Use car inspection, how do regular folks do it?
 

I know as car guys, we know our in and outs around cars, but for people who don't know about cars, how do they buy used car without getting ripped off? There were a few times I had to go with a family to help them checkout a used car, but what if you have no car guy in your family? What do people usually do?

I know there also BCAA that does inspections, do the buyer request the seller to meet at a BCAA inspection centre? who usually pays for the fees?

The buyer requests the seller and the buy pays for the BCAA inspection. They come meet you at the sellers car and go over everything. It's really the smartest move and I know lots of people that have used BCAA in the past.

Buyer pays for inspection fees. If the seller offers to pay, and go to a place he knows, stay away lol.

Even as a 'regular guy' you can still ask questions about the car's history, and see what kind of answers the seller gives. Some people don't know shit and leave everything to the dealer, while some people don't know shit and don't actually do shit.

But I guess peace of mind is worth paying for.

if the guy is willing you can take it to your own trusted mechanic too. but if not i've heard good things from BCAA. my friend was selling his old car (he works on his own car and keeps it in good working order) and he said how hard the BCAA guy was on his car. it was in decent shape with no problems but the BCAA guy pointed out every little detail to the potential seller. he was surprised at that. i also do the carfax and all. costs more but i pay for the lien check too...last time i used it was ready to throw down cash on a car but 2 days before the weekend i was going i did the check and in 3 min i found out the car had a lien on it that the seller apparently didn't even know.

Don't forget to check the vin through the aircare website because you will be able to tell if the OD was rolled back in the past. I actually found a couple vehicles like that in the past.

Definately use BCAA. Unless you have an actual mechanic helping you inspect it, no regular "car guy" is going to be able to really give you any useful info. The 2 times ive used BCAA they were exceptionally thorough and found a bunch of stuff. THey spend a long ass time checking everything out.
I would even use BCAA if your buying used from a dealership.

Someone above could have probably answered, but I just went through this couple months ago when I was buying an used car

First of all, it depends where the used car belong to. A) Private owners B) Big Dealership (Like OpenRoad, Jim Patterson etc..) C) Small Dealership (LP Auto, Lucky 8 etc..)

If you want to buy a car with peace of mind, I say choose B because surely enough they already done an brief vehicle inspection report, which, they can show you PLUS they provide free car proof reports which is + as you can see the history

If the used car is from A or C, Chances are they do not have Car Proof reports, so definitely recommend getting one and as for vehicle inspection, BCAA offers it, as well as Dealership, like I went to Richmond Acura. The report cost any where around (130~170+tax), I chose Dealership, but after getting the report, I regret that I didn't choose BCAA which is more detailed

My buddy who recently bought a diesel truck tried to go through BCAA after recommendation from anther friend who is a diesel mechanic

I'm not sure if the diesel techs are different than regular gasoline vehicles, but they told him it was a 2-3 week wait for the inspection, that's basically useless if your buying a used vehicle unless you luck out and the guy doesn't sell the vehicle your looking at
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when i bought my car last year, i had the seller take it to mazda dealer and get a "pre-purchase" inspection done. The dealership emailed me a copy of the report prior to the seller getting a copy so I knew the condition before the seller could fudge anything. The sale was subject to a satisfactory report and I paid for it regardless of purchase. I was happy and bought the car.

also talked to a couple of guys from here about mazda's and what to look for when I went. helps to be a part of a car community :)

There are few threads here that are pretty helpful, check em' out:

http://www.revscene.net/forums/searc...archid=3864001

BCAA won't do some older cars before 96 or something, btw.

One problem I had with BCAA was that they would only schedule a 'day' to do it, not a time frame. So the seller has to wait for sometime between 9-5 for the BCAA person to show up.

I'm not sure if they've changed that now, but that was a fairly large inconvenience for the seller and even myself.

I prefer making arrangements with both the buyer or seller to have the vehicle inspected by reputable dealerships or independent shops.

