Buying a used vehicle can be tricky and a large percentage have hidden histories. Not all total-losses are recorded. Heavy accident damaged repairable vehicles are not recorded. Only an examination by an expert can reveal the secrets of a used car.
Whilst car checks such as HPI tell whether a car has been recorded as a total loss, it will not show whether it has been in an accident and subsequently repaired. Nor will it show if there is an oil leak, suspension fault, excessive wear, transmission issues, engine trouble, etc. The cost of repairs, rectification or replacement of worn parts on an average car easily outweighs the cost of an inspection.
You wouldn’t buy a house without having a survey
People rarely buy a house without having a survey, yet will happily buy a car without having it inspected. Around 4 out of 5 cars have at least one fault, with an average rectification cost of £225 – the cost of our typical peace of mind inspection. 1 in 5 cars require over £550 spending on them to rectify faults, with 1 in 9 costing over £1000. 20% of cars fail their very first MoT at three years old. It’s not just faults; worn parts can be very costly. e.g. a car can be sold legally with tyres above 1.6mm with say 2mm of tread. These will require replacing within a few weeks of purchase. The average cost of a small car such as a Focus, Astra or Golf would be in the region of £320. A 4×4 such as a BMW X5 or Land Rover would cost from £1200 to £1800 depending on the model. Then there are common replacement wear items such as brakes, exhausts, clutches, etc where four figure bills are not unusual.
Our Engineers have specialist equipment to determine whether a vehicle has been in a crash. Call now to book your inspection.