Portland OnSite Used Car Pre-Purchase Inspection Service

Portland's ORIGINAL modern used car inspection company. Since 2006 proper Master ASE Certified Technicians performing real inspections. The most technologically advanced used car inspection anywhere

Our thoughts

Buying a used car in Portland Oregon

By

Used car buying tips specifically for Portland, Oregon & Vancouver, Washington metro areas

What you should know:

This information is absolutely invaluable for those who are just starting their used car buying adventure in Portland, Oregon. The information below is more of a recap of the more in depth information we’ve provided on our “PDXinspections Tips for Shopping and Buying a Quality Used Car” page.

Planning the purchase

If you’re going to be financing the vehicle and working with a dealer, try to get pre-approved through a credit union of your choosing prior to starting your search. If you’re not a member of a local credit union start there. Many offer rates as low as 0.99% on used cars up to 3-4 years old. Most will typically pre-approve you and provide you 60 days to shop. Credit unions are not only much easier to not only work with, they offer lower rates, better customer service, they’re more apt to actually approve you and usually makes for a very easy transaction once you find the right car.

Know the seller

There are a lot of used car dealers to choose from. It’s typically better to start with the larger franchised dealers if you want/need to purchase from a dealer. We believe you get more car for less money if you are patient and invest the time to find a real private party owner selling their own vehicle. Be cautious and perform in depth research any dealer you’re considering working with, especially when considering a vehicle from a smaller independent dealer. You will quickly find out what dealers care about customer service/sell quality vehicles (they go hand in hand) and which are all about making money and have no problem selling clunkers.

  • Yelp – Be sure to check out the “Not recommended/filtered reviews” as well. Watch out for dealers who have 1 star reviews followed by 5 star reviews
  • Google “Company name + reviews”
  • Yahoo
  • BBB – We have mixed feelings about the better business bureau and would suggest sticking to “real people reviews” rather than a company in the business to solicit business participation in their “accreditation”.

In Portland there are a lot of private party sellers advertising vehicles that are not actually registered to them. Unlicensed dealers are known as curbers and these can quickly become a nightmare transactions between problem cars and issues for you when you go to register/title the vehicle in your name. These sellers are easy to spot, look for a combination of the following:

  • Look for missing license plates in pictures – Why would the owner not have plates on the car?
  • If the phone number is provided – is it masked: 5 oh three 78 nine zero 1 6 8 or 5o3-789-OI68? This could be a good clue they’re doing this to prevent you from simply googling the number to see all of the other vehicles they are selling or have possibly sold in the past.
  • Google “the phone number + for sale” prior to contacting that seller. See other vehicles come up? You likely found a curber.
  • Read through the ad. Do they specifically say “my” car or do they explain it like it’s just another car they’re selling. Is there a lot of information about the car stating its history, repairs, etc or is the ad very basic?

An often-overlooked tip. Look at the license plates in the ads or ask the dealer about the registration if they have dealer vanity plates on the cars. Oregon doesn’t have a tax on their vehicle purchases but the licensing and registration fees can be quite expensive. For example:

  • A vehicle with current Oregon plates will only require a quick trip to the DMV and cost you $77 dollars to title in your name. You don’t have to pay for registration until the tags expire.
  • A vehicle without plates or expired tags will require a separate trip the Oregon DEQ first, it must pass DEQ, followed by a trip the DMV with fees that could be upwards of $350. Remember, a private party seller selling a vehicle without license plates is very often an unlicensed dealer. If theres a picture of a temporary plate in the back window you should ask yourself why? Why would someone who just bought a car being trying to already sell it?

Knowing the market and its value

Use Kelly Blue Book to check the value of the vehicle to get an estimate on what it’s worth. Knowing this information prior to your calling will help you get an idea how negotiable the seller is. You’ll probably notice many vehicles such as popular “in demand” Honda’s and Toyota’s don’t typically follow KBB’s values, so be sure to figure out what the true market value is before getting frustrated by everyone asking too much for their vehicles. Again KBB values are pointless if none of the vehicles online are listed anywhere close to those values. Our advice is to put craigslist to work for you by changing the way you look and compare vehicles. Search by title only and be specific like this:

  • Leave the search bar blank
  • Search by year (plus one and negative one) if you’re trying to price 2006’s enter 2005 to 2007 for example (assuming its the same generation)
  • Enter the Make and Model ie. Honda Civic
  • Check the title status box and click clean only – You can’t compare clean title vehicles to salvage title vehicles!
  • Click “Search”
  • Sort by price low to high by clicking the  $$$ (Small to big blue link)
  • Look at the average pricing and look at the lower priced vehicles, check them out and find roughly where the clean title vehicles start and then go back and adjust the minimum and maximum values to exclude the salvage vehicles and those that are clearly overpriced or out of your budget. Finally hit search again.
  • You should see something like this: 2006-2008 Honda Civic Search in Portland
  • Now re-search, adjusting the year up and down and see what others are listed for.

