How do people go about taking a car they are interesting in buying to a
mechanic for check up?
I have seen a car on a mag and would like to have a look at it however I am
not sure how I should go about taking it to a mechanic for a checkup before
I decide to buy it.
Are there any high street car centers that do this sort of thing?

Massimo Usai <max.yorke (AT) tiscali (DOT) co.uk> wrote

The AA will come out and do an inspection for you for a price. I think it's
around £150, though I have read they're not always brilliant. You might be
able to convince your local mechanic to have a look at something for you,
though they might not want the job because they could miss something and
then have you moaning at them, or worse trying to take them to court etc.

IMO if you pull out the dip stick, check there's some oil in the engine,
lift the oil filler cap and check the engine's not full of mayonnaise and
look at the coolant to check that it is coolant, not plain water, and that
there's no oil in the coolant, you'll do a lot more than 9/10 car buyers.

It helps to know a local independant. If i was buying a car i'd take it to
mine on the test drive and get them to look it over. He did this for one of
my mates as well, spent about an hour lookin over the X reg saxo his bird
was gonna buy.

--
Dan

As previously posted, you can use the AA or you can use someone from the
Yellow Pages. There are people who do this for a living.

Alternatively, you can get a local garage or main dealer to do it for you.
The main dealer will know the car better and will know the faults. They can
also check for recalls and reworks at the same time. The downside of this is
that a garage is less likely to notice duff repairs than a professional
inspector.

You must also do an HPI check which may be included in the inspection price.

Cost will vary from £50 - £150.


--

Alan


New & used Vauxhall cars & vans, servicing, repairs & parts
www.steeles.co.uk

Vauxhall CD players & handbooks
http://www.stores.ebay.co.uk/vauxhallradiosales

My Dad tastes the coolant to see how strong the anti-freeze mix is, dip
finger in coolant, touch on tongue, spit lots.

He's almost as accurate with his finger as he is with a hygrometer but he's
been doing it for a few years.
--
James

"James" <james (AT) james (DOT) com> wrote


Taste guide to fluids :

Coolant - not too bad
Oil - oily and nasty
Petrol - less oily, tastes quite nasty. (although smell ought to be a
giveaway here)
Brake fluid - _really_ nasty

A friend used to use this as a diagnostic guide..

cheers,
clive

On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 18:00:21 -0000, "Massimo Usai"
<max.yorke (AT) tiscali (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

that I am thinking of buying it, so will on the ramps, etc, they give
it an extra look over.

Cheaper than the AA, and if you know your local inde quite well they
are not out to rip you off for future maintenance.

You've just to ensure that you've got the car for longer than a usual
test drive.

SteveB