How to read a pre-purchase inspection report

Your inspection report just landed in your inbox. It's 24 pages. You have 30 minutes to make a $35,000 decision. Here's how to read it like an inspector.

Start at the summary, not the photos

Every well-written report opens with a one-page summary. Read it twice before clicking any photo. You're looking for four things:

1. 1.Overall recommendation (Buy / Negotiate / Walk Away)
2. 2.Critical/Major defect count
3. 3.Estimated 12-month repair budget
4. 4.Inspector's free-text comments — the part the algorithm can't write

Severity codes — the colours that matter

The four numbers to find in every report

• Brake pad % or mm remaining (4 mm or less = replace soon)
• Tyre tread mm per corner (3 mm or less = replace)
• Battery state-of-health % (below 60 = on borrowed time)
• DPF soot/ash load % for diesels (above 60% = forced regen overdue)

What the report is — and what it is not

A pre-purchase inspection report is a structured, evidence-backed snapshot of a vehicle's condition at a single point in time, produced by a qualified inspector with no financial interest in the sale. It is not a roadworthy (an eSafety inspection in NSW), it is not a warranty, and it cannot predict future failures.

Section by section — what should be in there

1. Vehicle identity

Plate, VIN, engine number, odometer at inspection, fuel type, transmission and colour. This is your evidence that the inspector saw the same car you are buying. The VIN should be sighted on the compliance plate and on the vehicle's stamped location — a VIN recorded only from the compliance plate is a red flag, because cloned cars carry matching plates with mismatched stamped VINs.

2. Documentation review

Whether service books, receipts and previous eSafety certificates were sighted, and how far back the history runs. A well-serviced eight-year-old car should have six or more documented services; two stamps means lost or genuinely thin history, and either way it is something to negotiate on.

3. Exterior and structural

Paint-depth readings belong here. Factory paint on most Japanese and Korean cars reads roughly 90–160 microns; repairs usually read well above 200. One elevated panel is not automatically bad — the report should tell you which panel, how much, and whether the pattern suggests a bumper scrape or a structural repair. Weld seams visible in the boot floor, firewall or A-pillar point to structural work.

4. Mechanical

Organised by system — engine, cooling, transmission, driveline, brakes, suspension, exhaust, steering — with a pass, advisory or fail marker against each. "Advisory" means it works today but needs attention within a service or two. "Fail" means price it now.

5. OBD-II diagnostic scan

On any car built after 2001 this section should exist. It should list current fault codes, stored or historical codes, readiness monitors, freeze-frame data on any stored code, and where available engine runtime hours and distance since the last code clear.

If the readiness monitors show "not ready", the battery was disconnected or the codes were cleared in the last 100–150 km. Ask the seller directly why.

6. Road test findings

Route length, conditions, cold-start behaviour, shift quality, noises under load, brake feel, steering pull and suspension noise. A single line saying "road test completed satisfactorily" is a signature, not a road test.

7. Photos

Every panel corner, the VIN plate, the engine bay, the underbody, tyre tread with the wear indicator visible, the instrument cluster with the odometer, and a close-up of every defect. The photos are your leverage in negotiation and your evidence if the seller later disputes that something existed at the time of sale.

8. Costed repair estimates

Included on Comprehensive and Elite. Every defect gets a repair scope with an estimated Sydney repair cost, which is what lets you walk into the conversation with a specific figure rather than a general request for a discount.

What is suspicious if it is missing

• No OBD-II output on a modern car — the inspection is incomplete.
• No paint readings — structural coverage has been guessed.
• No underbody photos — the underbody was not properly inspected.
• No PPSR result on a tier that includes it — basic due diligence skipped.
• No verbal debrief offered — you cannot ask follow-up questions when something is unclear.

Condition grades and what they mean

Auctioneers, wholesalers and inspectors all use a four-grade condition scale. Knowing the criteria stops a seller waving a vague "great condition" line at you with nothing behind it.

