Buying from UK garage racks car inspection?

2010RACHEL

Hi ,

I am looking at buying a car from Evans halshaw UK. Not able to get over to test drive it my self but am awaiting parents coming back from holidays to go and test and check it over. Dad is a mechanic so knows what he is doing. Would you bother getting RAC to do inspection?

Is quit expensive £252/302 ?

Have checked local and they are sending silly prices am awaiting to hear back what they do for there figures but can't be much prices so far £25 and £75/102 from different garages.

2010RACHEL

2010RACHEL wrote: »

Hi ,

I am looking at buying a car from Evans halshaw UK. Not able to get over to test drive it my self but am awaiting parents coming back from holidays to go and test and check it over. Dad is a mechanic so knows what he is doing. Would you bother getting RAC to do inspection?

Is quit expensive £252/302 ?

Have checked local and they are sending silly prices am awaiting to hear back what they do for there figures but can't be much prices so far £25 and £75 from different garages.

This is the reply for £75 :
Front suspension and steering
1 Engine underside leakage
2 Steering joints/ball joints
3 Steering rack
4 Chassis members
5 Power steering
6 Wheels hubs/bearings
7 Road springs
8 Pipes/hoses
9 Shock absorbers (conditions/leaks)
10 Gaiters/boots
11 Sub frames/mountings
12 Suspension arms/mountings
13 Tie bars/anti roll bars
14 Corrosion - floor/chassis
Wheels and tyres
15 Front right tyre
16 Front left tyre
17 Rear right tyre
18 Rear left tyre
19 Spare wheel condition
20 Alloy wheel condition (if applicable)
Electrical/controls
21 Rear lights/number plate lights
22 Stop lights
23 Starting system/ignition lock
24 Battery voltage
25 Battery charging system
26 Headlights
27 Side light/running lights
28 Indicators/hazard lights
29 Reverse/fog lights
30 Auxiliary lights
31 Panel lights
32 Switches/controls
33 Instrument/controls function
34 Horn
35 Door locking
36 Window/sunroof operation
37 Wipers/washers
38 Headlamp washer/headlamp wiper
Body exterior
39 Glass
40 Door locks/operation
41 Fuel filler cover/petrol cap
42 Body damage
43 Past repair evident
44 Corrosion
Clutch/transmission - manual
45 Fluid/oil leaks
46 Hydraulic system
47 Linkage (wear)
48 Casings
49 Mountings
50 Drive shaft assemblies
51 Universal/sliding joints (if visible)
52 Slave cylinder gaiter/boot
53 Propshaft(s)
54 Bearings/supports
Engine compartment
55 Coolant/antifreeze level
56 Coolant leak
57 Radiator/cap
58 Hoses/pipes
59 Drive belts (visible damage)
60 Power steering fluid level
61 Clutch fluid level
62 Brake fluid level
63 Engine oil level
64 External leaks (engine)
65 Engine mountings
66 Cold starting
67 Fast idle (cold)
68 Noise level (cold)
69 Excess fumes/smoke
Rear suspension and underframe
70 Road springs
71 Anti-roll bar
72 Shock absorbers
73 Suspension arms/fixings
74 Location rod/fixings
75 Bumpers stops/gaiters
76 Wheel hubs/bearings
77 Pipes/hoses
78 Sub frames/mountings
79 Chassis members
80 Corrosion - floor/chassis
Interior luggage compartment
81 Seat belts
82 Seat mechanism (driver's seat)
83 Mirror condition - internal
84 Boot/tailgate lock
Fuel system
85 Tank fixings
86 Fuel lines
87 Breather pipes
88 Evidence of leaks
Exhaust system
89 Operation
90 System condition
Brakes
91 Master cylinder security (if accessible)
92 Fluid leaks
93 Servo/power system
94 Flexible hoses
95 Pipes/connections
96 Discs/pads (visual check)
97 Hand/parking brake operation/adjustments
98 Hand/parking brake linkage
Road test
99 Overheating evidence
100 Gearbox operation/noise level
101 Accelerator pedal/cable adjustment (unless digital)
102 Brake servo/power system
103 Brake pedal/linkage
104 Final drive operation/noise level
105 Engine - performance
106 Engine - noise
107 Excess smoke
108 Clutch pedal/cable adjustment
109 Clutch operation
110 Instrument/controls function
111 General steering/handling
112 Footbrake operation
113 Hand/parking brake operation
114 Suspension noise
115 Turbo/super charger operation
116 Road holding/stability
117 Warning lights
118 Cruise control

First car so does this seem like everything checked?

