160 Point Inspection Worth It?

F

fable

New member
I've been lurking here for a while, this is my first post! I bought an '04 sport 4wd V6 last September with 100K.

I'm thinking of taking the car to the dealer for a 160 point inspection; I don't know very much about the car and don't have much time to dig into it myself.

Think this is worth it? Any idea of how much this should cost? I'd like to know what I am getting into before blindly calling the stealer!

Thanks!
 
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99% of the time these so-called inspections are just scams to get you to bring your vehicle in so they can sell you a service. I've seen it many many times with friends and relatives.

If you can't maintain your vehicles yourself..then find a good trusted independent. The good ones will keep an eye on your vehicle every time you bring it for service (oil change, alignments.tire rotation). Most will give it once over. You'd be surprised just how much you can tell just by driving a vehicle.
 
MikeInNH said:
99% of the time these so-called inspections are just scams to get you to bring your vehicle in so they can sell you a service. I've seen it many many times with friends and relatives.

If you can't maintain your vehicles yourself..then find a good trusted independent. The good ones will keep an eye on your vehicle every time you bring it for service (oil change, alignments.tire rotation). Most will give it once over. You'd be surprised just how much you can tell just by driving a vehicle.
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I totally agree, in fact you shouldn't ever have to pay for an "inspection" of your general vehicle...unless its a special job they are gonna do what the "seller/ dealer" should provide to you for free...
also there are many shops that do free inspections....otherwise its a scam like Mike says.
 
I think it's a scam even if it is free. Free or not..the idea is to get you in the door so they can find something wrong with your vehicle. Then try to sell you the service. Many times there's nothing wrong. But to the un-knowledgeable customer..they think they are getting a deal. Many of these places are trained to be spin artists. They'll sell the unsuspecting customer a service they don't need..but the customer walks out of there like they got the deal of their life.
 
MikeInNH said:
I think it's a scam even if it is free. Free or not..the idea is to get you in the door so they can find something wrong with your vehicle. Then try to sell you the service. Many times there's nothing wrong. But to the un-knowledgeable customer..they think they are getting a deal. Many of these places are trained to be spin artists. They'll sell the unsuspecting customer a service they don't need..but the customer walks out of there like they got the deal of their life.
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HAHAHAHA!!! yeah that's been my observation as well...:second:
 
Woah! Thanks for all the quick feedback guys.

LTDSC - Good to know that inspections are usually free.

My plan was have the inspection done, get a print out of the necessary repairs, then take it to my private Toyota certified mechanic :spy:
 
The inspection is a nice thing to have if its being done honestly. As mike stated a lot of times its more for customer baiting and such than anything else.

I work on our used cars mostly and part of that job is doing inspections on the vehicle that the customer will have a copy when they purchase it. I try to do a honest inspection so the customer knows exactly what they are buying into, whether or not the Sales Dept wants to fix those problems or disclose them.

I think the best route is to get the inspection done by a trusted mechanic or dealer who you know is not trying to gouge you.
 
From personal experience, I use a Toyota dealer that I have trusted for years. When I was looking to buy both 4Runners that I have owned, I took them into that dealer to get a full inspection done. I brought about 4 trucks in for them to look at over the course of 2 years ($100 each inspection) and they had their most experienced tech look them over. He talked to me after each truck he looked at, showed me the list of problems, and if he would buy the vehicle or not. I took my '03 in after I had bought it because the lot I purchased from was far and everything looked, sounded, and felt good with it. They checked it out and the only problem it had was the serpentine belt, which I had them replace.

Same story with my '06. The dealer I was purchasing from was right down the street, so I took it to my dealer to have it inspected. There were a couple of issues it had that I didn't care about (dirty filters, leaky shocks). The dealer I bought from replaced all the filters and I knew I would upgrade to a new suspension (which I have since then) and now I know that I'm driving a 4Runner that will last. Make sure you trust the dealer or shop that will be inspecting the vehicle first. You don't want to have them inspect it and then disagree with the problems they find afterwards.
 
