Buying a used car - paying to have an inspection done?
Discussion
If you're buying either from a dealer or private, do you ever pay to have an independent inspection done? I've never done this but there have been one or two purchases where I wish I had.
What does it typically cost to have a car inspected? And what about a private seller. How does it work, does he drive it to the garage to be inspected? As I doubt they'd be happy you borrowing the car to drive it there.
What does it typically cost to have a car inspected? And what about a private seller. How does it work, does he drive it to the garage to be inspected? As I doubt they'd be happy you borrowing the car to drive it there.
I’ve been through this a few times, both as buyer and seller.
In my experience, it’s always been the seller who takes the car to be inspected, with the buyer paying for the inspection. Mobile inspections are available from the AA &c., but I’ve never used them, so couldn’t comment.
I always view it as both parties showing some commitment to a sale/purchase, the buyer in financial terms, the seller in time terms.
Cost-wise, it varies depending on many factors. A specialist will usually have a fixed price for their inspections (when I bought a TVR Tuscan a few years ago, it was £150 or so); I asked my local indie to inspect a Jaguar I bought, and they charged me an hour’s labour (£70 or so).
Unless I’m buying an approved used car, I would get it inspected.
Bon courage!
In my experience, it’s always been the seller who takes the car to be inspected, with the buyer paying for the inspection. Mobile inspections are available from the AA &c., but I’ve never used them, so couldn’t comment.
I always view it as both parties showing some commitment to a sale/purchase, the buyer in financial terms, the seller in time terms.
Cost-wise, it varies depending on many factors. A specialist will usually have a fixed price for their inspections (when I bought a TVR Tuscan a few years ago, it was £150 or so); I asked my local indie to inspect a Jaguar I bought, and they charged me an hour’s labour (£70 or so).
Unless I’m buying an approved used car, I would get it inspected.
Bon courage!
The last two cars I’ve privately sold (a Subaru Forester STi and Jaguar STR) have been inspected by mechanic coming to my house, on behalf of an interested party. Both got a clean bill of health and consequently sold. Good idea if you’re far from a car or not mechanical minded.
Cost the buyers £150ish as far as I can remember.
Cost the buyers £150ish as far as I can remember.
Edited by BUG4LIFE on Wednesday 11th December 22:27
Read the MOT history. I can usually get a picture of the kind of car I'm buying by understanding the way it has been looked after and the story painted by the various MOTs which have been completed. And you can inspect some parts of the car yourself quite easily. If you have a different number plate on front and back that is a signal it may have been involved in an incident. If it has a matching set of tyres all round that is a good signal, even better if they're premium tyres.
the-norseman said:
Countdown said:
Did it for the last two cars I bought. Both were AA inspections (I think I got a discount because I’m a member). I thought it was well worth it for the peace of mind.
The missus old car came with a AA inspection, wasn't worth the paper it was written on.I wasn't involved at the time it was before I came on the scene when it was all done, I took a look at the report and the state of the cambelt and aux belt and knew that the report was dodgy, remember it reading "new belts" they were in a terrible state after about 8 months.
The garage she bought it from sorted it out.
The garage she bought it from sorted it out.
Every time I get a buyer asking for this I say no.
My reasoning is that anyone doing an inspection is going to be obligated to mention all sorts of utter b
ks that is par for the course on an old/cheap car because otherwise he knows the sort of mithering old woman who wants an inspection will be crying for money from him when it needs new drop links in 18 months.
If they need someone else to do an inspection they won't be able to sort between meaningful "do not buy" issues and "this car is not new" issues.
Some buyers aren't worth selling to. Unless you're selling something dead interesting or trying to squeeze every last penny from the sale then just wait for a buyer who can look and make their own judgement calls, it'll be much less hassle in the long run.
My reasoning is that anyone doing an inspection is going to be obligated to mention all sorts of utter b
ks that is par for the course on an old/cheap car because otherwise he knows the sort of mithering old woman who wants an inspection will be crying for money from him when it needs new drop links in 18 months.If they need someone else to do an inspection they won't be able to sort between meaningful "do not buy" issues and "this car is not new" issues.
Some buyers aren't worth selling to. Unless you're selling something dead interesting or trying to squeeze every last penny from the sale then just wait for a buyer who can look and make their own judgement calls, it'll be much less hassle in the long run.
Edited by GeniusOfLove on Thursday 12th December 12:02
It's never crossed my mind tbh and I'm quite sceptical as to how much use they'd be if they're only a few hundred quid. Happy to be proved wrong, but I expect they're usually caveated to the eyeballs and have limitations of liability that mean they're no more use than having a test drive and a look for anything obviously wrong myself. If for whatever reason I couldn't see a car myself before buying I might have one done, ditto if I was buying something super high value (in which case I'd make sure the terms were such that the inspector was on the hook in a meaningful way). But for anything vaguely ordinary - nah.
We had a thread for this a while back and dealers weren't too happy on inspections. In general they would allow a guy to come onto their site to inspect the car, but they wouldn't drive or transport the car an hour or two to somewhere for it to be inspected, due to the cost and time wasted.
As a private seller, based on my meticulous care of my cars, you can send someone to inspect at their leisure, but unless it's local I'm not driving it miles for an inspection and I'll happily wait for another buyer that is less anal.
As a private seller, based on my meticulous care of my cars, you can send someone to inspect at their leisure, but unless it's local I'm not driving it miles for an inspection and I'll happily wait for another buyer that is less anal.
Edited by vikingaero on Thursday 12th December 12:26
I have done for Porsches and have been happy with the service. Would never do it for a daily.
Inspection is done at buyers expense. You either organize a mobile inspector (there are a few folks who specialize in this in the Porsche space) or you select an independent garage that is close to the seller that can do the inspection for you. Seller drives the car to the garage if it’s not a mobile inspector.
Price depends. A couple of hundred maybe.
Inspection is done at buyers expense. You either organize a mobile inspector (there are a few folks who specialize in this in the Porsche space) or you select an independent garage that is close to the seller that can do the inspection for you. Seller drives the car to the garage if it’s not a mobile inspector.
Price depends. A couple of hundred maybe.
Edited by Jawls on Thursday 12th December 12:31
It is definitely car specific. I had my TVR inspected by someone who specialised in TVR’s and I thought knew what he was looking for. These cars can have chassis issues and whilst some of that is obviously hidden I reckoned he could spot the obvious signs in the obvious places and I couldn’t get the car on a ramp and check. Worked for me in that instance. In particular this applies where you are paying a decent price for a good one. Anyway the seller had no problem and it cost him nothing in time or money, nor should it.
Stuart-devc1 said:
I'm guessing this depends on the individual inspector. I had an AA inspection done on a car I was selling and the guy was very meticulous. A real old school engineer of a guy that practically took a magnifying glass to the car for around 4 hours.
That happened to me before as well. The AA inspector really liked the car and gave it a very favourable report which helped sell the car I think. I have had numerous inspections done and you usually get what you pay for. Getting AA/RAC to visit the house and do a kerbside check and test drive is not going to be the most rigorous but they offer different levels of check and for basic newish models this may suffice.
For older Maseratis and Ferraris Ive been interested in I've had local independent specialists to the PPI. If they are close to the seller they are often happy to pick the car up. These PPIs tend to be a bit more thorough and importantly have the car on a lift or over a pit so the underside can be properly looked at.
For older Maseratis and Ferraris Ive been interested in I've had local independent specialists to the PPI. If they are close to the seller they are often happy to pick the car up. These PPIs tend to be a bit more thorough and importantly have the car on a lift or over a pit so the underside can be properly looked at.
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