Inspection for a 2nd hand car

[Murasame]

Sorry about the posts everyone.

I found a 2002 impreza in richmond and I'm already talking the sales about buying it. So I requested an inspection before buying the car, and this gets me wondering, who should pay for the inspection fee? this question goes with private sales as well.

I guess normally the inspection is free at most bigger dealerships, since they have their own garage. But this one is much smaller.

btw, any recommendation on where to take the car for inspection?? preferably in richmond.

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[iiclips]

From my experiences, most licensed dealerships would sell their inventory as insurance-ready, meaning inspection and necessary repairs are done prior to registering to their inventory list. You can normally request history and the inspection reports for the vehicle and they are somewhat obliged to show you the report.
For private sales, it's how the two parties agree. If the seller's desperate, you can push him to get the inspection done.

Good luck with your buying the 2002!

[iiclips]

In addition,

Inspections are in fact not 'free.' Dealerships have already included the inspection and repair costs to the price of the car.

My experiences.

[seb bot]

I think usually 3rd party inpections are paid for by the potential purchaser as it is the purchaser who will be stuck with any problems...

If it's from a dealer, they should already have done an inspection as iiclips says... He's also right in that that inspection is not really "free" as they just include the cost in the selling price...
They should be able to show you the inspection reports from when they aquired the vehicle, as well as what repairs they did, but you might prefer to have an independant inspection done as well...

When i bought my forester XT last summer from Docksteader I still had it inspected by BCAA for my own peace of mind. I think it cost about $140 with my member's discount ( Maybe about $160 if you are not a member?)
They have mobile trucks and will go to where the vehicle is to perform the inspection on site.

If the dealer ( or is it a private seller???) is not comfortable with getting a third party inspection done, I would be a little suspicious...

[Chupacabras]

Check if the head gasket has been done or if it needs to be done specifically... friend of mine just got stuck with a rather hefty bill he wasn't prepared for...

[Murasame]

Originally Posted by seb bot

I think usually 3rd party inpections are paid for by the potential purchaser as it is the purchaser who will be stuck with any problems...

If it's from a dealer, they should already have done an inspection as iiclips says... He's also right in that that inspection is not really "free" as they just include the cost in the selling price...
They should be able to show you the inspection reports from when they aquired the vehicle, as well as what repairs they did, but you might prefer to have an independant inspection done as well...

That is what I thought if the inspection is paid by the buyer.

But this one is a small dealer, around the street corner type,
so i doubt they have done any inspection beforehand.

I just thought what if everytime as a buyer, I paid for the inspection, turns out the car has problems, and walk away with another inspection bill. that just doesnt sound fair.

[Whistlerfish]

"IF" the seller or dealership does an inspection it's only a safety inspection. You should have an independent mechanical inspection done to find out if there's any mechanical issues that the car has now or may soon need which is a further than weather the car is safe or not.

For example the car is still technically safe if though it may have a ton of leaks, the brakes and tires only have 20% life the stereo doesn't work, there's rust all over the place that you don't see, water leaks into the trunk and on and on....

[iiclips]

Originally Posted by Whistlerfish

"IF" the seller or dealership does an inspection it's only a safety inspection. You should have an independent mechanical inspection done to find out if there's any mechanical issues that the car has now or may soon need which is a further than weather the car is safe or not.

For example the car is still technically safe if though it may have a ton of leaks, the brakes and tires only have 20% life the stereo doesn't work, there's rust all over the place that you don't see, water leaks into the trunk and on and on....

Totally agreed.

If the buyer's suspicious about the vehicle's mechanical condition etc, the buyer would have to do a separate mechanical inspection through 3rd party shop and I guess in this case it's completely at the cost of the buyer. There's a "but"... but if it turns out that the car's mechanical condition is not acceptable, it could cost the potential buyer a lot of money, however it is not wasted(because you didn't buy a POS).

If you choose to do a complete mechanical check up, make sure you look at inside and out and also lift the vehicle to check for any rusts on the chassis. As Whistlerfish pointed out, the car could *pass* the safety inspection with the fullest minimum requirement and you don't know if there's anything wrong with the stereo or something.

