Pre-purchase inspection

The single most common way an import goes wrong is that the car is not what the listing said. Six thousand kilometres later that is an expensive discovery, so we make it early instead. There are two levels: a free desk check on anything we shortlist, and a paid inspection where somebody actually drives out to the car.

The free pre-check

Before anyone travels, we do the desk work: confirm the car exists and is still available, check the title status and lien history, look at the seller's record, and read the listing against what the photographs actually show. Most bad cars fall out here, and it costs you nothing.

What it cannot tell you is how the car drives, what the underbody looks like, or whether the paint has been redone. For that, somebody has to go.

The full inspection

• Panel gaps, paint depth and evidence of accident repair
• Underbody and frame — rust history is regional and the listing never mentions it
• Service records, title status and odometer plausibility
• Cold start, road test, error codes
• Interior wear against the claimed mileage
• Photographs of everything, including the parts nobody photographs

What you get for the fee

A written condition report and photographs within 48 hours of the visit, including the parts nobody photographs, and a straight answer to the only question that matters: would we buy this car.

The report is yours whatever it says. If the answer is no, the fee has just saved you a great deal more than it cost, and we go back to searching.

What it costs

Basic pre-check: free. We verify the seller, the listing and the title status on anything we shortlist for you.
Full in-person inspection: €1,000 — and it is credited in full against the price of the car when you go ahead, so on a deal that completes it costs you nothing. If the inspection kills the deal you keep the report, and the next inspection in the same search is €750. Booked on its own, for a car you are buying yourself, it is €1,000 flat.

Common questions