Thanks to everyone! I was really on the fence about what to do about this ever since I purchased the vehicle. A close friend of mine who owns a 4runner and a Sequoia says that the dealer near us is very trustworthy.

I think I will contact the dealer about an inspection and see what I find. I will make a post about my experience!

I loved this thread when I was lurkin', lovin' it more now!
 
IMO the 160 check point list basically deals with surface issues vs true mechanical issues. Plus, look at the actual list and give your opinion of a certified mechanic checking the items. I purchased a certified T4R that are sold as inspected; I had to request the results. The real inspection was the next morning when I checked Bumper-To-Bumper what they said they did to the T4R (to tack on an extra 1,600.00 to certify it + what I felt needed inspecting).

I told them the 1,600.00 should have been in their list price vs extra. The game went on from there as all the work showed and some extras were added since the history d/n show plugs were changes at 35,000 mi per the warr vs reality. It has been a good 07 SR5, V6, 2WD, purchased w 43,000 mi 2 yrs Christmas (49,000 now). A good used purchase requires research and personal inspections IMO. Good Luck!
 
It all depends on the place oing the inspection.

My wife had an oil change done on her Honda at the local dealership while I was out of town for a month (work). They offered her a free inspection, so sure why not.

It came back indicating:
New brake pads & rotors (claiming 4mm or less on pad thickness, but they just done 4k miles prior with the last oil change)
Transmission flush and fill (also only 4k miles old & still looks clean on paper)
New shocks (claimed the new Bilsteins were leaking and dangerous, but there is no visible residue/contamination on the shock bodies)
New drive side halogen low beam bulbs (the car has oem hid low beams)

I took the printed list back with her car when I returned to have the tech show me the issues. It was weird, for some reason when I pressured them to show me each item they couldn't... The oem hid was the best, they tried to explain that Honda is suggesting that the dealers move people from the oem hid lights to halogen based lights. Which nessitate the purchase of new housings and wiring harness.

This was all BS, I called Honda and explained the situation and faxed them the repair requests along with the receipts showing the previous compleated work.. This reminds me I still need to followup with Honda to see what happened.
 
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I agree that a reputable shop do the inspection. If you can't do it yourself and see what is wrong you are going to have to find someone you trust to do it. You'd be surprised how many people don't have any idea they are driving on bald tires with belts ready to break and brakes that are worn slap out. It's actually kind of scarey at times.
 
Hey guys, I appreciate your insight. Maybe I will keep the inspection printout from the dealer to myself when I bring the 4R to the mechanic. If they both find the same issues, then I guess their both honest!
 
BlackWorksInc said:
I think the best route is to get the inspection done by a trusted mechanic or dealer who you know is not trying to gouge you.
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I agree, finding a trusted mechanic is something you should do if you won't have time to deal with problems that come up. It'll save you from getting ripped off.
 
fable said:
Woah! Thanks for all the quick feedback guys.

LTDSC - Good to know that inspections are usually free.

My plan was have the inspection done, get a print out of the necessary repairs, then take it to my private Toyota certified mechanic :spy:
Click to expand...

Why not take it to your “private Toyota certified mechanic” off the bat? Also, if you don’t notice or feel anything wrong with the suv, the first thing I tell people is whenever getting abused vehicle which you may not know any maintenance history of is to do all the fluids ,air and cabin filter, spark plug check etc.. do most of this yourself or pay and start off with peace of mind... then go about “checking” suspension, wheels, tires , brakes , etc ..
 
I dont believe the dealers as far as i can throw them. Last month I brought my 08 to the dealer for an alignment. They came back saying I needed so much service work it would have cost over 2000.00 for the work. Funny thing..... the supposedly "needed" items were done by me 3 weeks before and using toyota parts. Since then i have gotten 2 calls and 32 emails asking when i will bring it back to have the work performed this time with a discount. One Email was from the mgr.

I took it yesterday to my local dealer (around the corner from me) for an alignment (replaced struts, shocks and springs)

Needless to say they did a complete check of the vehicle and it came back with a clean bill of health.

Go figure.

Moral to the story, dont trust dealers.
 
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