Hi,

Whats the opinion on AA Inspections for a WRX? Will they really know what to look for, or is the car likely to be completely out of their depth?

Whats the alternative? Anything specific to look out for?

Cheers!
Dan

 

The one I got thought the engine was missing - it was the off beat engine note! They also told me that the windcsreen washer didn't work - the reservoir was empty! They didn't check that a fuse was blown that stopped the dash lights from working - found that out the first night. Felt mildly ripped off actually.

 

so i presume also u have no come back if anything does go wrong?

What happens for something obvious, like if they miss that say the turbo is foo-barred? Would they pay out or something?

 

I think you do get some come back - you will have to discuss with them directly however, to find out what this is.

I thought they did a thorough job. The first scoob I was about to buy looked straight to me, plus it was being sold at a mitsubishi dealer - I noticed a slight trace of over spray on one of the door rubbers and pointed this out to the AA man before hand. He ripped it to pieces and told me "off record" he wouldnt buy it - it appeared to have had a serious repair involving the whole of the passenger side and he said the doors had been "alligned" using washers behind the hinges.

Second one was a minter - AA inspected this one and gave it the thumbs up. The guy even said "it is a pleasure testing scoobies, I dont know why i havnt got one myself yet"! the reports they give you cover eveything - Sure they will identify "dash lights not working" but you are not paying them to put these defaults right, or diagnose why faults have occurred - they are simply identifying the faults so you have more "ammo" say if you want to knock down the purchase price.

I would advise the full monty inspection - this also checks body work for evidence of repairs.

 

how necessary is it to be there while he does it?

 

I've never been there whilst they've done them for me. They usually ring you to discuss the report before sending it on through the post.

Last one I had was on the Subaru. They picked up a few really minor bits like the bonnet had been resprayed but all panels were original and had never been repaired which suggested it had been sprayed due to stone chips etc. Dont really think they were too knowledgable about the marque overall though.

One before was on a Rover 220 Turbo. Head gasket needed doing immediately which wasn't picked up until the first service a few days after I bought it. Tried to get some brass back and got the proverbial fingers. Think you have very little come back if your read the t&c's unless you can specifically prove they have been negligent on the inspection.

 

yeah thats what i figured! I guess the most important thing is they spot things like repair jobs, as much as actual technical features of the car!