Is a full AA inspection a good buy?

[SnowyQuattro]

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! :-)

Edited by SnowyQuattro on Monday 14th April 23:11

[SnowyQuattro]

DOH!! Kinda already answered in this thread:

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

Sorry for doubling up!

[SnowyQuattro]

Hi Kell - thank you for the reply. That makes me feel a lot more confident that the £185 would be a good spend!

[SnowyQuattro]

Hi Dr G - I'd love to have a friendly knowledgeable PHer accompany me though as a noob to this forum I feel kinda strange asking for such assistance.

I'm actually leaning towards a 2004 Avant 1.8t Quattro now - seems like even more of a tricky vehicle to find in good condition!!

[SnowyQuattro]

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

[SnowyQuattro]

LOL - that's one of the cars i missed! Thanks for the thought anyway! And it was at 77 not 97!

[SnowyQuattro]

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!

[SnowyQuattro]

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