WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER SKIP A PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION
- Omar
- Jan 8, 2018
- 2 min read
When you are buying a used car, you may be tempted to skip the inspection given the looks of the car and the accurate listing. You could do so, but the consequences can be dramatic.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a Mercedes G-Class 2011 in the garage. Muhanad (our customer) was extremely happy to get his hands on this car given the great price and Dubizzle advertisement showcasing zero accidents.
Muhanad was eager to seal the deal, but wisely decided to hold on for an extra day and get the car checked – just in case!
The seller promised Muhanad that the car was well maintained and even let Muhanad take it for a 30-minute road test. Everything was great! The car was doing great and seemed good from the outside.
But then the inspection started and so did the issues. The car needed major service and had old tires – which is not a big deal – however, what we discovered towards the end of the inspection was shocking.
At the beginning of the inspection, the mechanics immediately spotted that the front right fender was painted, as were the bumpers.
Moving on, after completing a visual external inspection, mechanics hopped in the car to discover more: the front diver door panel was loose (unusual issue), the glove box lock was missing, and the driver seat ride trim was broken.
These were alarming issues, but mechanics proceeded with the inspection to discover that the rear right brake lamp and front left mirror lamp were not working (no big deal) and engine mountings are weak.
Mechanics were certain to discover issues when they would raise the car to see the underbody. They were right: front both shocks, steering gearbox, transmission cooler pipe and front axle were leaking.
Two more steps and mechanics would understand if this car was involved in bad accidents or not:
The computer check proved how bad the accidents were – plenty of abnormal fault codes (door control modules, overhead control panel and signal acquisition).
The mechanics completed the inspection and informed Muhanad that indeed the car was involved in an accident but could not precise how many. But we could. With our access to police databases were were able to find that the car had been in EIGHT accidents!
Muhanad's decision to have the car inspected saved him a fortune in future repairs, and protected him from the potential risk of driving a poorly fixed car.
Book your inspection with www.scoutmycar.com and make sure that you're buying the right car!
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