Private Party Car Inspection
A private sale is usually the cheapest way to buy a car and always the least protected. There is no warranty, no returns and nobody to escalate to. Whatever is wrong with it becomes yours the moment the title changes hands.
Booking starts with the ZIP the vehicle is in, so you know whether we can cover it before you fill in anything else.
Most private sellers are not hiding anything
It is worth saying plainly, because the advice around private sales tends to assume bad faith. Most people selling their own car are describing it accurately as far as they know. The problem is what they do not know — they have stopped hearing the noise it has made for a year, and they have never had the underside looked at.
An inspection is not an accusation. Framed properly it is often welcomed, because it protects the seller too: a documented condition report makes it far harder for a buyer to come back a month later claiming something was concealed.
On this kind of purchase
- ✓Faults the seller has genuinely stopped noticing, which is most of what we find
- ✓Whether the vehicle matches the title and the paperwork
- ✓Stored and pending fault codes, read straight off the vehicle
- ✓Everything documented with photographs, protecting both sides
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
How do I ask a private seller for an inspection without offending them?
Straightforwardly, and early. Something like "I'm interested — I have an inspector who can come to you, at my cost." Most sellers are fine with it. The ones who are not have told you something.
Who pays for the inspection?
The buyer, always. That is what keeps the inspector working for you and nobody else.
What if I find problems? Do I lose the money?
You have spent $249 to avoid a car with a $4,000 problem, which is the inspection doing exactly what you paid for. And a documented report is the strongest tool you have for renegotiating rather than walking.
Other situations we cover
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