RACQ, RACV, NRMA etc vehicle inspections

[HSV,_I_GOT_ONE]

Hi Guys,

I'm in the process of buying a car for the Mrs (earlier thread on this) and I'm planning on getting whatever we find checked out by a mechanic. Only problem is working full time and the wife flat out with two kids under 2 we don't have a lot of time to get the car to the local mechanic for a good once over on the hoist.

So begs the question, how good are the RACQ and equivalent inspections? I've never seen one done but I've heard they are very thorough when it comes to cosmetic stuff which I can see for myself anyway. What I'm more concerned about is

- Do they test drive the vehicles?
- Do they get under the cars and check for leaks, busher wear etc?
- Drop a small sample of oil out of engine and tranny sumps to check for any sludging? (I'm particularly concerned about one car being a 2007 model but with only 50,000km on the clock. It appears to only have 2 stamps in the log book. When I checked the oil cap, dip and radiator fluid it seems okay but will that be enough to show the full story?)

Or for the cost of taking a half day off work do I take the car to the mechanic?

Cheers!

[Micks]

I had NRMA do one for me many years ago & did a very thorough inspection & I ended up not buying the vehicle. Give them a call.

[HSV,_I_GOT_ONE]

Thanks Mick, did it look like they got right under it to check for any hidden surprises? Do you remeber what made you give the vehicle a miss?

[185iboy]

I've had 3 of my cars looked over by three different inspection providers and all cars were modified. Not thorough at all, in and out in 30 minutes (which is not long when the car is on the ground). I watched all the inspections, one got driven and another got looked underneath for leaks. You're better off taking the day off and doing it yourself imo because for the cost you really get nothing imo. The inspection you get at the drags is better.

[Wonky]

My experience is many years old so probably not relevant but I've had RACV checks done on cars I was selling and to me they weren't worth the value of the paper they were written on. Picked up stupid things like windscreen washer bottle needs topping up and missed more important things.

[Micks]

Thanks Mick, did it look like they got right under it to check for any hidden surprises? Do you remeber what made you give the vehicle a miss?
When I had it done it was up on the hoist for half hour, on the ground for another 20mins & then road test. If your paying for the report tell them what you expect first up.
The other way is take it to another Mechanic you trust to do the same checks.

[black_friday]

Last time I had one done was about 5 years ago and you could get a basic on site inspection, or for more money and time you could drop it off to one of their inspection centres for a comprehensive inspection.

[Altise]

Had one done by RACQ on a 3 year old wrx I bought. They are done by 'master mechanics' in 2014 it was the highest level check and took half a day.

This clown noted that there were no rear seat belt clips (clips were under the rear fold down unmodified stock armrest - tricky!) and head gasket was possibly blown due to swirl of water at top of radiator when viewed whilst running (it wasn't, he just didn't know that Subaru's have some flow that causes movement of water while running something to do with water moving to the overflow tank and back, this was explained by the Subaru service centre mechanic I then went to for a second opinion because I was in disbelief that a master mechanic could not locate standard seatbelts...), and that suspension was 'missing and illegal' (car had brand new legal height coil overs installed by pedders).

I took the car to pedders with the owners receipt, and then to a Subaru specialist, cost $50 to find out the car was near perfect (70k on clock).

RACQ charged me $300 for a multi point 'mechanical' (paint detail mainly) check that a child could've done more accurately. The majority of the report was print outs of pictures detailing barely visible stone chips and tiny scratches in the paint lol. Do not waste your money.

PS: when I called back to provide polite feedback and question how he could misdiagnose a perfectly riunning engine as 'severely damaged possibly head gasket leak' from a 'swirl indicating water movement in radiator' he was immediately defensive. I requested a refund and got half back.

They seem to be like the multi point checklist services where they do one thing poorly then tick a bunch of boxes. Obviously they pissed me off lol

[Jason01]

Depending on the level of inspection that you pay for they do a fairly thorough check but I guess it would be the same as any mechanic, there's good ones and bad ones so you take a chance anywhere.