How to use the report

1. 1.Read it end to end before you contact the seller.
2. 2.Highlight every advisory and every fail.
3. 3.Add up the costed repairs.
4. 4.Send the seller the report link with a specific figure — sellers negotiate far more readily against itemised evidence than a general request for a discount.
5. 5.Keep the shareable report link. You can send it to your own mechanic, your insurer, or a future buyer.

Where each measurement in our report comes from

Numbers are only useful if you know how they were captured. On an Aussie Auto Care report, brake and tyre life are measured at the vehicle rather than estimated by eye, the fault-code section is pulled from a live OBD-II scan, and the starting and charging figures come from a load test on the battery itself. When a line in your report carries a figure, it was taken on the day, at the car, by the inspector whose name is on the cover.

• Brake and tyre figures: measured per corner, so an uneven wear pattern shows up as a difference between corners rather than a single averaged number.
• Fault codes: read from the vehicle's own modules, including stored and pending codes, not just whatever illuminates the dash.
• Battery and charging: tested under load, which is the only way a marginal battery separates itself from a healthy one.
• Road test observations: recorded as the inspector drives, so gearbox, steering and brake behaviour are described from behind the wheel rather than from the kerb.
• History findings: on Comprehensive and Elite, PPSR results are attached to the report so encumbrance and written-off status sit beside the physical condition.

Reading the report against the tier you booked

A short report is not automatically a weak one — the depth of the document follows the tier. Essential covers the visual and mechanical safety check, the scan, the measured wear figures and a road test, and the written photo report lands the same day. Comprehensive adds the full mechanical, electrical, interior, body and underbody assessment, history and repair-cost estimates, and is issued on site before the inspector leaves. Elite adds a senior inspector, paint-thickness readings on every panel, a cold-start assessment and on-site negotiation, so its report carries panel-by-panel numbers the other tiers do not.

Grades are opinions; our report gives you the underlying evidence

A one-word grade compresses a whole car into a single adjective, and the person choosing that adjective is usually the person selling. An inspection report works the other way around: each item is described, photographed and, where it can be measured, given a figure. That lets you rebuild the grade yourself rather than inherit the seller's version of it.

1. 1.Read the defects list first and note which items are safety-related rather than cosmetic.
2. 2.Check the measured wear figures — consumables near the end of their life are a budget item, not a condition verdict.
3. 3.Look at the road-test notes for anything the seller's description skipped entirely.
4. 4.On Comprehensive and Elite, compare the history findings with the seller's story about ownership and repairs.
5. 5.Only then decide whether the listing's grade is generous, fair or conservative.

How the inspection is arranged around the seller

You send the listing and the address of the car, we contact the seller or dealership directly and lock in a time that suits both sides based on inspector availability in your area, and the inspection happens at the vehicle where it sits. You do not need to attend. Every report closes with a plain-English recommendation and a phone call if you want to talk it through.

Common questions

How long until I get my report?

Most modern inspectors deliver within 4 hours. Instant on-site is standard for Comprehensive & Elite; same-day is standard for Essential. Next-day is unusual and worth questioning.

Can I get a verbal call before the report?

Yes — we phone every buyer within 15 minutes of completing the inspection with a verbal headline, then the written report follows. Most buyers find that's enough to decide.

How long is a report valid for?

It describes the car on the day of inspection. If the seller drives it another couple of thousand kilometres before you buy, minor changes are possible. Most buyers act within three to five days, which is a safe window.

Can I show the report to the seller?

Yes, and we encourage it. Sellers respect documented findings, and our reports are shareable by link so you do not have to email a PDF.

What if my own mechanic disagrees with a finding?

Send them the report link and ask them to note the disagreement. We are happy to get your mechanic and our inspector on a call together to reconcile it, at no charge.

Are these the same as auction grades?

Close but not identical. Auction houses use a numeric scale that maps roughly onto Excellent, Good, Fair and Poor, and it skews tougher because it is written for trade buyers.