Hi all, apologies if that’s been asked before.
I am interested in a 2 year old Mazda CX-9 Azami sold by a dealer in Sydney. Looked the car myself and simply loved and it was a pleasant drive. The car has remaining 3 years warranty from Mazda. My question is should I still do pre-purchase vehicle inspection even if the car is under manufacturing warranty?
If yes, can someone please recommend decent PPI company that can do inspection at dealer showroom? Both me and car are based in Sydney.
It’s from dealer. Thanks for your response 😊
Having said that, I’m also confident in my mechanical aptitude and haven’t had a professional inspection of any car I’ve purchased. If it drives OK, didn’t have any funny sounds, doesn’t have any obvious damage and looks well looked after its enough for me.
Thanks 😊
2 years old, still under warranty, sold by dealer… No real need for PPI personally.
There's always a chance it's been run ragged or has rust underneath or some other hidden issues of course, so it's up to you really. But I wouldn't bother.
Thanks
I've picked up plenty of repaired crash damage on pre purchase inspections, including use of car-o-liners. I'd prefer to buy a vehicle that hasn't had a frame damage repair personally.
Legit question Brendan….
What are the signs that a car-o-liner has been used?
You can see where they have clamped it to sills etc. Then you look around further, find where spray on deadener doesn't match, where hidden panels haven't been repaired properly, behind bumpers for example. Where body colour has been sprayed where it shouldn't be. Poor paint match, poor panel gap.
There are massive variations in panel shop repair quality.
People saying that dealer = no inspection necessary is rubbish. 2-yo trade-ins on a car like that unlikely to have any issues, true. But to suggest that dealers are somehow inherently be trusted is definitely not the case.
You should absolutely take a care for an inspection. You could book it into the nearest mechanic and just request to have it taken there or take it there yourself on a test-drive.
Let's not forget huge class actions against Ford and their DSG, DieselGate, ruling agains Mazda by the ACCC. Dealer's don't give a crap about honesty.
Yeah I was second guessing myself noting it’s a $55k car, inspection is just 0.5% cost but on the other hand I was thinking that what can go wrong and even if it something does go wrong, it will likely to go to Mazda anyway. So I was confused but neither way I am taking word of a dealer. I would take the decision for myself and will not allow some salesman to decide it for me. Any suggestions on car inspection company? I don’t think dealer would allow me to take the car somewhere for inspection.
But to suggest that dealers are somehow inherently be trusted is definitely not the case.
Agree with you there, but a large franchise dealer will not choose to put a dodgy car in their yard. They offload all them to the local unbranded yards they own or work with. It not good business sense to sell something with a history of issues, especially when they are most likely for going to have to deal with all the warranty headaches.
Shady Tom’s Car Deals with ‘cheapest prices’ down the road is a different ball game.
Lexus Newcastle had. Crash damaged ct200 they had on the lot. Front end respray was dodgy. They don't care.
I don’t think dealer would allow me to take the car somewhere for inspection.
Why not? Unless they have something to hide there is no reason why they would refuse to allow you to get an independent inspection. It costs them nothing.
In the past when purchasing second hand cars I always had them checked out elsewhere by an independent mechanic or RACV.
He is very comfortable in getting the car inspected but on site only and I guess that’s a fair call as it’s his asset. He was not pushy, he gave me all the time in the world to inspect the vehicle despite there are number of other queries and expression of interest on that vehicle.
TBH if I'm interested in a vehicle and the dealer won't let me get it inspected by a third party off site I'd walk away. They've got something to hide.
there are number of other queries and expression of interest on that vehicle.
The oldest trick in the book, causes FOMO in the buyer.
Do you really need the car or just want the car OP?
Definitely need the car. Have been waiting for 6 months to get the right one and I am happy with it. Just wanted inspection for added peace of mind.
Any suggestions on which car inspection service I can use guys? Anyone used NRMA before?
Hi All,
So I paid a deposit for a 2 year old Mazda CX-9 Azami from a dealer based in Sydney. I physically inspected the car and test drove and happy with it but wanted to get it professionally checked as Pre-Purchase Vehicle Inspection. Both Carsales and NRMA are partnered with Redbook Inspect. Should I just go Redbook or are there any other better companies out in the market? Has anyone used Redbook Inspect before for their Pre-Purchase Vehicle Inspection and were you satisfied with the outcome? They are charging $270 for physical inspection.
Not Dupe. I was asking my fellow Ozbargain members if it's worth doing PPI on a particular vehicle. Now I am asking their help to help me decide which company I should go for my PPI.
You can just use your original thread to get recommendations.
Yes and I got different responses from different people. What's the harm in asking same thing on different platforms. There maybe people on one platform but not on the other who can provide valuable advice.
from what i've heard, $270 is more or less standard for PPI
Oh yeah $270 is pretty standard but I was wondering if there are any better companies for PPI or should Redbook be okay?
What has your own research so far told you about whether there are better PPI companies than Redbook?
@resubaehtgnolhcs: There was one other local company I found called lastcheck. Both have good reviews on google and product review. I was confused so I came to here for personal experience if any. I haven't done PPI before.
NRMA Members get $15 off RRP of Redbook Inspect's pre-purchase, so $255
Get a six month membership free
Use: https://www.mynrma.com.au/benefits/road-trip-win?cms_mbrflag…
skip down to:
Not a Member? You can still enter - start your 6 month free trial# of NRMA Blue. Cancel any time.*
Thank you :) Will do that
Look up "your model + things to look out for" on youtube and you will be doing the same thing the inspector does. All you are looking for is obvious leaks and damage. Maybe they do a compression test on top but really, I don't see the value in spending $270 or so on these inspections if you are reasonably mechanically minded. I mean if you can't change a tyre or swap out an air filter, then maybe these inspections are for you, but surely most of us know someone who can spot obvious leaks and damage and is willing to help out for the beer economy.
OP only needs to worry about potential shoddy smash repairs and confirm the service history is complete. Warranty will take care of the rest.
Also, the mechanic doing the inspection isn't the one that's going to bargain the price on your behalf. Wouldn't you be doing yourself a disservice by not eyeballing it yourself and understanding exactly where the car is at in terms of condition. I got an inspection once, then I realised that my eyes aren't any worse than a mechanics, it's just the knowledge behind what your looking at that might be the difference and now everything's on the internet, why not give yourself access to this knowledge and save yourself a few hundred? If the mechanic is having a bad day and misses something, that's not on them, it's still on you. Where is the inherent value in paying for an inspection if you are ultimately still responsible for the purchase?
Thank you
Thanks all for your valuable input and feedback. Booked inspection with Redbook via NRMA. Special thanks to @holdenmg for saving me $15.
Go to some good independent work shop or RAC Sydney might have been in a crash warranty may not cover
Private sale or dealer? Dealer I wouldn’t bother, it’s still under warranty. Private I’d consider the PPI, but knowing it’s still under waranty maybe not if I could get a good look all over (including under) to check for damage etc.