Professional inspection of potential purchase
Discussion
I don't think you will find many folk on here that haven't had an inspection of some sort. Exception being that you know the car and seller and are happy that it's a good un.
I had the local dealer do an inspection, cost me an hours labour and they pointed out a list of about 10 things. They were all minor things so I bought the car. 7000 miles later and I've had a couple of problems but nothing really major.
At the end of the day its your choice but even with the warranty it's still worth it if only for peace of mind.
Andy
I had the local dealer do an inspection, cost me an hours labour and they pointed out a list of about 10 things. They were all minor things so I bought the car. 7000 miles later and I've had a couple of problems but nothing really major.
At the end of the day its your choice but even with the warranty it's still worth it if only for peace of mind.
Andy
There are guys on here who have had their cars professionally inspected by specialists. Theres a guy thats appeared on here called Paul Ingleby I think. He supposed to be OK.
There are other guys who have had them AA/RAC inspected, and it can give you a piece of mind. There are exceptions to the rule. Ask BigBazza. He had his inspected, and all went wrong a few days after.
Met a guy the other day; he bought his off ebay.
I bought mine from an independent; and bought it like buying a normal car. Didn't have it inspected. I'd done a little research before hand, so new a little. Things just seemed right. Fingers crossed (14mths later).
>> Edited by kojak69 on Tuesday 27th April 11:18
There are other guys who have had them AA/RAC inspected, and it can give you a piece of mind. There are exceptions to the rule. Ask BigBazza. He had his inspected, and all went wrong a few days after.
Met a guy the other day; he bought his off ebay.
I bought mine from an independent; and bought it like buying a normal car. Didn't have it inspected. I'd done a little research before hand, so new a little. Things just seemed right. Fingers crossed (14mths later).
>> Edited by kojak69 on Tuesday 27th April 11:18
Thanks guys!
In fact the seller of this car bought it 16 months ago after an inspection by Rob, and he has rectified all the snags that he highlighted. It's been recently serviced too.
Just wondering if it is worth it. Sod's Law would no doubt come in to play if I DIDN'T get it inspected!
In fact the seller of this car bought it 16 months ago after an inspection by Rob, and he has rectified all the snags that he highlighted. It's been recently serviced too.
Just wondering if it is worth it. Sod's Law would no doubt come in to play if I DIDN'T get it inspected!
kojak69 said:
There are guys on here who have had their cars professionally inspected by specialists. Theres a guy thats appeared on here called Paul Ingleby I think. He supposed to be OK.
It Rob Ingleby. I used his services and they were excellent.
His website is
www.findasportscar.co.uk/
I recommend you call him to ask about his services. He gave my Griff a very thorough inspection.
I didn't have mine inspected as the car had recently been looked at by a specialist and a lot of work done to bring it up to speed. I have had a number of issues with it since - wiper motor, clutch, slave, electrics but I don't think any of those could have been spotted on an inspection (as they all failed a while after sale and weren't easy to identify).
Next time, I'll pay for the inspection. If nothing else, if something does go wrong you know you'd done everything possible to avoid it (rather than thinking that you skimped £100 and it cost you a fortune!).
Darren.
Next time, I'll pay for the inspection. If nothing else, if something does go wrong you know you'd done everything possible to avoid it (rather than thinking that you skimped £100 and it cost you a fortune!).
Darren.
Rob said that the clutch would go on the car and it did, and it was replaced just after Xmas.
Of course even an inpsection does not highlight everything as things can go the day after for no apparent reason, as I am sure we are all too aware of...!
It's a question of finding someone locally to do it without a 4 week lead-in...
Of course even an inpsection does not highlight everything as things can go the day after for no apparent reason, as I am sure we are all too aware of...!
It's a question of finding someone locally to do it without a 4 week lead-in...
I think an inspection is a good idea, unless you are getting it from someone that you already know (in my case fernies), or it has been looked after by somewhere with a good reputation that you can talk to (reputable dealers - I think we pretty much know who they are).
Of course you have to remember that it is a performance car, and an inspection is not a guarantee that something won't break, that's just one of those things. What you are really looking for is that the car you are buying doesn't have some major issue that's never really been sorted, or it hasn't had a major crash etc.
Of course you have to remember that it is a performance car, and an inspection is not a guarantee that something won't break, that's just one of those things. What you are really looking for is that the car you are buying doesn't have some major issue that's never really been sorted, or it hasn't had a major crash etc.
trooper1212 said:
I bought mine privately and didn't have it inspected.