Also make sure you see the history of the vehicle. Things you want to look for is any accidents and/or any out-of-province registration history.

[Murasame]

Originally Posted by iiclips

Totally agreed.

If the buyer's suspicious about the vehicle's mechanical condition etc, the buyer would have to do a separate mechanical inspection through 3rd party shop and I guess in this case it's completely at the cost of the buyer. There's a "but"... but if it turns out that the car's mechanical condition is not acceptable, it could cost the potential buyer a lot of money, however it is not wasted(because you didn't buy a POS).

Sorry I didnt make this clear, I meant mechanical inspection when i just say inspection.

But could we argue that whether or not the mechanical condition is acceptable, the seller should pay for the inspection?

Since 1. if the inspection comes clean then the car could be sold and both side is happy. 2. if inspection comes out bad the deal is off, buyer waste time, and seller keeps the inspection report for the next buyer.

I just thought it makes less sense if the buyer paid for it, doesnt like the results, and have to go home with a useless report.

Also make sure you see the history of the vehicle. Things you want to look for is any accidents and/or any out-of-province registration history.

I actually did a history check on the car. there was a file with icbc with no details. the seller explained the previous owner scratched the bumper backing up, and paid a $300 fix himself, no claim from icbc. I dont think the seller has the receipt from the fix, so it could had been much worst, but not bad enough to claim from icbc.

So I'm still going to let the inspection go on, its just that im wondering if I should pay for it or is the seller obligated to pay for his business.

[bmans5]

Buyers always pay for Inspections, (on Cars trucks, boats, houses, etc..any big ticket item) Just realize, you have no obligation to show it to the seller (even if it is a dealer), it was your paid for inspection.

Yeah you loose out on..anywhere from 80 to 150 bucks, but I would rather spend that than but a car for say 15k then find out after 2 months I have to dump 2k plus into some repair that a inspection would have found.

Also look at it in bartering power, you have it inspected and the inspector notes the tires are at 65% or the Brakes, or a rear strut is leaking..you can say fix it or knock off X amount of dollars. If the seller say, no you don't need an inspection, that is a sure sign to walk away...actually run.

[alexinvancouver]

i sold tons of cars and always insist that buyer would inspect a car
(surely enough he pays)
i'm always confident of a car i sell and never have problem with selling it
at the end it comes down to price
but what always surprises me is how many unneeded "points" are
in the inspection reports
like
ok, left power window works... check
right power window works... check
low beam works..
high beam...
blinker...
windshield wipers, washers...a\c... tires... door locks...
etc etc etc...
tens of the inspection points u pay for!
there're so many things u can check urself
what i would suggest is to check all u can by urself
even how much left on the brakes and shocks and struts condition
only thing u can't check urself like compression
which pretty much shows
if pistons/cylinders/rings are worn and if the head gasket leaking
any mechanic in any garage can check it for u
or a friend if he has gauges/tools and know how to use them
well, that's my point of view

[Drakar]

I don't know about imports but a lot of american cars the window motors/regulators go regularly and they can cost 150-500 to be replaced so knowing a power window works on both sides IS a good thing.

better to have more checked then less, it still all costs the same right.

[Murasame]

The seller havent reply any of my emails lately, i have a feeling the car is sold.

This is what I'm been afraid of, not only the car is sold, but now I have a $60 history report bill on my credit card.

[truenosan]

$60 may have been spent on doing a history report, but heck, it still beats buying a lemon and having to deal with the headaches. It usually the buyer who will do an inspection, but like stated, its a small piece of mind. I'd much rather lose a few hundred bucks then having a 15K paper weight.

[Chupacabras]

Yep - it's a buyer beware sort of deal. It sucks to spend the cash, but it helped me find out that a perfectly innocent looking obs was actually an Ontario car that had a bunch of body work done. Sure I had to pay and didn't get the car, but at least I don't have a quickly rusting OBS in the drive. (The owners said the guy who sold it to them said it was in BC all their lives, and are now stuck with their car - they should have payed the $60!)