RACV Comprehensive Inspection : Opinions?

[Drakul]

Hey guys I'm looking at purchasing a 2005 VZ Calais through a private seller. It's only done 36,000km which is excellent for the year but it is still a lot of money to be exchanging through a private sale and so I'm going to do an RACV Comprehensive Inspection on the car before i go ahead with it.

It's $280 for non-members and gives the following description:

"Comprehensive vehicle inspections

A comprehensive vehicle inspection is the most complete survey of your vehicle that RACV offers. It checks even more components of the vehicle than a pre-purchase inspection.

Inspections can be done at one of our vehicle inspection centres or onsite at a private address. If the inspection is at a private address, there must be off-street parking available on a solid, flat surface (for OH&S reasons, a solid, flat surface must be available).

In workshops, the vehicle is placed on a hoist (where possible) so our inspectors have increased accessibility and visibility of components and the undercarriage.

The wheels are removed to allow access to check the braking components and the lining size and disc thickness are measured against industry standards.

If your vehicle is inspected at an inspection centre the vehicle's emissions are checked, which assists in evaluating the efficiency of the engine operation. The inspection is based on a visual external examination of components only. Components are not dismantled to examine internal parts. Some vehicle faults can be diagnosed only by dismantling the engine or are intermittent in operation and not evident from an external examination at the time of inspection.

RACV provides a 30-day mechanical guarantee on pre-purchase and comprehensive vehicle inspections, available exclusively to RACV members. RACV will provide a reimbursement on the cost of repairing a mechanical fault not identified on the inspection report, giving added assurance when purchasing a used vehicle."


I've never had such a test done on a car before and am just cruising for opinions as to whether it's worth the money and past experiences of using the service.

Cheers in advance.

[AUSFITTER]

I dont know what others are gonna think about it, but atleast it gives you a little bit more piece of mind knowing that the car would be fully checked over. Atleast then if there is something wrong, the current owners can get it fixed, or it is a negotiation point for the sale. Thats my thoughts anyway.

[Drakul]

Yeah that's what i'm thinking as well, I just hope they check the car as thoroughly as the description make sound.

Also i'm just going to leave a deposit subject to positive RACV comprehensive inspection, and the seller should have no problem agreeing unless they have something to hide really.

[minux]

Have used them a few times in the past and will use them in the future.

[Drakul]

Can the RACV Comprehensive test find out if the odometer has been wound back???

[the_trademarc]

Ahhhh the RACV. Right down my ally, hehe

From a personal perspective, no car should be bought privately without a Comprehensive Inspection being done. It's is effectively the equivalent of getting a service done for 200 bucks, and on the three cars I've had to buy, I've done em on each of them, and it reveals so much about the current condition, how it is has been maintained, and what you can expect from it in the future.

From an employee perspective, I can gurantee you it is the best money you will spend on a vehicle, and it is one of the more highly regarded products we have.

As for the odometer, really depends on what sort of vehicle it is, if it is electronic odometer, then sometimes not (it didnt pick up the Laguna I had inspected was wound back), but I know it has picked up a VS Commodore.

And, of course, the more products you buy, the bigger our annual bonuses are

[BT91WA]

Definately, make sure you get a compression test done on the engine, incase there are some issues with the pistons.
My rac test came back with perfect results apart from an interior light which didnt work so it gave me that confidence to go through with the deal.
And generally cars bought from a dealer will do well in a test.

[kieran.87]

I'd get it done if I were you mate. Ive used them in the past, one was good, just sealed the deal pretty much and gave me piece of mind. The other time I used it as a bargaining point and they droped the price, either way it's saved me time or money on both accounts.

[alien]

Definatly go for it, my first car had the check done (i was a member though so it was cheaper). Also knew an RACV mechanic who rang up the guy checking it to go extra thorough (was a bit of o****ill and almost got the RACV guy kicked off the car lot). But even with a normal inspection they're great. Plus if they miss something it's covered

The report will tell you a definate no, needs a bit of work or good to go from a quick glance too. With detailed info provided to you. If your doing it with private make sure you get the original and if there's anything wrong with it take a copy to the seller.

[Grouse-mouse]

yeah,the owner had it done prior to sale,there was a few days left on it,he had it roadworthied after the racv inspection,it sealed the deal for me also.

[greenacc]

I guess it really depends how much you know about cars and how impartial you are looking at a car you like. Taking the wheels off and measuring the rotor thickness is a total waste of time on a set of rotors that cost less than the inspection, and could easily be measured yourself by removing a wheel.. However its a good way to get a warranty on a private sale vehicle.
The thing you need to check most is if the 36ks are genuine or not. You may be able to get a V check or revs check over the net which will tell you some of this info. I'm pretty sure you can get a full report from one of those sites that tells you the mileage at each years rego and any accident history. Also checking the service book should validate the k's as well. It should have been serviced at least once a year even if doing low k's and the k's and service dates in the book will tell you what you need to know.
What $$$ are they asking for the car ?

[schrinky]

its not really worth it, unless you have no idea how it should behave, sound etc... take it for a decent test drive, roundabouts, speed humps, test the brakes, make sure it doesnt blow smoke on startup or after, if you really want to have it inspected, take it to your mechanic before you buy it, or get a mate who is a mechanic or knows what they are looking for have a look over it. had some girls who i know have these tests done and it was just a waste, they didnt pick up on a worn seal on the brake master cylinder and she went through whitehorse/springvale rd intersection in melbourne cause of it. and others have come back with sooo much b.s about how the pads wernt sitting parallel to the rotors...really i wonder about these sometimes!! just my 2 cents!