recommend a trust worthy car inspector
 

Hi, I am looking at a few used cars and Would like to get some recommendations on private car inspector to do a pre-purchase inspection.

I have used a few guys before and I never like them, they were just people I got from Car dealership (mechanic).


I dont want to walk into shopping for lemons or costly repairs.

thanks in advance.

P.S Looking for Toyota, or Lexus (IS model) over 10years old cars for sure.

I used the speed syndicate

Speed Syndicate in Burnaby

do you know how much it cost for that? I bring the car to them, right ?

TSS is an rs sponsor. Yes you bring the car to them. Ideally you want inspections done with a hoist as opposed to the sellers driveway.
They'll probably give you a quote over the phone. It depends if you want just a PPI or compression and leak down test done too.

Before I bought my STI I brought it to HBL in Richmond (a Subaru specialist shop) for full leakdown/compression and PPI. Tests were good but they found some abnormalities with the body that impressed me as I don't think other places would've caught it. I paid almost $400 for the full test but basically negotiated that whole portion out of the cost of the car. A regular PPI would be much cheaper but i didn't want to risk it with an EJ257

I think TSS would be a good bet if you're looking to get an IS inspected.

Compression and leak refers only to turbo cars? Naturally aspired engine won't need it right?

Can still get compression test done on N/A cars. I did before I purchased my Accord.

I know there's potential value in doing a PPI on these 10 year old cars. But most of the time, you'd want to make sure the car you are looking at is worth taking to PPI for that "Extra" peace of mind, because if the car is shit on the ground, it's most likely shit on a hoist. Of course there are times when the car looks good on the ground and hidden damages from bad repairs can't be seen, then it's best to have PPI done.

Honestly though, a PPI isn't the be all end all thing, look for cars with maintenance records, if they don't have it, it most likely isn't gonna be a well maintained car.

Again, 10 year old toyota/lexus probably won't have much shit failing on them, if the owner did their own diligence

As a matter of engine health check, I've had it done on a couple of potential purchases as well as something in my current stable. Esp on a higher mileage engine, I'd say it's telling to see what kind of numbers the engine is holding, vs the typical numbers (for that engine). And it applies to both NA and FI engines.

Like ilvtofu, HBL has done a number of used car pre-purchase inspections for me. There were times when I've been steered away as a result, and there are times when the inspection only identified things I should keep an eye on should I decide to purchase and hang on to the car. I've always been happy with their work, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend someone else to take the car there for inspections (or full line servicing).