Any additional things I should get done?

Also is northeast so maybe this may also reflect on pricing.

oppenheimer1

If you're buying from Evans Halshaw just be warned. You'll have the deal done then they will tell you of a £99 administration charge. They will give you the hard sell to pay it BUT it's entirely optional.

2010RACHEL

Yeah had allready heard something about £99 fee but they way saying they had been told was for hpi check.

Have tried to get written info all fees a number of times and still awaiting.

Parents will be doing the whole face to face thing so mam good at not giving in on this stuff.

Is it being optional info available any where that you are aware of?

oppenheimer1

2010RACHEL wrote: »

Yeah had allready heard something about £99 fee but they way saying they had been told was for hpi check.

Have tried to get written info all fees a number of times and still awaiting.

Parents will be doing the whole face to face thing so mam good at not giving in on this stuff.

Is it being optional info available any where that you are aware of?

I doubt EH would sell a car with finance outstanding however you can source your own HPI check for £15.

I've seen on other forums where the EH salesmen have competitions to see how many customers they can mug for this charge. I believe the salesmen pocket a good chunk of the £99 as a commission hence why they are so pushy. But it's not on the sticker price so they won't pull out of the deal if you tell them to go swing for it.

EH will also remove mats and non-essential safety equipment from the car, like first aid, warning triangle etc and try to sell them back to you.

I had it personally confirmed by EH headquarters, when the salesman wouldn't let it go that the HPI check and £99 charge was optional.

It is also their policy to not give you the full v5c which will cause you difficulty registering here. I had to show them a document from the DVLA that I was to take it (as it was for export) before they would finalise the paperwork.

bazz26

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

I doubt EH would still a car with finance outstanding however you can source your own HPI check for £15.

I've seen on other forums where the EH salesmen have competitions to see how many customers they can mug for this charge. I believe the salesmen pocket a good chunk of the £99 as a commission hence why they are so pushy. But it's not on the sticker price so they won't pull out of the deal if you tell them to go swing for it.

EH will also remove mats and non-essential safety equipment from the car, like first aid, warning triangle etc and try to sell them back to you.

I had it personally confirmed by EH headquarters, when the salesman wouldn't let it go that the HPI check and £99 charge was optional.

It is also their policy to not give you the full v5c which will cause you difficulty registering here. I had to show them a document from the DVLA that I was to take it (as it was for export) before they would finalise the paperwork.

That is the near opposite experience I and a colleague had with EH in Preston recently.

The mats were missing/gone from the car but they threw in a set of their own branded ones foc when asked, they had no problem giving the full V5C log book, got stung for the £99 charge alright (didn't know it was optional) but they wavered the 2% credit card charge and put £20 of diesel in to it for the trip home.

2010RACHEL

Yeah have already been on to DVLA about immediate export hoping to hear back soon with something to show for V5.

Will try to get out of the £99 by to be honest it's a good deal am getting on the car so if push comes to shove I will just pay it as need he car a.s.a.p really.

I have to say this site and sites like have been a big help with getting my head around all the paper work and in and outs.

oppenheimer1

2010RACHEL wrote: »

Yeah have already been on to DVLA about immediate export hoping to hear back soon with something to show for V5.

Will try to get out of the £99 by to be honest it's a good deal am getting on the car so if push comes to shove I will just pay it as need he car a.s.a.p really.

I have to say this site and sites like have been a big help with getting my head around all the paper work and in and outs.

I might have been a little hard on EH above as the salesman I was dealing with was only a young lad straight from school and had no experience dealing with an Irish buyer. I showed them page 8 of the attached and things went fairly smoothly from there.

I guess they weren't keen on offering me anything as the car I was interested in had been sitting in their yard a while and had been through a few rounds of price reductions ( I had been keeping an eye on it on Autotrader). Entirely their own fault as they had terrible photos of that car and hadn't had it washed or valeted before advertising so it would have put a lot of people off.

Redsoxfan

Here was me thinking I would be better off buying from EH than some random garage. Some good info in this thread. Cheers!