Two hours that
saves four figures
We go and look at a car before you buy it, with no interest either way in whether you do. On a private sale it is the cheapest insurance available, and it regularly ends with us telling somebody to walk away.
Book an inspection
60 secondspre-purchase inspections · client photography
What we can and cannot tell you
An inspection is thorough, not clairvoyant, and it is worth being clear about both halves of that.
We can tell you about condition, wear, leaks, corrosion, tyre and brake life, fault codes, service history and whether the car matches its description. We road test it and we photograph what we find.
We cannot tell you what will fail next month, and we cannot dismantle somebody else’s car. What we can do is tell you what a careful mechanic sees in two hours, which is a great deal more than a buyer sees in twenty minutes.
The report goes to you, not the seller. Plenty of our inspections end with a negotiation rather than a walk-away: a list of what needs doing is a reason for a lower price as often as it is a reason to leave.
What comes with the job
Road test
How it actually drives, not just how it looks.
IncludedFull diagnostic scan
Stored and pending codes across modules.
All modulesUnderside inspection
Corrosion, leaks, exhaust and suspension.
IncludedService history check
Whether it matches what is claimed.
CheckedHPI check
Finance, write-off and mileage discrepancies.
IncludedPhotographed report
Emailed the same day, to you only.
Same dayHow the job actually runs
Details taken
Advert, registration and where the car is.
Seller arranged
We contact them and agree a time.
Inspected
Road test, diagnostics, and a proper look underneath.
Report written
Findings and photographs, same day.
Talked through
On the phone, so you can ask what it means.
What does your car need?
Registration and postcode. We will tell you what the car is, which service it is due on its own mileage, what that costs and when a van can get to you.
From £189, about three hours on your driveway
Your vehicle
Petrol · 1800cc · first registered 2010
Its mileage
47,125 at its last MOT, worked out across 6 tests
Prices are what the job starts at for a car this size; anything the van finds is quoted before it is done. Vehicle and mileage information comes from the DVSA record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Asked about inspections
Will the seller agree to this?
Almost all genuine sellers do. A refusal is itself useful information, and we would take it as an answer.
Is it worth it on a cheap car?
Often more so. The gap between a good example and a bad one is proportionally bigger at the cheap end, and there is less margin for an expensive surprise.
Can you inspect at a dealer?
Yes, and many are fine with it. Some franchise sites have rules about third parties on the forecourt, which we will check beforehand.
What if you find something small?
You get a list and a rough cost for each item. Most buyers use it to negotiate rather than to walk, and that alone usually covers the inspection.
Inspections anywhere
We will travel to the car rather than making you bring it, anywhere on the patch and sometimes beyond it.
