Pre-Purchase Checklist

Half an hour with this list is the cheapest inspection you will ever buy.

Work through it on the lot with the car in front of you — body, tires, engine, interior, the drive, the paperwork. The items that should end the deal are marked, and your ticks stay on your phone.

Saved on your device only
Walk-away red flags marked
Prints clean for the glovebox

Your progress

Loading your saved ticks…

Ticks are saved on this device only — nothing leaves your phone. A red-flagged item that fails is a reason to walk, not to negotiate harder.

The listUsed car inspection checklist

Red flag = walk away

Body, glass and rust

Panel gaps even along both sides — a door or fender sitting proud says repair, and the record says whether it was reported.
Paint matches panel to panel in daylight; look for tape lines and overspray on trim and rubbers.
Sills, wheel arches and floor edges: surface bloom is cosmetic, scaling or flaking is structural. what rust actually does
Crouch and sight along the underbody — fresh underseal on an old car hides more than it protects.Red flag
Windshield chips and cracks, and whether every piece of glass carries the same maker's mark.

Tires, wheels and brakes

All four tires the same brand and evenly worn — mismatched corners are a story the seller should be telling you.
Run a hand across the tread: worn inner or outer edges point at alignment or suspension, not tires.
Spare, jack and locking-wheel-nut key present and where they belong.
Brake pedal firm at rest — slow sink under steady pressure is a hydraulic problem.

Engine bay

The engine is stone cold when you arrive. A pre-warmed engine on a car you came to cold-start is the oldest trick there is.Red flag
Oil on the dipstick: level right, not grey or milky, no mayonnaise under the filler cap.
Coolant its proper colour with no oily film in the reservoir.
Belts and hoses free of cracking and glazing; no fresh sealant smeared around gaskets.
An engine bay detailed to showroom on a high-mileage car — ask what the shine is for.

Interior and electronics

Every switch, window, lock, mirror and seat adjustment, one by one — small electrics price small, fixing them does not.
Heat fully hot and air conditioning genuinely cold, at idle, not just moving. what weak AC means
Every warning lamp lights at key-on and goes out after start. An airbag lamp that never lights has had its bulb pulled.Red flag
Pedal rubbers, steering wheel and driver's seat wear against the odometer's story — they age together or somebody is lying.
Lift the carpet edges and smell for damp. Musty means water, and water means walk.Red flag

The test drive

You turn the key on the cold start, and you watch the first smoke. what each colour says
Hands light on the wheel on a flat road — the car holds its line without correction.
A firm stop from speed: no pulling, no shudder through the wheel.
Every gear, cold and warm — flare, thump or hesitation between shifts is the transmission talking.
Full-lock turns both ways at parking speed, listening for clicks from the driveshafts.
Radio off the whole drive. The car's noises are the information.

Paperwork and the record

The VIN on the dash matches the door-jamb label and the title, character for character. validate it as you read itRed flag
The seller's name is on the title. If it is not, you are being handed somebody else's transaction. why that mattersRed flag
Decode the VIN and check the listing against what the registry says the car is. free decode
Pull the recall record — an open campaign is a free repair and a negotiating document. recall lookup
Read what other owners filed for this model year before you commit. complaint lookup
Service records that line up with the odometer — dates and mileages telling one continuous story.
Agree the out-the-door number in writing before any talk of payments. add yours up

Every item restates what the guides argue at length — this list finds the problems that show. A professional inspection on a lift finds the ones that do not, and the inspection guide below covers what one includes and when it earns its fee.

Before you buy

Check any VIN — free, instant, no sign-up

Decode the year, model, trim, plant and engine, then check NMVTIS for title brands and NHTSA for open recalls. The repair does not show on the paint. It shows in the record.

Outside in

Body first, then wheels, then the engine bay, then inside — the order keeps you from falling for a car before you have walked around it. The drive comes after the looking, never instead of it.

Red flags end the visit

A pre-warmed engine, a mismatched VIN, a musty carpet, a seller who is not on the title — these are not negotiating points. Walking away costs nothing; ignoring one is how a cheap car gets expensive.

The list finds what shows

A professional inspection on a lift finds what does not show — and the record finds what nobody at the lot will mention. The paperwork section wires both in.

The arguments behind the items

All Buying Guides