Husband very angry I would like an AA PRE PURCHASE INSPECTION. AIBU?

[borettacar]

Husband is very angry that I would like an AA pre purchase inspection on a car following a near miss with buying a car that had a visible issue on the test drive. Thick, white smoke billowing out of the exhaust could have been signs of blown head gasket.

He wants to bring a friend who is car enthusiast to check over it - not a trained mechanic. The car is 4 hours away and he says it comes with a warranty etc but we all know the terms and conditions and small print make a lot of these not worth the paper they are written on.

I want it to be safe for my 17 year old son. He says if it's a dud we will have to keep paying the AA pre purchase inspection and it will cost a fortune.

AIBU?

Everyone should get one tbh when buying a pre owned car. Last time I used it was for a minibus and cost about 180 quid. They're very thorough. I've bought 2 duds from dealerships in the past, 1 was ruddy Jennings. Lesson learnt.

I bought a car from a friend, no doubts about her at all but had an AA inspection because I'd never bought a car before and gave us both peace of mind.

The head gasket is a massive financial issue, which is why people talk about it. But it's not a common failure, and it's far less likely to immobilise the car than any of a hundred other issues. 🙏

There are two main ways you can check if you might shortly be in for a head gasket issue. One is to look for "mayonnaise" under the oil and radiator caps, and the other is to look at the exhaust while the engine is running. But if those are clear, nothing will tell you if the problem is likely to develop next month. To a large extent it's the luck of the draw.

Something I always ask when buying a car is when the timing belt was last changed. Unlike the head gasket this has a maintenance schedule and you can change it pre-emptively (indeed, you are supposed to). It's a cheap part but an expensive service because lots of things have to be removed and put back. If the seller doesn't know when it was last changed (ask to see the invoice from the garage) that can be a red flag because if the timing belt breaks, then depending on the engine design, either the car will stop running, or the pistons will smash into the valves and you will need a new engine (look up the make/model and "interference engine"). Many cars now have a timing chain rather than a belt, which fixes this problem, but a lot of smaller cars in the "first car for a 17yo" range still have belts.

@borettacar Was the car with the white smoke a diesel? If so, the white smoke might have just been the diesel particulate filter doing a regeneration cycle. It's fairly common and I sometimes see it happening on the motorway.

I deal in cars and have potential customers ask for an AA inspection in the past. I'd suspect the dealer will tell you the same as I did. The vehicle remained on sale until the deal is completed. So if you order an inspection and the inspector turns up while I'm selling it to somebody else, not my problem.

Secondly, these AA reports are not representative of what you are actually buying. They will rip the car to shreds on the report to cover their arses re post sale issues. They do not give a fair representation of the age, miles or price of the car.

At least you tell the customers that in advance, so that they can avoid you like the plague!

It was petrol.

The consumer rights act is not black and white when it comes to used cars. It is only in very limited cases you could return. The law does allow for wear and tear, age and price to be taken into consideration.

@samarrange Got caught out with cam belt buying a mini from a private seller - so yes great advice! I just wish I'd known then!
One of the worst cars I've bought.

It isn't unreasonable. I am a business and will sell to the person with the money.

Why would I want to wait and see if you will buy or if you want a discount. The cars I sell are all roadworthy, have been given a good long road test, have been inspected. But they are also in most cases around 20-30% of their original price.

For all the cars on sale, why bother with this one if it's going to cost more money to buy it or would you do this for any car you were thinking of purchasing?

@Caroparo52 @ExceededUsefulEconomicLife

Yes I had the Mot Gov check site out at the last dealership and he was reading it from my phone when I showed it to him. He was selling a car he had no clue about - bizarre!

The modern mini doesn't have a timing belt.

How about the friend check the car and if he gives it the okay, then you send the AA inspector?

@gamerchick @Pebbles16 The peace of mind is worth it in my opinion, especially with all the shady ghost MOT's and false service history stamps I've been hearing about.

@ARealitycheck Where did I say you were unreasonable! I just said it's nice you let people know in advance, so they can avoid you like the clap!

As for the mini it was a belt or chain one of the two! It was good advice from @samarrange that I wish I'd known at the time.

YANBU, but I was also told that an AA inspection isn't as good as taking the car to an independent garage that can put it up on a ramp and check underneath properly for the same or maybe even less money.

I had an independent mechanic do a prepurchase check that wasn't worth the paper it was written on. My fault for not walking away when the bloody seller wouldn't answer the phone to the AA (because apparently they would only call during business hours and he was at work and couldn't answer. Ever.) I would now only buy privately or from a smaller garage if I could take it to my local mechanic I trust to inspect it properly.

That’s a bit nasty. If car dealerships set aside cars for every buyer who said they wanted to book in an AA inspection, they’d make barely any sales.

You can still buy the car if it’s for sale but YABU to expect to reserve it for free.

You’re better off taking someone that knows cars. A real knowledgable petrolhead. Those inspections are so cursory and cash in on naive car shoppers and it’s so hard to get any recourse were they to miss something, it’s ultimately ‘buyer beware’.

@ThatAgileGoldMoose I think this is a great idea, but would they not make you buy it first to take it to a garage.

I mean they don't even seem to like AA inspectors coming!

My experience of AA RAC inspections is the opposite. They are frightened of being held resonsible if something happens post sale, so they report absolutely everything that is even slightly worn even if it is just representative of the age and miles on the car.

@Manara It's business nothing to do with being "nasty." They don't want AA inspectors coming to look and I want a neutral pro coming to look. I wouldn't touch a place like that with a barge pole and they want the gullible to sell to. So we can avoid each other.

This industry isn't known for being squeaky clean after all.

I don't imagine it's the not put aside part that OP has an issue with but the part where an AA exaggerate issues to cover themselves. I'm certain they have a clause "at time of testing" and remove all liability. I've found them to be the exact opposite of this and a complete waste of time.

Yeah but you’re telling a poster on this thread who is trying to be helpful to you that you would avoid her ‘like the plague’ and ‘like the clap’.

All she is saying is they can’t set aside a car for whilst you book in an AA inspector.

She didn’t say you can’t bring the AA inspector.

So if the AA inspector turns up and the car is sold, you’d be down £200. She is helping you.

I have no problem with anyone bringing an inspector. But just as said, it would remain on sale until the deal was done.