How important is a vehicle inspection when buying a used car?

In my line of work, I am saddened to hear stories of people who purchase a pre-owned vehicle with first getting it inspected. They kick the tire, look under the hood and when all seems good, they pay for it and drive it home. Unfortunately, some of these people soon run into problems that could have easily been discovered with a pre-purchase car inspection. Kirk, from Metro Car Care, told me of three recent examples:

Vehicle #1, (2011 Subaru Forester), was a nice one-owner vehicle with a great service history and records. It was purchased as-is and seemed to run fine until the engine temperature light came on a few days later. When the new owner brought the car to Metro Car Care for a used car inspection, they found that the cylinder head gaskets were blown, and the engine was running out of coolant causing the engine temperature to rise. The needed repair cost was almost $4000.

Vehicle #2 was brought in to Metro Car Care a week after it was purchased because the engine was running rough. The owner got a great deal on it from a small used car lot in Portland. At first, the rough engine sound wasn’t that bad, but it continued to get worse and she had the car inspected. Metro car care found that the engine was leaking oil onto the spark plugs due to a cracked gasket. To make matters worse, Kirk found that not only was the car’s diagnostic port tampered with, but the bulb for the check engine light was removed. It’s only a guess, but it seems the used car lot did not want the buyer to know they were buying a lemon. Total cost to repair the gasket and electronics: $4,278.

Vehicle #3 was brought in to Metro Car Care saying that it did not accelerate smoothly. The owner had just bought the car from a guy two weeks prior. Did he get a pre-purchase inspection? No. Too busy. So, when the technician attempted to scan the vehicle through the OBDII diagnostic port, he found that it would not communicate at all. There was no power whatsoever to the port. Before the technician could diagnose the drivability issue, he first needed to understand why computer was not working. Was it just a loose wire and easily fixed? No. It was the worst of all possibilities: the wiring harness was cut from the ECU computer. Not only would the vehicle not pass DEQ inspection, but fixing the damage would be costly. The wiring harness repair alone ended up being $6,300.

Note: I was not involved with any of these purchases because if I had, a pre-purchase inspection would be one of the first things I would do (even before kicking the tires!). Remember, a pre-purchase inspection in super important because it can prevent us from buying someone else’s nightmare. Until next month, drive safe!

Need a pre-owned vehicle inspected before buying? I of course recommend calling Metro Car Care (503-244-6404). Larry Ferguson can be reached at fergusonautobrokers@gmail.com or by calling (503) 930-1493.