Is a full AA inspection a good buy?
Discussion
The cars I keep seeing that I like are mainly over 150+ miles away and often with Traders or Dealers that I prefer not to trust in any way whatsoever so have been considering a 216 point AA inspection inc 10 mile test drive from the AA - would be £185 for an A3 3.2...
Wondering whether anyone has experience of using this service? Am also fully open to getting the check done by a trustworthy indie....would this be a better bet?
Majority of the cars I like are somewhere between Manchester and Harrogate for some reason! The danger of buying a used 3.2 with costly problems lurking has even started to make me think I need to consider a different vehicle... [this ultra-caution is based on my general distaste for/ hatred of the prevailing 'buyer-beware' mentality that sellers/society use(s) to justify/explain lying, thieving, deceptive behaviour-for-profit and that underpins the behaviour of the stereotypical car dealer. Sorry for the 'philosophical' tangent and, yes, I know I'm a head-in-the-clouds dreamer to expect sellers to be honest!]
Basically, I'm a non-mech-savvy muppet that wants to spend about 7k or less on a car that's been truly loved that, aside from my ongoing preventive maintenance and servicing will be as unlikely as poss to have a serious failure... I know, this is revolutionary stuff and I'm probably unique in this desire
but I just thought I'd see what you folks think of inspections like that done by the AA vs paying an indie to check it over..?
I could, of course, just wait for a private seller that is able to convince me of their attention to detail with the car...the emphasis being on 'wait'.. lol
Thanks for any and all input! :-)
Wondering whether anyone has experience of using this service? Am also fully open to getting the check done by a trustworthy indie....would this be a better bet?
Majority of the cars I like are somewhere between Manchester and Harrogate for some reason! The danger of buying a used 3.2 with costly problems lurking has even started to make me think I need to consider a different vehicle... [this ultra-caution is based on my general distaste for/ hatred of the prevailing 'buyer-beware' mentality that sellers/society use(s) to justify/explain lying, thieving, deceptive behaviour-for-profit and that underpins the behaviour of the stereotypical car dealer. Sorry for the 'philosophical' tangent and, yes, I know I'm a head-in-the-clouds dreamer to expect sellers to be honest!]
Basically, I'm a non-mech-savvy muppet that wants to spend about 7k or less on a car that's been truly loved that, aside from my ongoing preventive maintenance and servicing will be as unlikely as poss to have a serious failure... I know, this is revolutionary stuff and I'm probably unique in this desire
but I just thought I'd see what you folks think of inspections like that done by the AA vs paying an indie to check it over..?I could, of course, just wait for a private seller that is able to convince me of their attention to detail with the car...the emphasis being on 'wait'.. lol
Thanks for any and all input! :-)
Edited by SnowyQuattro on Monday 14th April 23:11
DOH!! Kinda already answered in this thread:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Sorry for doubling up!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Sorry for doubling up!
Just for the record.
We did it with several cars and most turn out to be fine, with maybe a couple of cautionary 'watch outs'.
However, we did get an inspection done on a seemingly great 1.8 GTi Golf. It had a little over 18,000 miles and was about £8k.
Test drove it, everything looked good and paid a deposit on the basis that it passed the AA inspection.
Report came back and the car had been in a serious accident and not repaired well. Hadn't been listed as a Cat D, but the AA guy reckoned that we should only proceed with buying it if we could do so for about 3k.
So in my estimation, worth every penny.
The next car we looked at (a 2.3 V5), we also had an inspection and it came up that there were problems with the stereo, so we got money off the car for that. Mechanically, it passed with flying colours.
So although we were annoyed at having two done at a cost of £180 for the first one and £230 for the second (for some reason they charged £10 per 100c back then) we saved ourselves about 5k.
We did it with several cars and most turn out to be fine, with maybe a couple of cautionary 'watch outs'.
However, we did get an inspection done on a seemingly great 1.8 GTi Golf. It had a little over 18,000 miles and was about £8k.
Test drove it, everything looked good and paid a deposit on the basis that it passed the AA inspection.
Report came back and the car had been in a serious accident and not repaired well. Hadn't been listed as a Cat D, but the AA guy reckoned that we should only proceed with buying it if we could do so for about 3k.
So in my estimation, worth every penny.
The next car we looked at (a 2.3 V5), we also had an inspection and it came up that there were problems with the stereo, so we got money off the car for that. Mechanically, it passed with flying colours.
So although we were annoyed at having two done at a cost of £180 for the first one and £230 for the second (for some reason they charged £10 per 100c back then) we saved ourselves about 5k.
