The Importance of Pre-Purchase Inspections

Photo by Drew Dickes

Buying a used car can be a great moment in your life or a huge headache. You can search classifieds for months or maybe even years before you find that special car you feel confident in. But no matter how much you trust your gut; no matter what make of car you are looking at buying, if it is used you should absolutely get a pre-purchase inspection or PPI for short. Today we will be discussing how to go about getting a PPI before buying a used car and the benefits of utilizing PPI's.

The best time to get a PPI is usually after you take a car for a test drive. Pre purchase inspections are a great way to figure out if the car you are looking at is really the gem that it looks like it is. To summarize, basically a PPI is an in depth look at a car inside and out to discover any potential problems it may have. PPI's are done by mechanics and usually cost around $200. Now this price tag may make you want to run away from the mechanic shop but trust me, it is worth the money. A pre purchase inspection can potentially save you thousands of dollars in maintenance costs especially when you are dealing with older cars and performance cars where parts may be more expensive. It is important to find a mechanic shop that specializes in the make of car you are looking at as they will know what problems to check for.

Another big advantage of getting a pre purchase inspection is if you find some problems that aren't deal breakers, you can show your findings to the owner. The findings can be used as leverage to bargain on a better price. Most of the time, a pre purchase inspection will result in at least one issue being found. Hopefully this article has shown you the importance of PPI's. Now hopefully you can take this information and shop for cars with confidence and end up with a gem of a car instead of a headache.