Buying used car. Worth getting BCCA and/or compression test?
 

so when buying used car do you guys get compression test done or have a mobile mechanic/bcaa come do an inspection? i know bcaa doesnt do the compression test so you would have to take it to like canadian tire or something too. what do you guys suggested when buying used?

Yes, do a compression test before purchasing an used car.

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I asked Speed Syndicate before, they do compression test & used car inspection.

BU

get someone who knows something about cars to come take a look at the car with you. He/she will be able to further advise you on whether you should perform a compression test or not.
A compression test is useless if you do not know how to interprets the results. If you took it to Canadian Tires and they performed the test, they will return you a value for each cylinder. With this information, would you be able to assess the condition of the engine? Would you be able to use these compression values to determine a fair price for the current engine? Probably not, so you must as well get a competent mechanic to come with you to inspect the car.

Also, as you probably realized, a good compression result is not a indication of the overall health of the vehicle. For example, you may have excellent compression, but later discover that the chassis is in really poor shape.

Because of this, I suggest you bring your mechanic with you. The mechanics is definitely worth whatever you have to pay him for the 1 hour to come with you to look at the car. However, I not sure if it is worth it for you to take every potential vehicle you may consider purchasing to a shop for inspection. Imo, you are just wasting your time.

What if the car's a beater and the inspection costs 10% of the purchase price

Use your common sense. If a ~$100 dollar inspection is 10% of the value, you can GUARANTEE there's (many) problems with the car.

^Not always...

$1000 car, as long as it runs good and doesn't leak you dont need to waste money on an inspection. If your spending $5K or more I would recommend an inspection.

That's more or less what i was trying to say... Thanks. :concentrate:

Yeah i'm looking for a $10K car myself, getting an inspection done for sure.

what type of car is it? I would recommend a leakdown test over a compression test. It will tell you the condition of the cylinders sealing; rings, intake valves, and exhaust valves. Give us a call if you have anymore questions: 604-554-0170

Read the fine print of BCAA's inspection before you commit. You can't do much if they screwed up. If you dont' know what you are doing, I suggest bring the car to one of the sponsors and get it checked out.

It really depends on the age, price and brand of the car. Compression test is really easily to do onsite if you bring your own equipment.

or just buy a compression guage their not that expensive and you can always use it later to diagnose problems. just check your compression specs for the car your buying before you do so

BCAA inspections are useless. Take it to a recommended shop and have them look it over put it in the air and test drive it for you. Theres much more to a pre purchase inspection than a comp check. Actually I've have yet to see a good running car come into my shop for a pre purchase inspection and it have low compression.

Useful to take a friend who is mechanically inclined if not take it to the shop and have them take a look and even put it on the hoist to make sure there's no rust etc.