REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

tiger_handheld · 06-19-2011, 07:29 PM

Have anyone here used the services of BCAA to inspect a used car that you were serious about buying?

Share your experience? How good are they with scheduling? If I call on a Monday (I plan to call tomorrow and find out) would I be able to get an appointment for Saturday? How long is the inspection - i know 143pt visual inspection? Is it worth it on a 08 mazda/08 civic - both cars have powertrain warranty left.

OBD1 · 06-19-2011, 07:35 PM

How many bloody threads are you going to make before you buy a car? Are these two cars private sale or at a dealership? If your going to put down 10K + on a car I would pay a couple hundred $ for an inspection for peace of mind. When I bought my 07 Civic Si from surrey Honda it was pre inspected by BCAA and it didn't cost me anything.

Edit: My Civic was pre owned.

Bath Tussue · 06-19-2011, 07:59 PM

when my mom sold her car, the buyer had BCAA check the car.
they didn't find any problems when the car had 10 year old cracked tires on it.

bcrdukes · 06-19-2011, 08:17 PM

Take the car to a sponsor or a reputable dealership. I mean, who would know the car better? A dealership mechanic who works on these cars day in and day out, including in his sleep? Or a BCAA mechanic who sees all sorts of cars?

You decide.

tiger_handheld · 06-19-2011, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

Take the car to a sponsor or a reputable dealership. I mean, who would know the car better? A dealership mechanic who works on these cars day in and day out, including in his sleep? Or a BCAA mechanic who sees all sorts of cars?

You decide.

Is there any sort of service that mazda/honda can perform. I dont think they have a XX point visual inspection service. But I will call them tomorrow and find out.

tiger_handheld · 06-19-2011, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OBD1

How many bloody threads are you going to make before you buy a car? Are these two cars private sale or at a dealership? If your going to put down 10K + on a car I would pay a couple hundred $ for an inspection for peace of mind. When I bought my 07 Civic Si from surrey Honda it was pre inspected by BCAA and it didn't cost me anything.

Edit: My Civic was pre owned.

If I don't know about a subject I will make a thread to gain knowledge. The thread will also benefit other users when they search BCAA. I think that's how a forum works...

It's not the money I'm concerned about in this case - it's how well of a job they do. I've heard 50/50 reviews from a few people I asked, so I decided to come here and get a general feel for BCAA Inspections.

bcrdukes · 06-19-2011, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiger_handheld

Is there any sort of service that mazda/honda can perform. I dont think they have a XX point visual inspection service. But I will call them tomorrow and find out.

Call their service department and ask for a pre-purchase inspection. I believe most, if not all, dealerships offer this service. Call around to the various dealerships of your choice and make such arrangements. Also, make sure that you request the PPI report go only to you - not to the seller (unless they split costs with you.)

skylinergtr · 06-19-2011, 11:14 PM

BCAA has a very thorough inspection.

They really note down anything like a weak horn sound, or a slow operating window, etc...

I have found that from what they note down, that it makes it good for bargaining in the end.

Unfoutunately they dont do a full mechanical check. They cannot do a compression check i think. They do identify leaks however. They probably wouldnt know if the bushings are due for replacement on a bmw (common after age or 120,000kms).

I dont think their mechanical aspect on inspecting a car is that great. I was sold my toyota 4runner last year, and the buyer got a bcaa inspection. The car was solid, leak free, and was undercoated with fluid film (an oil based undercoating). The BCAA inspector wrote that the transmission to transfercase seal was leaking (which it was not!) because of the oil based undercoating on the car. Obviously he cannot tell the difference between a yellow oil based undercoating compared to blood red atf. The buyer at that point looked at the whole car for 3 hours with a flashlight and agreed that there was no "transmission to transfercase seal leak".

just my experience and opinions.

Good luck!

jtanner_ · 06-19-2011, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiger_handheld

Is there any sort of service that mazda/honda can perform. I dont think they have a XX point visual inspection service. But I will call them tomorrow and find out.