If arrangements can't be made, I simply walk away from the deal. It helps weed out those who are serious and those who aren't.

looks like Parm search for "used car inspection" and my thread popped up. Too bad OBD1 is banned, would've rubbed it in his face!

BCAA is good. I used them in the past. They show up to a pre-determined location, then they'll spend about an hour going through the car. Then provide the buyer with the results.

There are some cars BCAA won't inspect, including BMW M cars, Porsche, anything older than 16 years, and hybrids.

One thing to keep in mind with BCAA and any other inspection is that they only do a general inspection that's basically the same for every car. But as we all know, some cars have specific problem areas and others don't. So the best thing is do your research in advance. Read the message boards for your make and model. Figure out the common problems and defects. Talk to other owners. Then ask the BCAA inspector if he can look closely to identify specific things he may otherwise not check for.

Secondly, I recommend buying a Carproof report which provides a full North American claims history plus does a search for liens.

i generally agree with you, but funny you should mention jim patterson. my friend bought a relatively new used car (3 years old) from a jim patterson dealership and the salesman was not honest in terms of the contract & fixing a cosmetic issue. my friend's fault for having nothing in writing, but the salesman definitely slipped in an extra financing fee (car was paid in full - no financing done).

so just because it's a big name dealer, don't put 100% faith in them either.

just to let both of you guys know, it's actually jim pattison.

get fliptuner to inspect the tachometer fluid and the accelerator bearings.

BCAA inspections are fine, or just schedule a pre-purchase inspection at any BCAA approved auto shop.

On average, I'd say there are 1-2 pre-purchase inspections that go through the shop in the course of a week. Doesn't take long, and it's pretty thorough as far as visual. BCAA won't do compression tests, nor do most shops unless it's requested, though. And honestly, with newer cars, it's not normally needed.

One thing to note, if you are getting a pre-purchase done, make sure if the vehicle is new enough, that it's scanned for codes/monitors. Can't begin to tell you the number of cars I've seen where codes have been cleared right before a seller brings it in.

Im one of those guys OP mentioned where I don't know smack when it comes to cars. I'm in the market looking to buy a used 2001 Lexus IS300. 90,000 KM, REBUILT title. It's a private seller. Anything in particular I should look for in these? Now I messaged the seller and he tells me it was a minor accident, only the fender needed to be replaced, everything else is original etc etc. How does the Rebuilt title affect the price of the car? Should I stay entirely away from rebuilt cars? Thanks guys!

^ Unless you're getting a deal (like half market value) and the car is somewhat rare, I would stay away from a car with rebuilt status. Unless you're planning to keep it forever, having that status will impact your ability to sell the car in the future. The IS300 isn't exactly rare (unless it's a manual from Canada, but in this case, it isn't), so your best bet is to just wait until another one comes along. One thing to look out for is whether or not the timing belt has been changed recently.

I've had inspections done with BCAA and while they're comprehensive, they still don't get underneath the car. I think going to a trusted independent mechanic is best because they can get the car on a hoist and look through everything.
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The problem with rebuilt cars is that it could be something very minor (ie: theft of OEM Recaro seats out of a GTI) or something major (ie: flipped the car, bent the frame, etc). Unless the car comes with documents stating what actually happened to the car, I'd stay away from it. Sure, there are shops out there that actually do a good job rebuilding cars, but I'm willing to bet that there's more crap than gold out there.

I probably plan to keep this car for a while. He says he has papers for inspection and documentation that there was no frame damage, and just the fender had to be replaced. Hes asking $7500, so it seems like an okay price right now.

Are there any RS sponsors I could go to for the inspection?

BCAA was great when I bought my TL, and subsequently when my buddy bought our Impreza off us (we recommended him to get a check just so there's no problems that may crop up after the sale (he's a really close friend so I didnt want to screw him over))

I have a copy of the BCAA Reports that I am willing to share. If anyone wants to see if PM me.

$7500? You can do better than that, especially if it's a rebuild and a 2001.

Or better yet, just get a BMW E46. :o