Pre-Purchase Inspection (Dublin9)

magicmushroom

Hi all,

Looking for some advice.

I bought a car last year, got majorly ripped off and am now car-less and out of pocket.
Anyway...need to get a new car ASAP and have very little to spend.

Have seen a cheap one online (1k) in Dublin, brand new NCT, apparent full service history, new timing belt...I'm very wary though of buying without a second opinion, but I don't know anyone who 'knows' about cars.

I'm looking for someone who might come with me, have a look and give me an opinion on whether it looks good to buy; do mechanics offer this service and if so what kind of price am I looking at?

Or - would you take the risk and just buy it based on the service history and NCT?
Not sure what to do.
Thanks

biko

Make sure to see receipt for the belt, and any other stuff done on car. Tippex on the TB cover isn't enough to prove anything.

Brand new nct is good but if you're not confident around cars then an inspection is a good thing, just in case.
I don't know any over there but there's a few Dubs on here that should have recommendations.

LiamoSail

magicmushroom wrote: »

Hi all,

Looking for some advice.

I bought a car last year, got majorly ripped off and am now car-less and out of pocket.
Anyway...need to get a new car ASAP and have very little to spend.

Have seen a cheap one online (1k) in Dublin, brand new NCT, apparent full service history, new timing belt...I'm very wary though of buying without a second opinion, but I don't know anyone who 'knows' about cars.

I'm looking for someone who might come with me, have a look and give me an opinion on whether it looks good to buy; do mechanics offer this service and if so what kind of price am I looking at?

Or - would you take the risk and just buy it based on the service history and NCT?
Not sure what to do.
Thanks

I'd recommend http://http://www.calloutmechanics.com/pre_purchase_inspection.html

I've used them once for a pre purchase inspection. It's €120 iirc, the lads were both sound and competent. They can also advise on costs associated with any issues they identify

bazz26

Cars in this price range are a mine field and are never going to be 100%. You really need to know a good one from a dog or at least have a mate or friend of a friend who will do it a nixer.

One could argue that spending €120 to have a €1k inspected could save you spending €1k on a dog but you could soon find yourself spending a fair bit of money on inspecting a number of cars before you even get to repair bills.

LiamoSail

bazz26 wrote: »

Cars in this price range are a mine field and are never going to be 100%. You really need to know a good one from a dog or at least have a mate or friend of a friend who will do it a nixer.

One could argue that spending €120 to have a €1k inspected could save you spending €1k on a dog but you could soon find yourself spending a fair bit of money on inspecting a number of cars before you even get to repair bills.

Agree entirely, add a cartell check to that and your at 15% of the purchase price in checks alone. For the car I had checked, it had an OBC, so needed the diagnostics etc while in relation the cars price, the costs of checking were justified

jayok

What car is it? May be then people here could give you general advice of common faults, etc

Jesus.

I know its probably not the right thing to do OP and maybe its best to listen to others on this but personally I just take a punt on bangers like that. There's only so much a mechanic or a "car" person can tell from looking at and test driving a motor anyway. They could say it looks kosher but the arse might fall out of it in a months time.

Buying any second hand car is a gamble, even more so when you're shopping in the bargain basement. I just go and talk to the geezer and go with my gut. Not the most scientific way of doing things and probably quite stupid in all honesty but its worked for me so far

LiamoSail

Jesus. wrote: »

I know its probably not the right thing to do OP and maybe its best to listen to others on this but personally I just take a punt on bangers like that. There's only so much a mechanic or a "car" person can tell from looking at and test driving a motor anyway. They could say it looks kosher but the arse might fall out of it in a months time.

Buying any second hand car is a gamble, even more so when you're shopping in the bargain basement. I just go and talk to the geezer and go with my gut. Not the most scientific way of doing things and probably quite stupid in all honesty but its worked for me so far

Thing about that is, the guy selling the car may be genuinely unaware that the arse is about to fall out of the car

Jesus.

LiamoSail wrote: »

Thing about that is, the guy selling the car may be genuinely unaware that the arse is about to fall out of the car

Very true Liamo, tis just a pure gamble lad. But then again, you could have her checked over by a car bloke and she could still turn out to be a lemon.

Only time tells whether you've bought a lemon or not!