I know Honda can do 150 pt inspections as i've had one previously. Depending on what you're looking for I would also agree with the above and consider going to a sponsor.

melloman · 06-20-2011, 09:05 AM

If your going to be spending a ton of money, why not spend the little bit extra?

When I bought my Audi. I had BCAA inspect it, AND got Shift Autosport (VW/Audi specific shop) to inspect it. Total cost me $250 for both inspections, and was able to negoiate $1000 off the price because of maintainence that was due.

But as previously stated, BCAA knows the "general" knowledge of what to look for, while a dealership knows more or less "exactly" what it should have done. If the price's are both about the same, go the dealership route.

freakshow · 06-20-2011, 09:22 AM

I always preferred to just take the car to a mechanic that I trust. I found the BCAA ones hard to schedule because they can only say "we'll be there between 9-5 on Xday", so the seller needs to be *very* accommodating for it to work out..

ilvtofu · 06-20-2011, 11:46 AM

I say +1 to the mechanic who specializes in that make/model of car, I once brought my moms C class to a tech at boundary bay dealership and within seconds of popping the hood he noticed the car had been in an accident. Relatively low speed one too (approx 10km/h, hood and bumper replaced and a few other bits and pieces) and tbh I couldn't tell myself. But to someone who has seen hundreds of these cars it's noticeable

booge_man · 06-20-2011, 08:44 PM

BCAA are Okay but make sure you are either there during the inspection and make sure you inquire about any thing they find wrong they sometimes can be to brief.
Posted via RS Mobile

fliptuner · 06-20-2011, 11:55 PM

Until today I was in the market for an 07/08 Mazda3 GT. I contacted the Mazda dealership in the Richmond Auto Mall (close to the owners house) and was quoted $99 for a 153pt inspection that would take a couple of hours. They were also willing to scan for any stored codes. BCAA was $169 for the mobile service.

GLOW · 06-21-2011, 07:44 AM

from my friend's experience as a seller:

he is car savvy and does work and maintenance on his own car. while selling his old car he said he found it difficult to sell b/c a lot of the lookers used BCAA. though he knew his car was not a lemon and he took care of it, he said the BCAA guys were picky about what they inspected and it turned away a lot of possible buyers. I guess in a way that's good for the buyer b/c it shows that bcaa in his situation was very meticulous.

i have a mechanic whom i trust and for me that is who i would use if i needed an inspection

sonick · 06-21-2011, 07:51 AM

In terms of scheduling inspections at a mechanics, how does that typically work? Do you make the appointment with the dealership and then have the seller bring the car in themselves? Or you have to be there as well when the seller drops it off?

melloman · 06-21-2011, 08:38 AM

Buyer pays for inspection, seller brings in the car.
Just schedule a time that works for them.

fliptuner · 06-21-2011, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonick

In terms of scheduling inspections at a mechanics, how does that typically work? Do you make the appointment with the dealership and then have the seller bring the car in themselves? Or you have to be there as well when the seller drops it off?

You pay and the seller brings it down. All you need is the report but it's also nice if you can be there at the tail end of the inspection to talk to the inspector in case he has a few extra details to pass on.

bcrdukes · 06-21-2011, 11:27 AM

I personally make arrangements with the seller to meet at the inspection facility if and when possible. I also make arrangements with the seller on whether who pays for the inspection (usually buyer) and/or deducting the cost of the inspection from the sale price.

I never let the seller get a copy of the inspection unless it's agreed we split the cost. No point in allowing the seller keep an inspection report to be used for his sale and his/er benefit. No free lunch, bitches.

Last but not least, do your homework on the vehicle. Find out its pros'n'cons and have a list of questions ready to ask the mechanic/service adviser.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fliptuner

I contacted the Mazda dealership in the Richmond Auto Mall (close to the owners house) and was quoted $99 for a 153pt inspection that would take a couple of hours.