I personally think it is worth it. I bought a 2nd hand BMW a good few years ago from the official BMW dealer. Hpi clear and all that. AA inspection gave a full clean bill, except they identified the near side rear panel paint thickness was different. Suspected that it was involved in a minor cosmetic damage which was repaired by passing the insurance (hence hpi clear). I used that report as the negotiation power. Knocked some money off and the dealer gave me 3 years BMW warranty on a 2nd hand car.
My own view from within the trade? Worthless.
The reports are written in a manner that is basically the inspector covering his (or her) own arse. There may be very good inspectors out there but I wouldn't trust any that I've met with much more than a Focus. They will only tell you what you can see yourself by lying on the floor of a car park and are not intimately familiar with the characteristics of every car on the market. A3 3.2s have very abrupt clutch and throttle pedals. Will an inspector that's never driven one before suspect a fault here?
If you're buying an older car and are particular about condition you need to be very up front and honest as well as prepared to do some driving for it. Inform the seller that you are interested, ready to make a decision with a deposit but have a long drive to make before doing so. Ask for specifics of service history, ask for his honest opinion of paint condition, ask if it's been smoked in, ask about any modifications, has he driven it himself? You can't stop someone telling you big fat porkies but you can reduce the likelihood of it and get a good feel of the seller. You might even be able to persuade a friendly local PHer to take a glance for you.
The reports are written in a manner that is basically the inspector covering his (or her) own arse. There may be very good inspectors out there but I wouldn't trust any that I've met with much more than a Focus. They will only tell you what you can see yourself by lying on the floor of a car park and are not intimately familiar with the characteristics of every car on the market. A3 3.2s have very abrupt clutch and throttle pedals. Will an inspector that's never driven one before suspect a fault here?
If you're buying an older car and are particular about condition you need to be very up front and honest as well as prepared to do some driving for it. Inform the seller that you are interested, ready to make a decision with a deposit but have a long drive to make before doing so. Ask for specifics of service history, ask for his honest opinion of paint condition, ask if it's been smoked in, ask about any modifications, has he driven it himself? You can't stop someone telling you big fat porkies but you can reduce the likelihood of it and get a good feel of the seller. You might even be able to persuade a friendly local PHer to take a glance for you.
Dr G said:
Very good and desirable car; at 10 years old going to be tricky to find one that someone hasn't run on a shoestring 
You nailed it! I've already missed 2 that looked good and passed on several (without viewing) that were / are on sale at dealers I found bad reviews of! I'm on the south coast but would be willing to travel to Scotland for the right car! I'm happy to budget an extra £1k for immediate preventive maintenance on a car of that age - change timing and aux belts etc, track rod ends, power steering belt and pump etc... Guess I just gotta wait for a nice one whereby I can get carried out whatever inspections I decide on before handing over the cash... Ahh, the joys of not being able to afford a brand new S4! LOL! Edited by SnowyQuattro on Saturday 19th April 12:35
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A4-Avant-1-8T-190-6...
Looks alright; there's an S-Line with 97 on ebay that also appears to have potential.
Looks alright; there's an S-Line with 97 on ebay that also appears to have potential.
DrG - what you said about the arse-covering exercise that is the aa report.... rings decidedly true :-( I'm currently resisting the temptation of the 1.8tq saloon in favour of the Avant (a lot rarer) - and when i find the next candidate I will post a request for PHer assistance (for a fee) though obviously will need to be a long-standing member who's known on the forum and not just a crafty fee-grabber! lol ... Thankfully i'm not in a desperate hurry!
I'm still not sure I agree with the good Dr on this one, but at the end of the day it's your decision.
As I mentioned above, we 'saved' ourselves 5k by not buying a particular car, and saved the cost of the inspection by getting money knocked off the next one because of a fault.
I didn't do it with the next two cars because they were both bought from traders. One was a 2-year old BMW 530d which we had nothing but trouble with. Thinkgs that wouldn't have been picked up in an inspection however as they were model specific problems which happend much later into ownership. However, I'm still convinced that the car had also had a rear-end shunt on the nearside. The rear door always felt lighter and didn't shut with the thud you'd expect. And we asked them the question outright - "has this car been involved in a crash?" To which they said no.
The other one was an older Mini, which 7 or 8 months into ownership I discovered overspray on the reverse of one of the alloys and noticed that the headlight-levelling switch had been put in upside down. To my mind - both indicators that the car had been in a front end crash.
Whether these things would have been picked up by an inspection or not is debatable, but I know I certainly didn't spot them at the time.
However, I'm a mechanical retard, so I'm unlikely to see anything which isn't blindingly obvious. But in my straw poll of one, when I've had the inspections, I've saved money. When I haven't had them, it looks like I ended up with two crashed and repaired cars.
As I mentioned above, we 'saved' ourselves 5k by not buying a particular car, and saved the cost of the inspection by getting money knocked off the next one because of a fault.
