I want to get it professionally inspected as although I know what i'm doing, with paying more than £5k I think is worth getting a bit of piece of mind.

Never having done this before - any recommendations?

5K is seriously danger zone, that not to say there arent good ones out there but there is also some rubbish, I would get it inspected.

I know - any recommendations? AA etc????

Anyone?
Loads of views - surely some of you used some sort of inspection service?????

If I was buying a 2nd hand Scooby, I'd take an experienced Scooby mechanic, rather than an AA bloke.

Good luck!

Depends where you are in the country but I would use one of the scooby specialists as they know speciifically what to look for. Maybe worth giving a rough location (NOT your home address ;) )where you are and someone may know a local specialist who maybe able to help.

Coventry :D

There is big scoob presence in Coventry maybe worth a quick post in the midlands section ( http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/Forum.asp?ForumID=23 ) but dont tell the moderators ;).

5k is likely to be a duffer but in all honesty, all Scoobies are duffers, much like their owners. Unless you want your chosen wheels to look like something from a bad max power experiment then buy something else. They are unreliable, made badly and are easily beaten by the likes of a Focus RS which is pure quality

Possibly changing your mind then Sulli? :p ;)


For the record i got a local expert out to give mine the once over before purchasing.

Sulli m8 u said the magic word ;) If u wana decent place to check it out in the area my advice is Roger Clarks motorsport just west of Leicester :D If yer not in a rush come to the next Cov area meet, when final details emerge, & there r lots of ppl with expertese who may help. I aint no technical genious so no guarantees but if u wana helpful & reasonably knowledgable friendly face i'm willing to help. Have u got a car in mind or just fishing at this time? :confused:
Si

I had one done by the AA when buying mine, £189 if you're
a member they do the full works and offer you £10'000
cover if the car turns out not to be what they said.

It recommends areas that you should look as adviseable
repairs and essential repairs. Mine identified a kerbed
alloy, and 2 missing bolts, one from the airbox, and one
from the exhaust heat shield, all in all I found it very
good and although you can get similar things done elsewhere
I thought this gives good peace of mind, as there is a bit
of a fall back with it. You can also pay a bit more and they
will give you a bit of a warranty.

Graham makes a very valid point re the AA/RAC Indemnity cover in case you buy a 'pup' on their advice, you may not get the same comeback with a so called 'expert', depends who the 'expert' is i supppose. Try for a reccommendation but you are still taking a chance.

GrahameS is that another Coventry ID i spy who doesn't come to the Cov are ameets ;)
Stalker_si

I looked at one tonight in Coventry - P reg 4 door. I know what I am looking at to some extent, and picked up a few snags. I think I really only need some advice on identifying major problems, as I can pick up most general stuff. Apart from the few snags (misaligned front and rear bumpers - receipts for repairs with documents I later saw), I also picled up a whine from what I think was the p/steering when turning fairly tight at lowish speed, and a ticking from the engine - from the area of the cylinder head on the passenger side.
Drove OK - turbo kicked in hard after gear changes - noticeable to me as i'm currently driving a Cupra turbo which I guess has a smaller turbo, and smoother power delivery, hopefully not indicative of any turbo problems.
Other thing that I know little about is the 4WD system - how to spot faults/test it???

And by the way, I said 'paying over £5k', not £5k.

I found the AA inspections good as well. Had mine inspected a few months ago, & the price is now ~£200ish, but it gives an in depth report, & they phone you up to give a verbal one as well. https://www.gamers-forums.com/smilie...ib/fk/wink.gif
What is it you're looking at?

D'oh my cover is blown :D:D
That would invole being sociable thought wouldn't it :D:D

Why do smilies never work first time ??

[Edited by GrahameS - 5/14/2003 4:32:45 PM]

Well the next cov area meet is being planned here so just click u no u wana ;) i never usually have a problem with smilies 4 sum reason they have even attacked my car!
Si (im evil really lookhttp://216.40.249.192/s/contrib/dvv/esmil.gif)

Please whatever you do.....

DO NOT USE THE RAC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They offer the 10k cover but if it goes wrong then you have got a HUGE struggle on your hands to try to cover your losses!!

I bought my car in december, and the day after I got it home I took it to a local specialist who broke the bad new that my whole engine needed replacing. My cooling system had shut down and ended up cooking the engine, this should have been picked up by the RAC Engineer and I am still trying to get the compensation out of them and am getting legal advice to see whether or not I can prove they are the ones to blame.

Cheers,
Grant