Dealership Pre-Purchase Inspection
Dealers inspect their own cars, and many do it properly. The issue is not competence. It is that the inspection you are being shown was commissioned by the person selling you the vehicle.
Booking starts with the ZIP the vehicle is in, so you know whether we can cover it before you fill in anything else.
What a certified pre-owned check does and does not mean
Manufacturer certified pre-owned programs have real standards, and a car that passes one has been through a genuine process. But the check is designed to establish that a vehicle meets a threshold for resale, not to give a buyer a full account of its condition.
A car can pass a multi-point check with tires at the legal limit, brakes near the end of their life, and a repaired accident that was repaired competently. None of that is concealment. It is simply not what that inspection was for. Yours is.
On this kind of purchase
- ✓The condition of wear items that a resale threshold permits but you will pay to replace
- ✓Evidence of accident repair, whether or not it appears on a history report
- ✓An assessment made independently of the dealer's own
- ✓Whether the vehicle matches its description and its paperwork
Every inspection also covers the full checklist — engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, tires, body and interior — with a road test where the seller permits one.
Worth knowing first
Will a dealership let me bring my own inspector?
Most will, and it is a routine request. Some will ask for an appointment. A dealer who refuses outright is telling you something worth listening to.
Is this worth it on a certified pre-owned car?
Often yes — not because the certification is meaningless, but because it answers a different question from the one you are asking.
Can I use the report to negotiate?
That is what a great many customers do with it. A documented list of findings is a far stronger position than an opinion.
Other situations we cover
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