Your initial viewing

When you go to look at the car. Start it up and pay close attention to all of the warning lights in the dash. They should all light up and then disappear within about 10 seconds. If any of the Airbag, SRS, ABS, Check engine, Service engine or similar lights remain illuminated, ask the seller to fix and provide receipts of service prior to further considering the vehicle. If they aren’t interested in doing this then why would you waste your time? It always amazes us how many vehicles we show up with lights on such as the airbag light on, especially at dealerships! This could be a $100 fix or it could be a $1000+ fix, why not eliminate this issue prior to spending your inspection money on a vehicle that the seller isn’t going to be willing to fix or negotiate into the price. Many times people are selling their cars once they get an estimate on what it costs to actually fix. Don’t fall for stories, it’s not typically as minor as they may portray otherwise they likely would have fixed it.

The all important pre-puchase inspection

There are a lot of people claiming to perform mobile onsite used car inspections. Would you find your next doctor on craigslist? Only trust real established businesses who employs real properly certified master technicians, who perform all the necessary tests and inspect the entire vehicle, who have established real customer feedback, and most importantly a completely unbiased company without any hidden agendas or performing any other automotive work. We speak from experience as someone who has performed dealer used vehicle inspections, no other automotive business anywhere gives you all of the information needed between our upfront research, history report(s) provided, class leading customer service and our in depth inspection itself. PDXinspections.com

The information above should help point you to the right car more quickly with fewer frustrations.
Please be sure to read through our more in depth page “PDXinspections Tips for Shopping and Buying a Quality Used Car”

 

 Prius Fleet

How to Avoid Scams When Purchasing a Vehicle

By

Be sure to also check out our own more in depth tips page on how to find a quality used car

This information is a cut and paste from Portland’s Police Bureau – http://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/article/187076

Basic information but useful

1.  Check car-fax. Anyone with internet access can go to www.carfax.com and check a vehicle by its VIN number. Carfax charges a small fee but it is well worth it. Check with your local police agency to see if the vehicle is stolen. Remember, if you buy a stolen car, you may not recover your money even if the person that sold it to you is arrested. It is up to you to be sure that the vehicle you are buying is legitimate.

2.  Craigslist, Ebay: Craigslist and Ebay have hints on how to avoid scams. Be aware that most of the sellers on internet auction and classified ad sites are legitimate. However you assume the risk when making a purchase so check the sellers history if you are able to.

3.  Suspicious sellers and cars:  Anyone selling you a car should have a title. If they don’t, walk away from the deal. There are many reasons why a person may not have a title, but there is no reason to buy a car without one. If you buy a car without a title, you will have to go to DMV and apply for a lost or stolen title. By that time you may realize that you have bought a stolen car. Even if it’s not stolen, you will have to prove that you legitimately own the car now.  Avoid that hassle and only buy cars with titles.

4.  Be suspicious of deals too good to be true. There is a reason that the person is selling a car so cheaply, and most of them are not good for the buyer. Look the title over for signs of fraud (erasures, copies, VIN number does not match vehicle, vehicle description does not match vehicle, mileage is inconsistent.) If the vehicle has been totaled and rebuilt the title should note that it is either a salvage vehicle or a reconstructed vehicle. If there are indications that the vehicle has been rebuilt, but there is no flag on the title, be suspicious.

5.  Ask for ID of the seller to prove that the name on the title is the person you are dealing with. If it is a private seller and not a dealer, they should be the person listed on the title. If they are a dealer, they should have a dealer’s license and should have no problem proving that they own the car they are selling. No legitimate seller will have a problem with telling you who they are.

6.  If you are selling a car it’s up to you what you accept for payment.  It’s recommended that you only take cash and cashier’s checks. Call the bank listed on the cashier’s check to check the funds. If you accept a personal check, you assume the risk, even if it appears legitimate.

 

Additional Common-Sense Advice for Buyers from Autotrader.com

Buying a car you find online is a lot like buying a car through a classified ad in the newspaper. In either case, use your best judgment.

