Independent inspection

Asked by Casey Mar 17, 2014 at 11:47 PM about the 2011 Nissan Quest 3.5 SL

Question type: Shopping & Pricing

We are in the process of negotiating on a used car from a dealership that is a couple
hours away from us, in Des Moines.  The car is a little high-mileage, but not crazy.  The
dealer seems to be giving us a very fair price (below TMV).  This raises some red flags.  
Maybe the car has just been on the lot a long time and they want to get rid of it, but
maybe there's something else going on.  Our goal is to negotiate completely over the
phone, have everything in writing, and only drive over to the dealer to sign papers and
drive off the lot.  We want to get an independent inspection, of course, but the local
places we called aren't open Saturday, which is when we would be able to drive it over.  
How do we find a mechanic who will go to the dealership?  We looked at SGS, but their
site isn't very user friendly.  Any other suggestions?

3 Answers

40,145

first from home get the vin, do a online title search for about 5 bucks, ask if its a clean title as it is, a warranty may be offered, or not with the miles, committing over the phone is maybe not a good idea if it is a few hours away its still worth driving their to see and drive it, then process the title in 20 minutes and go

1 people found this helpful.

Just to clarify, we will do our due diligence at the dealer, but we'd like to get the majority of the negotiating done remotely. Once we drive all the way over, we will be less likely to walk away, and if we do walk away, we aren't going to go back. So it will be helpful to have things set before we get there.

10

The issue with most inspections is the adhoc process. Most Vehicle inspectors just take a bunch of pictures. I understand that https://cardr.com/ has a patented app guided vehicle inspection. A comprehensive inspection is invaluable. The science of car inspection article impressed me most https://cardr.com/science/ Pls read and comment.

1 people found this helpful.

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