What is a Pre-Purchase Used Car Inspection
A true pre-purchase used car inspection is a hands-on inspection of the body, interior, electronics, frame, steering, suspension, brakes, engine, transmission and driveline of the vehicle.

It is a home inspection for your future set of wheels!

I am sure you’ve heard of a home inspection or house inspection that happens prior to purchasing a new house or commercial building to ensure it doesn’t have hidden issues.  A pre-purchase vehicle inspection is the same thing just on a car or truck before you buy it!

Here is the problem with us consumers!

Many of us consumers, (Yes I said US) get emotionally attached and rightfully excited when we go to purchase a used car or truck.  That excitement comes from many of places such as the ability financially to spend the money, the excitement of having something new to the family and also some excitement comes from the negative side of both of those things.

Needless to say there is a lot of emotion that goes into car buying.  I don’t mean to be the Debbie Downer or anything here however, that emotion and excitement is 9/10 times the reason why consumers end up purchasing a vehicle that 1 has hidden problems and 2 doesn’t fit their needs like they thought it did.  Let’s face it folks, we buy what we think looks pretty and it gets us in trouble, it happens to all of us at some point. That is why I started Test Drive Technologies in 2009.

Who can benefit from a pre-purchase vehicle inspection?

The possibilities are endless for sure.  Our main source of inspections are from classic car buyers around the world and helping them verify the vehicle is what the advertisement says it is.  However, our speciality however, is helping families with new teen drivers and making sure the car that they are buying for the family is a safe and reliable vehicle whether it is for the new driver or the whole family.  

Our pre-purchase inspection also helps the seller in a roundabout way.  We help find things that they might of missed or that could end up being deal breakers.  Our inspection findings often point these things out and even if the buyer passes on the car after we inspect it at least now they have the opportunity to address the issue or reduce the price.  Several times in the last year we have helped dealerships save themselves a misrepresentation lawsuit by discovering a vehicle is not as advertised. 

How does a pre-purchase vehicle inspection help?

A Pre-Purchase Vehicle Inspection Services help add that additional pause in that impulse purchase decision to help you make an educated and informed purchase.  Our pre-purchase inspection goes deep within the vehicle and looks at the steering, suspension, engine, transmission, driveline, electrical systems and of course the body and frame of the vehicle.  Most of the time our small inspection fee is easy to save in just discovering a couple of items missed by the dealer or seller when getting the car ready for resale.  There are many inspection companies in the business similar to ours that claim they provide a full detailed inspection of the vehicle however, more often than not, that inspection is performed by someone without any certification or mechanical background.  In short they take great pictures but never get under the vehicle.

During our pre-purchase vehicle inspection service, we examine, photograph and video everything on a vehicle such as…

The pretty and comfortable stuff, the body and interior.  We also make sure the car is safe by checking the airbag system as well as all the seatbelts in the vehicle to make sure they latch AND unlatch.  Our inspection goes much further than that, we also dig into the reliability of the car by looking at the engine belts, hoses, noises, oil condition and much more but we also inspect the transmission, driveline, steering for play or worn items as well as the suspension for loose and worn parts.  And what good is a car or truck unless it stops… We also inspect the brakes for wear, grooved up rotors, pulling and leaks.  But none of this previous mentioned areas matters unless the vehicle is structurally sound and that is why we fully examine the structure of the vehicle to make sure it hasn’t been in an accident or any repairs performed on the frame of the car.

Who performs your pre-purchase vehicle inspection is more important that just getting one done!

There is no sense in paying someone $200 if they aren’t trained in what they are inspecting for you.  I’ve seen some crazy inspectors out there in this scary world and let me tell you there isn’t anything wrong with the drive and determination of a soccer mom but unless she is an ASE certified mechanic of some sort she doesn’t need to be performing a pre-purchase vehicle inspection.

When you hire Test Drive Technologies to provide an unbiased and independent inspection for your used car or truck you get ME… Yes, me.  I have been working on all types of vehicles for over 20 years, grew up in an auto body shop, severed 6 years in the Army working on everything that rolled or floated.  You can rest assured that my independence and unbiased inspection is going to work for you and will uncover the things that may have been missed.

Let’s set some things straight about independent pre-purchase vehicle inspection service inspectors.

Many consumers are sometimes concerned with 3rd party inspection companies being independent of dealerships and sellers because of the number of inspections we perform at each location every year.  My response to that is this.  If I were not independent and unbiased I would be doing both parties a disservice.  I would be allowing my client to purchase a vehicle with a known problem and I would also be allowing the seller to sell a vehicle with a known problem.  If there was one thing that 6 years of watching my battle buddies backs and trusting them to watch my back at the same time, that was integrity is EVERYTHING. In this day and age of social media, review websites and word of mouth online, my reputation and integrity is 100% of my business.

I call all spades a spade and hearts a heart because if I didn’t I wouldn’t be in business.

We are here to go to work for you…  If you are in the market to purchase a used vehicle give us a call or send us a text to 1-636-388-8378 and we will be there for you every step of the way.