kimr74•1mo ago

I dropped $80 on a used car inspection for a 2006 Mazda 3. Total lifesaver.

I was looking at this Mazda 3 from some guy on Facebook Marketplace last month and it seemed perfect on the test drive. He was asking $3,500 and kept saying how his mechanic said it was in great shape. I decided to pay my own guy $80 to check it out before I handed over any cash. He found the frame had rust damage underneath that was bad enough to fail inspection in a year. The seller got real defensive when I told him and I walked away without buying. I bet that $80 saved me from buying a total headache down the road. Has anyone else had a third party inspection save them from a bad deal?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thea1mo agoMost Upvoted

It's wild how a small upfront cost can expose the shortcuts people take everywhere in life.

hill.margaret1mo ago

Oh wow that is crazy, $100 to dodge a 2k repair bill is a no brainer. People really do try to hide the big stuff and hope nobody notices until it's too late. That transmission thing especially, you can't fake that for long once a mechanic actually drives it. Makes you wonder what else that seller was trying to hide, probably had a laundry list of problems. Honestly I'll never understand why people don't just be upfront about issues, it just makes everything worse in the end.

max_torres441mo ago

My buddy did the same thing on a 2010 Civic he was dead set on buying. The inspection found the transmission was slipping worse than the seller let on, and he passed on it. Paid $100, saved himself at least $2k in repairs down the line.