Know the car’s market value
Be suspicious of a vehicle priced significantly below market value. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 
Obtain a vehicle history report
A vehicle history report can provide useful information, such as who holds the title to the car and whether the car has been in an accident reported to authorities. You’ll also find out whether the car was ever reported stolen, salvaged or damaged. (We include a History report and often additional information with every inspection) 
Inspect the car

Schedule an inspection with a professional mechanic or an inspection service if the car is not in your area. An early inspection can help you identify problems. However, keep in mind that an inspection isn’t a warranty and won’t guarantee a car is free from defects or that inspectors have identified all existing problems.

 

Confirm contact information
Before you send payment, verify the seller’s street address and phone number- an email address is not enough. ZIP codes, area codes and addresses should match up. Be wary if the seller is located overseas. (BAD ADVICE  – Work with sellers face to face only) 
Use email wisely
Avoid sending sensitive personal or financial information (such as your social security number, credit card number or checking account number) to a seller via email. Remember that email communications are not secure and can be easily forwarded to others.
Get a detailed receipt
Ask the seller for a receipt that states whether the vehicle is being sold with a warranty or “as is.”
Get title to the vehicle
Make sure you know what’s required in your state to transfer title to the vehicle you’re buying.

Be sure to also check out our own more in depth tips page on how to find a quality used car

Timing belts vs. Timing Chains – What you should know.

By

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about this lately. Simply put timing belts require replacement at manufacture specified intervals; timing chains do not require replacement unless a problem develops. In general, vehicles equipped with timing chains require less costly and frequent maintenance unless the chain, guides or tensioner develop a problem. When this happens the engine must be disassembled and the costs can be many times more than a similar timing belt replacement, in fact many engines require removal to fix.

timing-belt-complex

During our pre-purchase inspections we always check the accessory belt(s) and do what all that we can to determine whether the timing belt was replaced. On most vehicles the timing belt is not easily accessible to inspect without disassembly.  You’re not going to find any independent shop or dealership tearing down an engine to inspect the timing belt in any used car inspection. If you do remove the timing cover to inspect, a visual inspection is usually worthless as an old belt and a new belt are typically virtually indistinguishable if not coated in oil. A 100K belt may look new when it comes to signs of wear and break a week later. If the cam/crank seals, water pump or sometimes even the valve cover are leaking it will saturate the belt in oil, this will quickly break down the belt and/or cause it to slip, stretch or break without warning. Our standard practice is to do our best to look for obvious signs of previous timing belt replacements: stickers/stamping stating replacement, service records, signs such as scratches on the timing belt cover(s) from removal, missing/stripped bolts, signs of motor mount removal, accessory belt condition (belts which sit in front of the timing belt that must be removed to get access to the timing belt and they’re usually replaced during the timing belt service).

broken timing belt

Sometimes there will be records in the history report(s)/ service records in which we typically provide when the VIN is included with your booking/payment prior to actually performing the inspection. If records of previous replacement are not available within the specified time/interval (dependent on the vehicle) we always recommend replacing the timing belt for peace of mind. This is a very crucial component, which is often overlooked. A timing belt that slips or breaks can destroy the engine if it is an interference type of engine. Remember it’s not uncommon for people to sell/trade their vehicles in when the timing intervals approach because of the higher service costs involved so be alert to the manufactures recommended interval which can be every 60,80,90,100,105,110, or 120K miles or based on time 5-7 years. Remember, all belts are made out of rubber and rubber deteriorates with time so a 10 year old Honda Civic with only 40K miles should really have the timing belt replaced even if the interval may be every 105K miles. There are some vehicles such as Kia’s, Hyundai’s, older Volkswagen’s and Audi’s that are known for timing belt issues. These cars absolutely must have the timing belt replaced as often as every 60K miles. This service can cost upwards of $800+ so plan accordingly.

Carfax and how they really love their dealers. They don’t have the consumers best interest in mind.

By

First our M3 story and explanation of how Carfax is really there to help dealers sell more cars. In our opinion they don’t have the consumers best interest in mind as they continue to make a majority of their money from dealers and because of this they don’t include all of the negative info they have access to.

Immediately after our story 20/20 does a story confirming what we’ve been saying for years. Carfax geared more towards benefiting the dealer?

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/check-carfax-18743237

Look what we saw today! Convinced yet?

Carfox

Carfax vs. AutoCheck

By

We continually explain to our clients, Carfax is not our preferred vehicle history provider. Have you ever heard of the competing report, AutoCheck by Experian? Yes, Experian, the credit monitoring company.

