specialist they really haven't got a clue about the specific things to look out for.

You'd be better off reading up on things to look out for on that model then if you find one you like HPI it, do a Vosa mot history check and if you still want to pay for an inspection just get an mot done locally if the owner agrees.

[Depthhoar]

Worth it? Depends on how good you are at assessing a car's condition. I commissioned an AA inspection back in the day (it was more expensive then and probably more thorough) and the written report gave me a lever to negotiate the price down so more than paid for itself.

However, it was an older car and needed several things sorting: brake pads & discs all round, split steering rack & drive shaft gaiters and a few other fixable issues.

A newer car may not have similar age/mileage related problems so an inspection is less useful?

On that occasion I didn't fancy crawling around under the car either and was more than happy to pay someone else to do it for me. Part of the AA deal back then was that the guy who did the inspection would phone you with his findings, which for me was the most important part of the inspection process. I got a much better feel for the car's overall condition from that conversation, as well as info about the obvious - brakes, gaiters etc. A tick box style 'report' followed in the post.

I've heard that AA/RAC inspections are now more of a cursory tick box exercise (which ties in with the cheaper price point), but my AA inspection was 20yrs ago and I don't have recent actual experience just info from the usual 'rumour mill' sources!

However, I commissioned an independent inspection on a (993) 911 in 2013 from a marque specialist (Peter Morgan) which was excellent, really comprehensive and stopped me from making an expensive mistake, though the inspection itself was pricey. Well worth it on exotic machinery as long as the inspection outfit are specialists in the marque.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

You can use the findings to haggle down the price, much like a house survey.

[steveo3002]

had a few cars inspected when i worked at the dealers bodyshop , they dont do a great deal and missed things we knew werent A1

maybe if youre truley clueless have it done , but nothing more than a good car enthusiat could spot imo

[Calza]

I've always thought the biggest value of these would be if you were buying a car at the other end of the country. A good chat with the seller, send out an inspection then decide if you want to go over there and view yourself, with the cash ready.

Last time I looked the price was dependant on engine size ... why?!

[Captain Muppet]

I paid for an AA inspection once. The chap didn't spot the entire right hand side had been resprayed, but did flag up that the front wings weren't standard (which they were: OEM plastic ones).

I've not paid for once since.

[Spare tyre]

i'd imagine they are like house surveys, wordy with lots of get out clauses

I guess the answer is to have a bit of cash and tuck it away and then put a bit extra in each month

or buy something with a warranty that will be useful


I go for the former and tuck 100 a month into my "car fund" this typically pays for all motoring costs and usually a new to me car once in a while

I tend to have boring cars that are reliable and cheapish to repair mind

[Escy]

If you've got a set of eyes you won't need one. I once went to view a 200SX with someone that had an AA report done prior to us getting there. He was happy to buy it on the strength of the report. The list was really anal with things like stone chips, listing every single one but failed to spot where it'd been painted all down one side, the car was generally dog eared and not a good example, things like a splitter missing. The buyer walked on the strength of my opinion and ended up with a far nicer car for the same money.

I once sold a car that had been AA expected, there were a few issues that I knew of. They weren't picked up by the AA guy. Gave me a clean conscience about them.

[adingley84]

Well it couldn't be clearer, i'll pass on the inspection and pocket the £170 I would have paid for a rainy day.

Invaluable advice guys, I'll simply sharpen my eyeballs and trust my own judgement and inspection.

[jonah35]

A vauxhall independent who knows these cars may charge £50 per hour and thus £50 for an inspection.

That's better value

[JimmyConwayNW]

Off the top of my head if I were buying in a Vxr I work check there was no weep/leak from the rocker cover gasket.
I wouldn't walk away if there was I would just be looking out for it.

Make sure the turbo boosts up and sounds healthy.

Check the gear change feels healthy and taut. I would be concerned if it felt sloppy.

There was a recent buying guide in evo magazine iirc and no doubt a few others online.

The adaptive xenon lights are quite good if you can find one with them and I think the 19s look visually better and will help any future resale.

I wouldn't pay a premium for one with satnav as it is going to be very dated now.