Benefits of an AA/RAC inspection

[Draculaw]

I'll start by saying I'm not in the least bit mechanically inclined. I can fill up oil/washer fluid and I can see an obvious hole where there shouldn't be one, but other than that I'm pretty clueless.

I'm looking at a few vehicles and some are private. Given the lesser recourse against a private individual compared to a dealer, is it worth paying for an AA/RAC inspection? I'm looking at circa 2010 Cooper S for £4,500-7,000, usually with around 50-60k miles under their belt.

Thanks in advance.

[RSTurboPaul]

IIRC those sort of inspections provide a guarantee (up to £10k?) for anything that comes up after the subsequent purchase that they didn't pick up or got wrong, which could be useful as a tool for recourse in a worst case scenario.

I may be wrong, though - you would have to check their Ts&Cs.

FWIW they were very thorough when I had one done many years ago.

[twokcc]

Always have one done as usually spending between £10K-£15k and in general have thought that they are good value for money. All been RAC inspected and benefits in my mind are the detailed body inspection which will highlight any repairs done on car and any minor dings scratches etc. (Report on BMW E91 325d) identified repair round drivers door handle- I couldn't see it even knowing where to look)
Report will also look at service history, tyre tread, etc and always found that you can speak to the engineer who going to do the report if you have any particular concerns and also ask his opinion on any of the items raised in the report.

My last purchase was a mini 2011 mini cooper s not sure how much you've researched your purchase but would recommend the follow
Buy a 2010 onwards model with the N18 engine ,doesn't suffer with timing chain issues of the N14 engine think there is a guide on here detailing difference.
Specs vary enormously with first owners having spec'd leather// heated seats /sat navs etc so decide if any of these are important to you when searching. Get the last seven digits of the vin code and you can use a vin decoder to find out what was specified. Worth doing as private buyers vary with many doing minimum in terms of details.

Usually the report will give you enough bargaining power to get a reduction of £200 or so cost of report recovered

Example of one here
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

This has satnav/loung leather(the best) and uprated alloys and also shows what N18 engine looks like under the bonnet

Good luck with seach great cars(apart from hard ride)

This one has the N14 engine
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Edited by twokcc on Tuesday 12th February 13:31

[300bhp/ton]

Draculaw said:

I'll start by saying I'm not in the least bit mechanically inclined. I can fill up oil/washer fluid and I can see an obvious hole where there shouldn't be one, but other than that I'm pretty clueless.

I'm looking at a few vehicles and some are private. Given the lesser recourse against a private individual compared to a dealer, is it worth paying for an AA/RAC inspection? I'm looking at circa 2010 Cooper S for £4,500-7,000, usually with around 50-60k miles under their belt.

Thanks in advance.

Like so many things in life. The answer is; Yes, No, Maybe.

At the end of the day, the AA/RAC will have an agenda that they might be hoping to get some commission from any work they recommend. And you are asking them to look for problems.....

Which means, such a report might be heavily biased. Such as:

"noisy alternator bearing" - recommend replacement.

But what this actually means is, if they put a stethoscope on the alternator, they could maybe hear a rumbling, that "might" be the bearing. Which may or may not be an issue at some point in the future. But there is on way to tell.


It is always good to get a 2nd set of eyes to look something over. And I think the biggest thing you are looking for are major reasons not to buy. The rest is just noise and should be taken with a pinch of salt.


So it comes down to how you will use the report and how you will understand what it says. As you need to have a degree of knowledge to know if something is good or bad.


e.g.


Brake pads 70% worn



Really this means naff all. No inspection is actually going to measure how much pad is left vs a new one. It's just a guess based on a very quick visual observation. And tells you nothing at all really. Partly because their guess could be completely wrong and even if not, 70% worn doesn't actually tell you how long it will still last.



In all honesty, you would be better served to learn up and inspect the car yourself, or maybe get a mate to go with you, who is more confident in assessing the condition of a car. But if you feel neither of these are options, then an independent inspection may be of help. Just understand that the results of such a report won't be gospel.


Inspecting a car is very subjective. What one person will consider absolutely fine, another won't. And not wanting to pre-judge the AA/RAC, the technical skill will vary between the people performing the inspection.

[Draculaw]

Thanks everyone. I'll probably look into getting the inspection as I don't have the mechanical skill. I'd like to learn though, so maybe I'll look into it a bit more.

Twocc, funnily enough I was looking at the exact first car you linked. Drove an N14 the other day and it was nice, so will enjoy the N18.

[hyphen]

Good thing about them is that they will be done pretty quick, the local indie may be more inflexible on time and dates.