Pre-Purchase Car Inspection in Melbourne

Why an inspection is worth it

A used car is the second largest thing most people buy, and it is usually bought after a twenty minute look and a drive around the block. An hour on a hoist with someone who works on that model every week tells you a great deal more than that, and it costs a fraction of the first thing you would otherwise find out the hard way.

The point is not to talk you out of the car. Most of the cars we look at are fine. The point is that you go into the purchase knowing what is coming: the tyres that need replacing in six months, the seep that is a seal today and a gearbox out tomorrow, the service that is overdue and what it will cost.

What we look at

• The engine and driveline, including leaks, noises, and how it behaves cold and warm
• Brakes, with pad and disc thickness measured so you know what is left rather than guessed
• Steering, suspension and bushes, on a hoist rather than by eye
• Tyres: tread, age, and uneven wear that points at alignment or a suspension fault
• Cooling system, belts, hoses and the battery
• Fault codes read from the vehicle computers, including stored and pending faults
• Body and structure, looking for previous repairs, mismatched panels and rust
• Service history, and what the logbook says has and has not actually been done

Then we tell you what we found, what needs doing now, what can wait, and roughly what each item costs. That last part is what turns an inspection into something you can use, either to walk away or to negotiate with a straight face.

Why knowing the model matters

We are BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce specialists, and we work on Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche as well as everyday makes. That matters here more than it does on a service, because every model has its own known weak points, and the gap between a cheap fix and an expensive one is often a five minute check that a generic inspection would never think to do.

One of our Google reviews shows the shape of it. A customer came to us about a leak from a rear differential output axle seal. On the hoist, our technician Eddy found that a rear bushing had torn as well, and both were quoted and repaired together. That was a repair rather than a pre-purchase inspection, but it is the same skill and the same lesson: the fault you were told about is very often not the only one.

What you get, and what happens next

We ring you and talk through what we found, rather than emailing a form and leaving you to interpret it. If you buy the car we already know it, which makes the first service straightforward. If you walk away, you have saved a good deal more than the inspection cost you.

If the car also needs a roadworthy certificate, we are a licensed vehicle tester and can handle both in the same visit. They are different checks and a car can pass one without telling you much about the other, so it is worth being clear about which you are asking for.

Booking an inspection

Booking ahead matters more for an inspection than for most jobs, because it needs a hoist and a technician for a decent block of time. Call the workshop or send the car details through the quote form and we will confirm a time.

The car comes to us at 13 Metropolitan Avenue, Nunawading, so it can go up on the hoist. Most private sellers and dealers are used to the request. A seller who will not allow an independent inspection has told you something useful for free.

Questions fréquentes

More answers, including servicing, booking and payment, are on the questions page.

• Roadworthy Certificate
• BMW Service
• Questions fréquentes