Maintenance Schedule Builder
Mileage, drivetrain and duty cycle into a printable 30/60/90 service card.
OpenPRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION CHECKLIST
A pre-purchase inspection is not a service inspection with a different header. It is asking a different question — not “what does this car need?” but “is this car what the seller says it is?” The third mark on this sheet is Walk, not Fail, because some findings should end the conversation rather than reprice it.
PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION
0/33 checked
Tap a mark on each line. Unchecked lines print blank so the sheet works on a clipboard too.
PAPERWORK AND IDENTITY
- VIN on dash matches VIN on door jamb and title
- Title status — clean, salvage, rebuilt, lemon
- Odometer reading against service records
- Open recalls
- Service history present and plausible
- Number of prior owners
STRUCTURE AND BODY
- Panel gaps even, both sides
- Paint thickness and colour match across panels
- Overspray on trim, seals or under the bonnet
- Frame rails and strut towers — kinks, welds, sealant
- Underbody rust — surface or structural
- Flood signs: silt, waterline, musty smell, corroded connectors
- Boot floor and spare well
POWERTRAIN
- Cold start — noise, smoke, time to fire
- Oil condition and coolant cross-contamination
- Coolant condition and pressure test
- Transmission shift quality, cold and warm
- Clutch bite point (manual)
- Timing belt or chain — service record or condition
- Exhaust smoke under load
- Stored and pending fault codes, plus readiness monitors
CHASSIS AND CONSUMABLES
- Brake pad and rotor life remaining
- Tyre brand match, tread and DOT dates
- Shock or strut leaks
- Steering play and alignment pull
- Suspension noise over bumps
- Air conditioning vent temperature
ROAD TEST
- Straight-line tracking hands-off
- Braking — pull, pulse, noise
- Full-throttle acceleration through the gears
- Highway speed vibration
- All warning lights out after start
- Cruise, wipers, windows, locks, infotainment
Inspected by
Signature ______________________
OK · Watch · Walk
0 · 0 · 0
What belongs in the Walk column
Structural repair to the frame rails or strut towers. Flood evidence. A VIN that does not match, or a title status the seller did not disclose. Coolant in the oil. These are not negotiating positions — they are reasons the car is not the car being sold, and no discount makes them into a good purchase.
Everything else is a number. Worn brakes, tired struts, a due timing belt: those are repricing items, and the quick-reference card puts a figure on each so the buyer can negotiate with an amount rather than a feeling.
The readiness-monitor trick
A scan that shows no stored codes but several incomplete readiness monitors usually means the battery was disconnected or the codes were cleared recently — often within the last few dozen miles. It is the single most useful thing a scan tool tells you on a pre-purchase inspection, and it takes thirty seconds. See check engine light codes for how the monitors work.
Insist on a cold start
A seller who has the engine warm when you arrive has hidden the most informative thirty seconds of the inspection. Cold-start noise, smoke colour, and how long the engine cranks before it fires say more about internal condition than an hour on a lift.
Who should run it
A buyer can work through the paperwork, body and road-test sections alone. The powertrain and chassis sections want a lift and a scan tool. If you are a shop offering this as a service, price it as diagnostic time on the diagnostic fee calculator — it is an hour of skilled labor, not a favour. If the car passes and needs work anyway, the multi-point sheet is the follow-up.
WHAT A MISS COSTS
- Inspection fee
- $50–$180 at an independent shop
- Timing belt
- $889–$1,291
- Catalytic converter
- $2,164–$2,483
- Transmission replacement
- $2,500–$6,000 for a replacement
- Struts, all four
- $900–$1,800 for all four corners
An inspection costs about one hour. Missing any one of the rows below costs more.
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OpenSOURCES
Each line is where a figure on this page came from and the date it was read.
| Figure | Source | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Typical independent-shop inspection or diagnostic fee | Airtasker — Car Diagnostic Test Cost | |
| Timing belt replacement cost | RepairPal — Timing Belt Replacement Cost | |
| Catalytic converter replacement cost | RepairPal — Catalytic Converter Replacement Cost | |
| Transmission replacement band | SoFi — Transmission Replacement Cost | |
| All-four strut replacement band | SoFi — Cost to Replace Shocks and Struts |