Pre-Purchase Inspection
You found a car online or through a private seller and it looks fine. It probably is fine. But you're not going to know that by looking at it in a driveway, and the seller isn't going to volunteer what's wrong with it. Before you hand over money, bring it to us or have the seller drop it off. We put it on a lift, take a look at what you can't see from the driver's seat, and tell you what we find. No stake in whether you buy it.
An hour on the lift has talked plenty of people out of a car they were ready to buy that afternoon.
What we actually look at
Brakes: pad thickness, rotor condition, whether the lines and hoses are original or already patched. Suspension: worn bushings, leaking struts, anything loose that shouldn't be. Cooling system: we check for leaks at the radiator, hoses, and water pump, and we run the engine to see if it holds temperature or creeps toward overheating. We check the starting and charging system, since a car that's slow to start on a lot but fine after a jump is a different problem than one with a dying battery. If the heater doesn't work but the engine isn't overheating, that usually points to a stuck valve or blend door, not something serious. We'll tell you which it is.
Depending on what we find, we may run a diagnostic scan for stored codes, even ones that aren't currently triggering the check engine light. A cleared code doesn't mean a fixed problem.
What you get out of it
A plain answer about what's wrong, what it would cost to put right, and whether that changes what the car is worth to you. Sometimes the news is good: a car with high mileage but a clean underside and no leaks is a different bet than one with the same mileage and a rusted subframe. Sometimes it's not. Either way you're negotiating from what we found, not what the seller told you.
When it's not worth it
If you're buying something under a couple thousand dollars, sometimes the inspection costs more than makes sense relative to the car. We'll tell you that up front if it looks like the case. And if the car has obvious rust through the frame or a mechanical problem the seller already admits to, there's not much point paying us to confirm what you already know.
We're in Graham — call or come by and we'll get this done before someone else buys the car.