Pre Purchase Car Inspection recommendations

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mortonman

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#289047 9-Aug-2021 16:59

I'm on the lookout for my daughters first car. Due to the budget it will be 10-15 years old reckon its wise to get a pre purchase inspection done.

I'm based in Auckland and will be limiting any purchase to this area.

Any recommendations before I resort to the default AA inspections?

martyyn

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#2757383 9-Aug-2021 18:19

It all depends on the make and where you are. The AA are useless.

What's your budget on the car ?

Batman

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#2757403 9-Aug-2021 18:41

The most important thing is service history.

Saw a pretty amazing looking Euro car. Glowing report. Asked for service history. Says its serviced by friend. Asked what is done in service. Oil change. Any record. No. See ya later.

My car may be 10 years old. But everything is serviced regularly. Even things that the manufacturer says is lifetime no need to touch, I change their oil and filter. When anything crops up it's replaced with new, no questions, and while you're there fix anything else you come across. Do the other side. Etc. It's all in the records.

Nate001

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#2757417 9-Aug-2021 19:34

I'd avoid the AA. Was selling our 8 year old car, prospective buyer said they wanted report so they paid and we took it in. The report came back with all sorts of concerning comments, AFTER the car was serviced at dealer 2 months earlier. AA wouldn't elaborate issues with us as we (seller) didn't pay for it.

Took a copy of the report buyer gave us to the service manager at dealership and he said it was a complete fad. Said many people had been in with similar experiences. In a nut shell the AA is there to provide you a report, but mark everything as a potential issue to remove any liability should there be an unidentified fault later and you try to pin it on them.

I'd rather proper service history over an AA report myself. If you're serious find a trusted mechanic for a report.

driller2000

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#2757421 9-Aug-2021 20:01

We used this guy in 2018: https://www.incarautomotive.co.nz/ when buying a 2015 Mazda CX9.

REALLY comprehensive report - incl 100+ items checked:

200+ photos
over 50km test drive
alternator test
starter motor test
balance signal test
battery test - capacity / voltage
compression test
compression relative / signal test / balance test / power balance / variation
cylinder contribution test
cooling system, brake fluid and air con tests

All for $185.

Bargain.

We got the dealer to attend to several minor faults which saved 3x more than the cost of the inspection - we purchased the car based on this report and 3 years on it has given us no grief whatsoever. Will definitely use him again.

Batman

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#2757422 9-Aug-2021 20:04

Nate001:

I'd avoid the AA. Was selling our 8 year old car, prospective buyer said they wanted report so they paid and we took it in. The report came back with all sorts of concerning comments, AFTER the car was serviced at dealer 2 months earlier. AA wouldn't elaborate issues with us as we (seller) didn't pay for it.

Took a copy of the report buyer gave us to the service manager at dealership and he said it was a complete fad. Said many people had been in with similar experiences. In a nut shell the AA is there to provide you a report, but mark everything as a potential issue to remove any liability should there be an unidentified fault later and you try to pin it on them.

I'd rather proper service history over an AA report myself. If you're serious find a trusted mechanic for a report.

had a buyer pay for AA inspection (buying my car).

took it in, they looked around with a torch.

the report came back glowing, complete with compression tests. i swear they did not do compression tests. i was watching.

Inphinity

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#2757424 9-Aug-2021 20:10

AA has been really hit or miss in my experience (as both buyer and seller), and seems to largely depend on the specific tech who does it. I wouldn't choose to use them again for this because I do not have confidence in it. Personally, I now just go to my normal preferred mechanic to do it - they're the one who's going to be servicing it going forward if I buy.

xpd

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#2757657 10-Aug-2021 08:05

Yeah, unfortunately avoid AA and even the VTNZ inspections (my ex bro-in-law mechanic said WOF guys were generally failed mechanics).

Years ago I used one of those mobile mechanic types, the guy was really good and pointed out a lot of things I had missed - car was around $4k, he said if I was willing to put another $3k into fixing the issues, it'd be a great car. I left it. He was about $130 and spent a solid hour going over the car.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

LinkTree

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Bung

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#2757708 10-Aug-2021 09:17

Batman:
the report came back glowing, complete with compression tests. i swear they did not do compression tests. i was watching.

A lot of compression tests are done by comparing starter cranking current with a clamp meter on battery cable. You won't see them pulling sparkplugs.

Service records are fine but usually all the owner gets is an invoice with the standard list of checks for that distance/time ticked off. The dealer record usually has the detailed comment.