Can I have the car inspected at a mechanic?
Yes, with 2 "buts" and a comment
1) The mechanic has to be a mobile mechanic/inspector that you send to our office either before or during your appointment. The car cannot leave our lot. These are rules set by our insurance. There are plenty of these services around that you can shop for.
2) Be realistic with your expectations. These are USED car and the associated parts will be...well..USED. This means if the car has 100+k miles, expect, without any doubt, that SOME suspension component will be worn, some minor boot will be torn, and some gasket somewhere will be seeping. We have seen a shop recommend new axles on a Volvo for $860 (true cost about $250), the Audi dealer quoted front brakes which were needed within the next year on a TT to the tune of $742 (we found the customer a shop locally that did it for $200), the list goes on. We just ask that you be reasonable and don't expect a $0.00 recommended list from the mechanic, because quite simply that doesnt exist. Also, regardless of what the mechanic tells you, the price of the car wont change. Some people want to negotiate using the results of the inspection but we just don't have the budget to do so.
Comment: Some repair shops charge crazy prices and try to take advange of people (IN OUR OPINION). There certainly are good and affordable ones, but after so many years, we have seen so many shops overcharge customers ( again in our opinion). A fine example is below. A Firestone wanted to charge a customer $598 for 2 axles on a 1997 Civic. In our opinion this is highway robbery. We can get the job done, with brand new parts w/ a 10 year warranty, for less than $215, basically ~36% of the original quote. This is just one example of DOZENS as to why most shops' "recommendations" are sometimes nonsensical and should be taken w/ caution and research.
