AA Essential Inspection vs. mechanic?

Hi,

in the process of buying my first car, just wondering if the AA Essential Inspection for €320 is the way to go in terms of having it checked out or what is the benefit of the AA check vs. a mechanic looking it over? Or has anyone used carbuyerscheck.com?

Car is costing €4,800 from a SIMI garage, just serviced & new NCT.

Any thoughts welcomed, I'm anxious to get it all sorted ASAP (and am not mechanically minded, incase you hadn't guessed).

PS - if the AA is the better option, does anyone know how soon they could get the check done once it's booked in?

if you are buying it from the garage, the car should be mechanically sound. is there no warranty come with the car?
especially the car is from a SIMI approved garage then they can be trusted.
what garage and what car btw?

It's coming with 3 month bumper-to-bumper warranty. Car is a Punto Sporting... would rather not name the garage incase it's illegal to do so or somethin'!!!!

i bought a Polo yrs ago from a SIMI aproved garage(a VW dealer near Bray).
i say ur car should be ok. you can ask them about last service done on the car, e.g. brake part and timing belt etc.
Make sure the 3 month warranty including parts in case car break down.

Three month warranty is pretty poor by todays standards. Toyota will give you a year on used cars.

The AA inspection is very expensive and what happens if you want to check out a few cars?

Some garages will let you take out the car for the day and bring it to a mechanic. I always get a mechanic to give it a once over. He may not spot if the spark plugs need to be replaced but he will pick up the big things (like if it has been crashed, needs a new timing belt etc.)

think about the car only cost 4800...if u can find a Toyota approved car with one year warranty..just be a little realistic will ya?
still a good idea to get a mechanic to check out the car for you..not necessarily an AA. just make sure any parts need to be replaced soon.other than that i don't think an approved SIMI garage with give u a dodgy car.

i have bought cars from main dealers, let alone SIMI approved garages and been stung. you can't trust them... even if it is a genuine mistake on their part they might not help you out.

In my opinion if you are unsure about cars I would spent the 320... if they find soemthing wrong you can bet it would cost a minimum of 320 to fix at a main dealer anyway.. if they find it's ok then you have peace of mind.

of course, if you know of a mechanic that you **trust** and will do it cheaper then go ahead.

I had a 300+ inspection done by the AA and they took the car for 4 hours and found some stuff I wouldn't have.

If you are thinking of buying a punto, make sure that all the keys are with the car.

nct = roadworthy
3 mths = enough time to for any problems it has right now to show up
320 for aa insp = waste of money
for you own peace of mind, get a declaration from the dealer that the car has never had any major structural repair work done.

I feel I shuold defend the AA here as more opinions seem against them - I used them and was very happy with the service and what's more some of the things they recommended to get fixed by the garage before I bought it were fixed after I requested it and if I were to pay for this it would have cost near €300 so all in all the AA nearly paid for themselves as well as giving me peace of mind that the car was sound. Of course if you know a mechanic who can do this for less then well and good but I don't so it suited me perfectly.

Thanks for all that folks,

the AA service does sound good but to be honest I just think it's too dear for me; it's €320 I really don't have. Also I left a voicemail for them, sent an e-mail and filled in the online enquiry form on Monday morning and they only got back to me late yesterday evening... how flipping long would it take to organise the check with them?!

No-one has used carbuyerscheck.com, then? [/BUMP] I thought they might be good, €165 for mechanical & emissions test, finance check, and test drive..?

My quandary is really that I don't know any mechanics and no-one in my family can recommend one as they all go to main dealerships with their motors so no personal relationships with a mechanic.

Maybe one of you might be able to recommend someone thorough & trustworthy in the Naas/Newbridge/Sallins area? (Or even between Naas and the Red Cow?) Garage is Red Cow area but they are happy to bring the car to the mechanic.

Thanks all, I really don't know what I'd do without ye

Spending nearly 7% of the p.p. of any car on a vehicle inspection is well ott.

Lynnie, just a little suggestion for nearly 5K why not go for a Japanese car like Toyota or Honda..the chance of getting a bad car is much less.. think about it.as people says Fixed It Again Tomorrow (FIAT)

Hi Lynnie, You say the car has been serviced and you have a NEW NCT plus a 3 month warrantly ,I cant see your problem. After all you are not paying € 14,000 for the car Judging by the tests I have seen done by the NCT mechanics, I would'nt waste my €320 but use it for your car tax