Every time we hear a Carfax radio or TV ad it reminds us how much this service seems to be really geared towards dealers instead of protecting the buying public in our opinion. Carfax has all of the information but they leave out some rather important details that the competing report doesn’t. I’m sure you’ve heard, “Ask for your Carfax report, Free at thousands of reputable dealers” The truth behind this is that dealers are forced to spend big dollars to have a dealer Carfax account to offer those reports to you. Our owner/lead inspector Josh who actually owned a small used car dealership for 6 years witnessed many dealers buying their inventory at auction not really looking over the cars themselves rather actually purchasing the vehicles that have no accident/damage remarks on the Carfax report alone!

80% of the vehicles we inspect have one or more repainted/repaired panels yet show nothing on a Carfax report. Most dealers know what cars have been repainted or have been in an accident when buying them but they also know 98% of the buyers out there will only ask for a Carfax due to their advertising and not have the car pre-purchase inspected prior to purchase. Carfax does finally now recommend having an independent inspection preformed – Kudos Carfax!

PDXinspections provides each of our clients with an AutoCheck History report at minimum. This report in our opinion is the far superior report with the buyer’s best interest in mind rather than the dealers. The following story from a recent inspection, which explains and shows this very clearly.

We were recently hired to perform an inspection on a low mileage BMW M3. The dealer provided Carfax looked great, the AutoCheck report however told a completely different story. Both reports show the car was sold at auction so we know both providers have that information.

The Carfax simply reads:
07/30/2012 45,151 Auto Auction Pacific Region Listed as a dealer vehicle – Sold at auction

The AutoCheck shows:
05/30/2012 PACIFIC SW REGION 45,151 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
06/15/2012 PACIFIC SW REGION Auto Auction AUCTION ANNOUNCED AS UNIBODY DAMAGE
06/27/2012 PACIFIC SW REGION 45,654 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
07/30/2012 PACIFIC SW REGION 45,151 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS DEALER VEHICLE
08/01/2012 PACIFIC SW REGION Auto Auction AUCTION ANNOUNCED AS UNIBODY DAMAGE

Now the AutoCheck tells a completely different story doesn’t it? Why does the Carfax leave out the fact it went through the auction for 2 months without selling (red flag 1) and as well the auction actually announcing Frame/Unibody damage (red flag 2)? The Carfax will never show you if the car had a frame damage announcement at auction and won’t show you if it spent a year being bounced between auctions (which does happen).

Despite this information being provided upfront, the buyer did elect to still have us go check out the car and we quickly found the vehicle was involved in a rather hard rear end accident resulting in the lower trunk unibody/frame being replaced along with a rear bumper, and paintwork throughout the vehicle easily noticed once looking for it.

The truth is we see this kind of thing all of the time and on average cancel and refund several inspections a week alone based on our initial research including these reports. We don’t enjoy inspecting bad vehicles and know our customers will continue their searches better informed and in the end coming back to us with a better vehicle to inspect.

We will always continue to do in what we believe is best for the buying public and continue providing in what we consider the better report.

Compare-Vehicle-History-Reports
Find us on Google+

Why we have a different prospective than most regarding vehicle safety and salvage titled vehicles in general

By

When I’m not out inspecting used vehicles I enjoy spending my time as a firefighter. One of the many things we do is continually drill (practice our craft). Understanding vehicle construction is helpful but my role as a firefighter gives me a true respect for how strong a vehicle is and how important proper vehicle repairs are when they are damaged. While out inspecting I often see poorly repaired vehicles (mostly salvage) and think back to how that cost savings of knowingly purchasing a vehicle that has sustained some serious damage could end up being a life or death decision for you and your family and a rescue vs recovery for the firefighters that will respond to the next accident.

Remember accidents happen. Nobody gets up in the morning planning on getting into an accident. On top of worrying about the mechanical condition of your next car purchase, please really consider the safety aspects as well. I’ve always been a stickler for safety. I spent about 4 years in the dealership setting as a specialized Drive-ability, Electronics, Networking and Safety Systems Technician diagnosing and replacing safety systems such as airbags, pre-tensioners and seat belts so I understand better than most how crucial these properly functioning systems are and how intertwined they are with the rest of the vehicle including the structure. There is nothing more dangerous than a car designed with airbags that has been tampered with or has non functioning airbags. Please don’t choose cost over safety.

There are plenty of vehicles out there being poorly repaired daily, many around you every time you’re out driving. Be educated, do your research on the vehicle and seller, and please don’t consider purchasing without having it inspected.

Car-cutting2Car-cutting

Extrication-complete