can anyone recommend a company for a pre purchase inspection? a lot of companies, including AA and RAC, only seem to inspect cars up to 15 years old. the escort cabbie i'm looking at is an '89 plate - 23 years old.

I'm looking at a car in southampton which is an 8 hour round trip for me! It will be cheaper to pay someone else to look at it, plus they will have more of a clue what to look for.

thanks

 

call these,top people who know there stuff and not expensive
http://www.tremonagarage.com/

 

I'd be interested if anyone knows of a company as Im interested in a car that's 28 years old but it's a good 440 mile round trip away and finding it difficult to get someone to come and look at it

 

where abouts in the country is it if its not too far from me I dont mind taking a look,I like to think I know just a little bit about these cars

 

Yeah me too,if it's down Swansea way I'm sure I can help.
The problem can be when one persons idea of "mint" can be very different to another's.
I had this problem once before when I went to look at an astra cabriolet in London,the guy told me of a "slight petrol leak" and that the bodywork was "immaculate".
Popping on an early Sunday morning coach I arrived in hackney at about 10ish,wandered up to the guys house and saw the car.
The "small leak" was in fact a totally split fuel inlet pipe squirting petrol directly onto the engine!!!nice.
Then the bodywork,to be fair no rust or dents but it had been sprayed by stevie wonder on a beach on a windy day!!!
Luckily it cut back ok and I fixed the fuel leak outside his house,but he'd also forgotten to mention a totally dead battery,no dash lights,major powersteering whine and non functioning stereo.
Still,it was so cheap I bought it,fixed the whine by putting the correct zf fluid in,changed a bulb in the dash,binned the standard vaux head unit,battery charged ok on the 230 mile drive home and I drove it round with no probs for a year,shoved a new ticket on it and sold it in the summer for a nice drink.

 

Thank you Specalist rs and vaughant. I'm sending you a pm vaughant.
It's the opposite direction to you Specalist rs but cheers.
I'm ok when it comes to simple things but rust is my biggest worry.