I ended up spending a bit more than I expected on getting it up to scratch...
Me too...I just couldn't resist it!
Think the fact that I did a deal a couple of grand below the asking price SLIGHTLY offsets the £5K+ the car has cost to run over the last year
!! ...although I guess some of the things that have needed replacement (cats, clutch, gearbox rebuild) would not necessarily have been picked up, and others (tyres, Nitrons, brake pads) are normal running costs for an enthusiastically driven Cerb....well, OK, maybe not the Nitrons
cheers
sean
I bought mine privately and spoke to Richard at Peninsula who knew the car well and was looking at buying it from the previous owner.
From what you said I would think it was safer than a lot of private purchases. I would ring the garage that serviced it last and see if they can give you an opinion. I've done this in the past with other car's and usually they are very helpful.
From what you said I would think it was safer than a lot of private purchases. I would ring the garage that serviced it last and see if they can give you an opinion. I've done this in the past with other car's and usually they are very helpful.
I bought mine from an Indie dealer and did'nt have it inspected. I did a lot of research beforehand though, and i just went for it. Had it thorougly checked afterwards and it appears i got a good un!
After nearly seven months no major problems, just a new starter motor and fixed boot latch
After nearly seven months no major problems, just a new starter motor and fixed boot latch
tbloke99 said:
Bought mine privately and saved quite a large sum on the dealer prices, did'nt have it professionally inspected but took my chances! 3 weeks of ownership and had a clutch, flywheel master and slave cylinders to change. Luck of the draw really, mines for sale by the way!!
Did you get your Cerb last year sometime? I think i remember seeing it in Autotrader and was very tempted myself - lovely colour
sorry to hear of the trouble you had, but it will make someone else very happy 
I would give Rob Ingleby a call, he usually responds very quickly & is reasonably priced. Or Austec at Gatwick, if Im right I know the car youre talking about-its loud isnt it?
Im sure Austec would fit you in quite quickly to give it a good look at, I can recommend them.
Nick
RO - SE London & NW Kent TVRCC
Im sure Austec would fit you in quite quickly to give it a good look at, I can recommend them.
Nick
RO - SE London & NW Kent TVRCC
Just to add a curve ball here.
I did all the paperwork checks on my first car with past service dealerships,
even spoke to Blackpool and then still had the car inspected.
What happened? I got a nasty addtional £4k post purchase shock..
My advice, unless the car has been up on ramps and gone over with a fine tooth comb
keep some cash back for any potential kick back.
It's a 50/50 call without a pre sale service check attached.
I did all the paperwork checks on my first car with past service dealerships,
even spoke to Blackpool and then still had the car inspected.
What happened? I got a nasty addtional £4k post purchase shock..
My advice, unless the car has been up on ramps and gone over with a fine tooth comb
keep some cash back for any potential kick back.
It's a 50/50 call without a pre sale service check attached.
GCerbera's right. Inspected means properly looked at by someone who understands what they're looking for, and what it will cost to repair (and how long). That means up on the ramps.
I very nearly learned this the hard way when buying the Griff - £2k worth of work required that was only visible when the car was up in the air, as well as what was found in the engine bay - and to think I would have bought it otherwise. I'd part with the money for a proper inspection every time in the future.
I very nearly learned this the hard way when buying the Griff - £2k worth of work required that was only visible when the car was up in the air, as well as what was found in the engine bay - and to think I would have bought it otherwise
. I'd part with the money for a proper inspection every time in the future.there's inspections and there's insections of course.
I just serviced a chimaera that had supposedly just had an inpsection on it by a reputable famous name, there were things on the car that should have been spotted but which were not noted. in the end the supposedly cheap purchase ended up costing as much as a dealer car with full warranty. i think some money was handed back by the firm that did the inspection too, which softened the blow of the 1k repair bill *ouch*.
Be sure you know what you're getting from an inspection before you part with your money, it can still all go horribly wrong...
I just serviced a chimaera that had supposedly just had an inpsection on it by a reputable famous name, there were things on the car that should have been spotted but which were not noted. in the end the supposedly cheap purchase ended up costing as much as a dealer car with full warranty. i think some money was handed back by the firm that did the inspection too, which softened the blow of the 1k repair bill *ouch*.
Be sure you know what you're getting from an inspection before you part with your money, it can still all go horribly wrong...
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