Pre Purchase Inspections

[nc-grayson]

Hey T4R world,

For those that have bought a vehicle across the country, and paid for a pre-purchase, or third party inspection, how did it go?

Who/which company did the inspection for you? Price aside, was your inspection thorough, accurate, and legitimate? Did you have a good experience with the
"outlet" that completed the inspection? Would you do it again with same company or elsewhere?

I'm just looking for input on good vs. bad pre purchase inspection outlets.

Thanks!

 

[MyHigh]

I did exactly that! Upon finding the 4Runner I wanted on sale at a used car lot for 9,500 I took it for a test drive went back and told them I wanted to take it to Toyota dealership to have an inspection. They said okay, so off to Toyota I drove!
For 180 they did stupid things like check the horn, lights and brake pads really stupid, stupid things for the price. But, for 260, just eighty dollars more they would throw it on the lift and check drivetrain, and then also do a compression check, which really this was all I was worried about. I just wanted to know if the cylinders were any good.
6 hours later they gave me a full run down of all things that needed fixing and of course dealer pricesarty: and gave me some ammo for my negotiations. I ended up paying around 5,000 when all said and done.
I figure, if I had to do this for a couple trucks that it would be worth the extra money to know I'm getting a good truck also you don't have to share what you learned if you decide to pass on said truck, why give the seller a freebie, right?

Good luck

 

[nc-grayson]

Thanks you for the response Tim. I would take it to the Toyota dealership in a heartbeat if i could.

I'm across the country though, and looking for people's experiences who have used a third party to inspect a vehicle before they flew out to buy it.

Thanks again

 

[namsag]

When I was looking for a Land Cruiser I used AIM Mobile Vehicle Inspections to look at several around the couhtry. I don't like that they won't do a compression check but otherwise they claim to look the vehicle over pretty closely, drive it and you get an AutoCheck report. I figured it would be better than buying sight unseen. Cost for each inspection was $150.

I will say they probably kept me from making a mistake on several candidates that turned out to be duds.

But on the car that I eventually purchased ( after considerably stepping up the price range I was looking in) they dropped the ball pretty hard. I had specifically asked the seller about any oil leaks, which he denied. I also told AIM specifically to look for oil leaks, which I presume would be a major part of any inspection anyway. They reported no oil leaks. The day after having the vehicle shipped home, there was oil on my driveway. It was obvious and it was really easy to find just by bending over and looking. Oil was dripping right off the front axle. Any idiot could see it. This pissed me off considerably. At both seller and AIM.

Seller was cool and offered to work with me on getting it fixed. But I was equally upset with AIM because the guy obviously didn't bother to bend over and look under the car. Of course he denied everything. The AIM district manager did say they wanted to "help me solve the problem" but he never made any specific offers.

It all turned out to have a happy ending as it was just the crankshaft position sensor o-ring leaking which i fixed myself for the cost of two o-rings and a tube of Toyota gasket sealant. No leaks now. Dry as a bone underneath.

I told the AIM manager I was really disappointed, and if it had been a pan gasket or main seal leak we would be having a much different conversation. This was exactly why I paid them to inspect the car and I expected to know about this obvious a problem before agreeing on a final price with the seller. I probably could have gotten my $150 inspection fee back but I was so disgusted I didn't feel like jacking with him any more and I let it drop.

I guess the lesson learned is despite their advertising and assurances the inspection is no better than the guy who shows up to look at the car, and I guess I got a bad one. In the end even with AIM or another inspection service, you are still buying the car sight unseen anyway. Personally I am done with that. I will not bother with them again. In future if I ever buy another used car it will have to be one I can put my own eyes on, otherwise I will pass. Hope this helps.

 

[MyHigh]

Lol, dam guess I didn't read your post very well. Yeah that's a tuff one, however there are some people that do just that. Trouble is I have no idea how to get hold of one. Just a thought but maybe ask the seller to take it to the dealer for you on your dime?