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Has anyone ever used an inspection service to check out a used car? I'm in the market for a used car and I am looking for a good way to check under the hood before I buy. I'm not exactly car stupid, I've done some repair work on previous cars, but i am not capable of overhauling an engine. Should I go to a local mechanic (I don't have a 'relationship' with anyone, I haven't had a car for over a year).
Looking to buy from a private seller, so I am wondering, if anyone has ever went to a mechanic that was local to the area the car was in, or take it to a mechanic local to your home area (which would limit your search area I imagine)
Yes you should get it fully inspected and to find the best shop for this, just ask around at your work or your neighbors who they use and trust for repairing their vehicles.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by need4speed2012
Yes you should get it fully inspected and to find the best shop for this, just ask around at your work or your neighbors who they use and trust for repairing their vehicles.
Yes, I agree with this. I have used my trusted mechanic in the past, for $75 though it's probably gone up by now since the last two we bought new. I still talked to him about the kinds of repairs he has seen with those makes/models before buying.
Bring it to a mechanic who knows body work as well if possible. Many mechanics are great, but don't know the first thing about body repairs (rightfully so, as it's not their line of work). Mechanically a vehicle can be great, but there can be issues with the body, frame, door gaps, paint, etc. rendering a vehicle unsafe.
I recently used lemon squad (they are nationwide) and was happy with the results. It was $150 for an inspection which includes hooking up the code scanner. They travel to where the car is located and also take a bunch of close-up pictures of problem areas for you if you are not local. My other option was to have the owner drive it to the BMW dealership, but they wanted something crazy like $379 for a pre-purchase inspection.
I have a good relationship with my indy mechanic. I've taken 2 used cars to him for pre-purchase inspections. Along with looking over the standard mechanical and suspension stuff, it's important to look for evidence of body work and water damage. Not all wrecks show up in Carfax reports. My mechanic also hooks up his scan tool to look for any hidden/stored codes. He didn't charge me for any of these inspections but his usual rate is $65.
I called a couple of the mobile car inspection services and their fees were $100-200 depending on the distance, but they give pretty good reviews and reports on the cars from what I've seen. But on my last car, a 207K mile Pontiac Vibe located in San Antonio, I looked up on Google and found a couple of independent mechanics in the zip code of the seller with good ratings, and called them about the inspection. One place said sure, they will spend about 45 minutes going over it and check everything for about $60. They did a good inspection up on the lift, a drive, and looked at the computer and everything under the hood and only found a few minor things wrong - weeping PS hose and cracked serpentine belt. Everything looked very well maintained.
I also looked at a car in NW Texas that I was considering and found a mechanic that would inspect it for me if the salesman delivered it, but it sold before my insurance payout was settled. If it had a good report I would have driven to buy it. Just look in the area and read the reviews of the shop and you should be able to find someone to look at it.
I would not buy a used car without a buyer's inspection from a mechanic. It's money well spent. Cost has been $50-100 for me. I usually tip mechanics too.
If they find a problem you can use that to negotiate the price down. You have to be prepared to walk away and eat the loss of paying for the inspection, but even if you have to do this once or twice, you will come out ahead in the long run.
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