WTF!?!!?! That's hella cheap man!

fliptuner · 06-21-2011, 12:18 PM

Yeah, I called yesterday and sure enough, the service guy said $99 for 153pt, incl. scannng for old codes.

Check this out. So my GF's looking for a Mazda 3 GT in white and find this one on CL, fully loaded. It's over her budget even after negotiating a (pre-inspection) price but decide it has everything we want, there's nothing comparable out there, her lease is up in 2 days, so let's go for it for $15500. Looks great in the pics, still has 2 years Mazda warranty, no accidents - awesome.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rc...450314943.html

ICBC check - 1 windshield claim, BC car, no accidents. Cool no problem.
Carfax - same as ICBC. Cool.

OK, I'll hike my ass to Richmond to check this thing out with her. I'm a mechanic by trade and know a lot of guys at bodyshops and have seen/helped with all stages of cars getting rebuilt.

Everything looks awesome inside, body looks great, paint's in good shape, new tires, brakes are newer, etc., etc.

Lets see what's under the hood. Paint chipped on all the fender bolts, missing firewall grommets, overspray on the wiring, plastic welded or epoxy'd cowl held on with...Robertson screws? There was even expanding foam coming out of the frame horns and fingerprints and shit all over the seam sealer. I was so fucking choked.

So do your homework and be thorough. If I wasn't there to check it out, who knows, could've been a $17000 mistake. BTW if I didn't find those things and the car was actually in order, I still would've taken it to get inspected.

bcrdukes · 06-21-2011, 12:31 PM

^
Ouch.

Good thing you caught all these problems.

fliptuner · 06-21-2011, 02:30 PM

Yeah, that pretty much took all the wind out of my sails.

My GF asked me to find a very specific car (wouldn't budge on colour, sunroof or body style), with a tight-ish budget and very little time. I spent a lot of time sifting through ads, making phone calls and travelling, find a few candidates and what we thought was the perfect one was a total bust. Fuck, I even bought a shark fin for it as a present to her.

Her lease is up tomorrow so we decided to just buy it out since it's still a great car and the buyout is somewhat under market value. It has everything she wants, sans 2 doors. Now she gave me free reign to make it a bit cooler, so here comes a visit to Ken at Autowerks, a set 19's, coilovers and a new front lip, all ready for summer.

tiger_handheld · 06-21-2011, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Yeah, that pretty much took all the wind out of my sails.

My GF asked me to find a very specific car (wouldn't budge on colour, sunroof or body style), with a tight-ish budget and very little time. I spent a lot of time sifting through ads, making phone calls and travelling, find a few candidates and what we thought was the perfect one was a total bust. Fuck, I even bought a shark fin for it as a present to her.

Her lease is up tomorrow so we decided to just buy it out since it's still a great car and the buyout is somewhat under market value. It has everything she wants, sans 2 doors. Now she gave me free reign to make it a bit cooler, so here comes a visit to Ken at Autowerks, a set 19's, coilovers and a new front lip, all ready for summer.

If I go that route, I'll buy the sharkfin

fliptuner · 06-21-2011, 03:01 PM

On sale right now at Freeway for $40+tax. Other dealers = $93+tax. I saw your colour there yesterday.

escobar · 11-30-2013, 01:15 AM

Although a dealer may perform a more comprehensive inspection, the bcaa inspection proved to be worth every penny. I was buying a vehicle from out of town, and was unable to see or test drive the vehicle personally. I used the BCAA inspection service to check out the vehicle for me. the inspection was comprehensive enough to tell me that there were several mechanical problems with the vehicle, which contradicted the claims of the salesman. I confirmed the BCAA inspector's findings when I followed up and checked the vehicle in person.
The inspector called me after his inspection and spent quite a bit of time discussing in detail his findings and answered every question I had regarding the vehicle.
In the end, the vehicle would have required over $2500 in repairs as soon as I drove it off the lot(my own estimate) some of which would have to have been done immediately.
I was very impressed with the service, and in the end it saved me from making a $15000 mistake.