I didn't do it with the next two cars because they were both bought from traders. One was a 2-year old BMW 530d which we had nothing but trouble with. Thinkgs that wouldn't have been picked up in an inspection however as they were model specific problems which happend much later into ownership. However, I'm still convinced that the car had also had a rear-end shunt on the nearside. The rear door always felt lighter and didn't shut with the thud you'd expect. And we asked them the question outright - "has this car been involved in a crash?" To which they said no.
The other one was an older Mini, which 7 or 8 months into ownership I discovered overspray on the reverse of one of the alloys and noticed that the headlight-levelling switch had been put in upside down. To my mind - both indicators that the car had been in a front end crash.
Whether these things would have been picked up by an inspection or not is debatable, but I know I certainly didn't spot them at the time.
However, I'm a mechanical retard, so I'm unlikely to see anything which isn't blindingly obvious. But in my straw poll of one, when I've had the inspections, I've saved money. When I haven't had them, it looks like I ended up with two crashed and repaired cars.
Hi Kell - I see where you're coming from and thanks for the reminder. I think i'd still prefer an experienced forum member to look at it if I can manage that - will all depend on where the car is situated i imagine! Now, if only a nice one would come up for sale in my town I could take it to my mechanic on the test drive! (fat chance) lol
PS - am also four fifths mechanical retard myself (or nine tenths?!) lol
PS - am also four fifths mechanical retard myself (or nine tenths?!) lol
Kell said:
I'm still not sure I agree with the good Dr on this one, but at the end of the day it's your decision.
As I mentioned above, we 'saved' ourselves 5k by not buying a particular car, and saved the cost of the inspection by getting money knocked off the next one because of a fault.
I didn't do it with the next two cars because they were both bought from traders. One was a 2-year old BMW 530d which we had nothing but trouble with. Thinkgs that wouldn't have been picked up in an inspection however as they were model specific problems which happend much later into ownership. However, I'm still convinced that the car had also had a rear-end shunt on the nearside. The rear door always felt lighter and didn't shut with the thud you'd expect. And we asked them the question outright - "has this car been involved in a crash?" To which they said no.
The other one was an older Mini, which 7 or 8 months into ownership I discovered overspray on the reverse of one of the alloys and noticed that the headlight-levelling switch had been put in upside down. To my mind - both indicators that the car had been in a front end crash.
Whether these things would have been picked up by an inspection or not is debatable, but I know I certainly didn't spot them at the time.
However, I'm a mechanical retard, so I'm unlikely to see anything which isn't blindingly obvious. But in my straw poll of one, when I've had the inspections, I've saved money. When I haven't had them, it looks like I ended up with two crashed and repaired cars.
I can see Dr G's point, but I also agree and thinking more in line with Kell. It is ultimately your decision afterall. As I mentioned above, I too asked the same question, whether the car was involved in any crashes. BMW said "No" then i provided the AA report proving one of the panels has been repaired ane resprayed. So they were quite sheepish and offered me a small discount and 3 years full warranty with emergency recovery on a 2nd hand car. You can do the Maths. It is your money vs risk ultimately.As I mentioned above, we 'saved' ourselves 5k by not buying a particular car, and saved the cost of the inspection by getting money knocked off the next one because of a fault.
I didn't do it with the next two cars because they were both bought from traders. One was a 2-year old BMW 530d which we had nothing but trouble with. Thinkgs that wouldn't have been picked up in an inspection however as they were model specific problems which happend much later into ownership. However, I'm still convinced that the car had also had a rear-end shunt on the nearside. The rear door always felt lighter and didn't shut with the thud you'd expect. And we asked them the question outright - "has this car been involved in a crash?" To which they said no.
The other one was an older Mini, which 7 or 8 months into ownership I discovered overspray on the reverse of one of the alloys and noticed that the headlight-levelling switch had been put in upside down. To my mind - both indicators that the car had been in a front end crash.
Whether these things would have been picked up by an inspection or not is debatable, but I know I certainly didn't spot them at the time.
However, I'm a mechanical retard, so I'm unlikely to see anything which isn't blindingly obvious. But in my straw poll of one, when I've had the inspections, I've saved money. When I haven't had them, it looks like I ended up with two crashed and repaired cars.
One last thing.
I *think* I'm right in saying that if the AA/RAC fail to spot something which becomes a major concern, then they cover the cost of the repairs.
Like most warranties, however, I'm not sure what would and would not be seen as a defect versus what's acceptable wear and tear.
I *think* I'm right in saying that if the AA/RAC fail to spot something which becomes a major concern, then they cover the cost of the repairs.
Like most warranties, however, I'm not sure what would and would not be seen as a defect versus what's acceptable wear and tear.
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