Pre purchase van inspections

[Damobristol]

Hey all,

I'm looking at a van to buy. All looks pretty straight. Done the usual checks re finance, stolen, MOT history etc and it all looks good, but not being mechanically minded I feel like I would like the reassurance of a mechanics inspection before I buy.

Has anyone used them? Which did you use? Do you feel it was worth it?

I did have a chat with a call handler at the AA, and there doesn't seem to be any comeback if they pass the van on something that subsequently fails on later. I thought this was a bit crap, but I suppose they can only find what is there on the day.

Be great to get your views.

Many thanks

 

[Salty Spuds]

Hey all,

I'm looking at a van to buy. All looks pretty straight. Done the usual checks re finance, stolen, MOT history etc and it all looks good, but not being mechanically minded I feel like I would like the reassurance of a mechanics inspection before I buy.

Has anyone used them? Which did you use? Do you feel it was worth it?

I did have a chat with a call handler at the AA, and there doesn't seem to be any comeback if they pass the van on something that subsequently fails on later. I thought this was a bit crap, but I suppose they can only find what is there on the day.

Be great to get your views.

Many thanks

Are you buying it from a dealer or privately? Your rights vary enormously depending.

 

[Damobristol]

Are you buying it from a dealer or privately? Your rights vary enormously depending.

Private. What I meant is that there is no comeback on the AA - who provide the inspection - if things subsequently go bad.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Private. What I meant is that there is no comeback on the AA - who provide the inspection - if things subsequently go bad.

Yeah, I get that. They wouldn’t accept liability, otherwise they’d have to charge an indemnity fee. The flip side of this is that they are likely to be over cautious in their inspection. Buying private is pretty much a case of pay your money & make your choice. Hence why it costs more to buy from a dealer as they have to guarantee the van. The best you can do is due diligence on the paperwork which you’ve already done & take it for a decent test drive. Ask to see any receipts for services. If you ask at a main dealer, they should be able to give you a record of the service history if it’s been done by VW.
Apart from that, good luck.

 

[DXX]

I did have a chat with a call handler at the AA, and there doesn't seem to be any comeback if they pass the van on something that subsequently fails on later.

I haven’t found a professional surveyor / assessor in any line that doesn’t reject a responsibility for future events.
They can write a report as they see it, they won’t be stripping it down or using the lie detector machine on the seller.
It’s like an MOT, how it was on the day it was presented.

 

[Damobristol]

Yeah, I get that. They wouldn’t accept liability, otherwise they’d have to charge an indemnity fee. The flip side of this is that they are likely to be over cautious in their inspection. Buying private is pretty much a case of pay your money & make your choice. Hence why it costs more to buy from a dealer as they have to guarantee the van. The best you can do is due diligence on the paperwork which you’ve already done & take it for a decent test drive. Ask to see any receipts for services. If you ask at a main dealer, they should be able to give you a record of the service history if it’s been done by VW.
Apart from that, good luck.

The van drove well, receipts for work done e.g. diesel heater installed and remap.

Will probably go with the inspection from someone like AA, unless I get a better recommendation in here. At about £200 it isn't too much in the grand scheme of things. Shame the van isn't in Bristol as my own garage would do it - who've proved the worth over the years It's in Cheltenham though.

 

[DXX]

The van drove well, receipts for work done e.g. diesel heater installed and remap.

Will probably go with the inspection from someone like AA, unless I get a better recommendation in here. At about £200 it isn't too much in the grand scheme of things. Shame the van isn't in Bristol as my own garage would do it - who've proved the worth over the years It's in Cheltenham though.

You could offer the garage mechanic the £200 to come to Cheltenham, at least they would get dirty and give you a straight answer (to the best of their knowledge)

 

[Salty Spuds]

The van drove well, receipts for work done e.g. diesel heater installed and remap.

Will probably go with the inspection from someone like AA, unless I get a better recommendation in here. At about £200 it isn't too much in the grand scheme of things. Shame the van isn't in Bristol as my own garage would do it - who've proved the worth over the years It's in Cheltenham though.

Remap? What engine/gearbox/remap is it?

 

[Damobristol]

Remap? What engine/gearbox/remap is it?

Actually, not got a copy of the remap receipt, but other receipts from the same garage. 2.0 TDI Blue motion. Originally 102bhp, but not entirely sure what it was remapped to. The guy selling It now says 150/160. It was the previous owner. It certainly didn't drive like to 102bhp.

 

[Damobristol]

You could offer the garage mechanic the £200 to come to Cheltenham, at least they would get dirty and give you a straight answer (to the best of their knowledge)

Hmmm, maybe an option but they'd really want to test it in the garage where to check it more thoroughly. They'd only charge an hour's labour for that but it'd take 3hrs if they had to travel to Cheltenham.

 

[Lee540]

Scan for fault codes and note, "days since faults last cleared".. if its only a very short amount of time, maybe seller trying to hide something.

I assume AA or similar scan via OBD port and check for things like, have air bags ever gone off, fault codes, mileage hasn't been altered etc?

 

[Damobristol]

Remap? What engine/gearbox/remap is it?

Actually, not got a copy of the remap receipt, but other receipts from the same garage. 2.0 TDI Blue motion. Originally 102bhp, but not entirely sure what it was remapped to. The guy selling It now says 150/160. It was the previous owner. It certainly didn't drive like to 102bhp.

5 speed, manual

 

[DXX]

5 speed, manual

Not the strongest gearbox, has been known to fail if the engine output is too great.

Hmmm, maybe an option but they'd really want to test it in the garage where to check it more thoroughly. They'd only charge an hour's labour for that but it'd take 3hrs if they had to travel to Cheltenham.

I meant pay the mechanic not the garage, £200 cash in the pocket.

 

[Damobristol]

Not the strongest gearbox, has been known to fail if the engine output is too great.

Haven't heard that before. I wondered what potential downside there may be to remaps.

 

[St6]

I had a t5.1 ,102 5 speed box and had it remapped and it destroyed flywheel and gearbox ,was remapped to 160 ,way to much torque through gearbox as they are weak .

 

[Salty Spuds]

Haven't heard that before. I wondered what potential downside there may be to remaps.

That’s why I asked, as soon as you mentioned “Remap” alarm bells rang. As @DXX says, the 5 speed manual isn’t the best gearbox for a manual. Personally I wouldn’t buy it.

 

[signtoo]

I've read varying suggestions from people to say pre-purchase vehicle inspection gives peace of mind, and other say it's entirely useless.


Carexamer has sample reports, which on the outset look OK (with an actual writeup), but not amazing.

AA / ClickMechanic have had a fair few bad reviews that say it's not worth the paper its written on.


I'll be honest and say apart from looking at obvious things like service history, MOT pass rates, recurring issues and a few basic checks around the van and driving it, I don't *really* know much about cars, especially vans.


For a £17-18k purchase, is there a pre-purchase vehicle inspection you'd recommend?


Thanks!