I've had an on site done on one car down the Gold Coast and I think they drove it, jacked it up and maybe removed a wheel or two so it was fairly thorough. I was happy enough with the report and it found a couple of things that I couldn't without the benefit of jacking it up or sticking it on a hoist myself.

If you take it to them I'm pretty sure it will go on the hoist which usually leaves no secrets, they do a pretty thorough inspection and test drive but again it's going to depend on the competency of the particular inspector looking at it. I imagine they would check suspension bushes, joints, brakes, etc but I don't think they would take oil samples, more likely visuals and note the general condition/cleanliness of fluids, check for leaks etc.

It's probably worth the spend if you don't have any other options available to you.

Jason.

[V28VX37]

I was happy with a State Roads inspection for the Skyline. They were pretty thorough, e.g. checked paint thickness to find previous repairs. Also test drove the car to check response, steering, brakes. They come to you or the seller, which makes it easier too. Not cheap though, but insurance rarely is...

[feistl]

Hey mate,

My dad had a check done via a 3rd party service a few years ago for an interstate car. From memory it was pretty detailed (shame the car was stuffed).

If you shoot me a PM with your email address i can forward the report to you?

Cheers

[Hi Octane]

NRMA workshops employ a lot of 457 visa holders, i dont feel to good about them.

[Micks]

Guess the Op needs to ascertain what liability they accept following this report & the vehicle is purchased & turns to sh*t thereafter?

[markone2]

Stop wasting time and money..GO straight to a mechanical shop that specializes in the car you want to buy........end of story and save some cash .....Mark H ..Licensed Dealer

[Blown 454 AWD]

When I bought the Van (import) I used the RTA,

They have a mobile dude who goes to the vehicle and

gives you a complete report on the vehicle.

Used these guys because I didn't want any bullshiting.

another opinion doesn't hurt, after I checked it myself.

They said it was good and it is so all good

Cheers

Steve

[whitels1ss]

When I bought the Van (import) I used the RTA,

They have a mobile dude who goes to the vehicle and

gives you a complete report on the vehicle.

Used these guys because I didn't want any bullshiting.

another opinion doesn't hurt, after I checked it myself.

They said it was good and it is so all good

Cheers

Steve

Steve, I would have thought you would have known enough about cars to not need anyone else to check one out for you?:confused:

[Jason01]

Steve, I would have thought you would have known enough about cars to not need anyone else to check one out for you?:confused:

At least the oil spec/condition should have been a no brainer :D.

[HSV,_I_GOT_ONE]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I've ended up going with the local mechanic here in Gladstone. I've used the guy a few times and he really takes the time to show me bits and pieces that have needed doing on the old Barina beater. He has taken me through what he checks for including dropping a bit of fluid from all areas to look for any hidden demons.

I'm particularly worried about this car as it's a bit of a too good to be true scenario. 50,000km's from a 9 year old car. Only catch is there is only 3 stamps in the whole book! First service, the first time it was traded at 25,000km's in 2012! And then the next stamp at 50,000km when it was traded back to the same dealer :eek: Yep I know what you're thinking and I'm thinking the same. Had a look under the oil cap, as much as I can see in the rocker cover etc and can't see any sludging. Only other thing I'm wondering about is how is the cooling system. All fluids look clean and good but thats not hard to do with a fluid change.

Other than that the car's clean and drives beautifully.... we'll see what the mechanic finds I guess.

[HSV,_I_GOT_ONE]

Mechanic cleared the car and it's now in my garage. Ended up cheaper by 100 bucks for the mechanic to look at it and gave me some level of confidence that this guy knew what he was doing.

[Blown 454 AWD]

Quite correct, first I drive, if I don't feel any issues then I get someone to crawl

under to check for rust and leaks.

You can usually feel an issue with a vehicle with a drive,

if it's all good then it qualifies for the next round of checks.

Certainly doesn't hurt to have another set of eyes making sure

something isn't hiding.

Cheers