Fast answers. Honest verdict.
You've found a car. You don't want to spend the weekend in a workshop carpark. Essential is our 45–75 minute mobile check — every safety system, an OBD scan, a road test, and a one-line call: Buy, Think Twice, or Avoid.
$199
flat, GST included
A safety-first first read.
45–75 minutes onsite
Booked, scanned, road-tested and reported the same hour.
OBD-II live scan
Stored and pending fault codes pulled from the engine and transmission ECUs.
60–80 HD photos
Every panel, the engine bay, the underbody, the dash, the tyres — yours forever.
Plain-English verdict
Buy · Think Twice · Avoid. No 40 pages of jargon. A real call you can act on.
Every inclusion.
Pick it when speed matters.
Late-model dealer cars
Under 5 years old, full service history visible, recent rego. You want a sanity check, not an autopsy.
Second-hand under $20k
Lower-stake purchases where a $329 deep-dive doesn't fit the maths.
Tight inspection windows
Seller can only spare an hour. You need a real call before the next buyer turns up at 3pm.
Insured. Independent.
$20M public liability
Plus $5M professional indemnity.
Money-back guarantee
If we miss a major fault present on the day, your fee is refunded.
Same-day report
PDF + photo gallery in your inbox before dinner.
"Saved me a Saturday and a $14k mistake."
"Booked Essential on Friday night, inspector turned up at the seller's driveway Saturday 9am. OBD pulled three pending codes the seller swore weren't there. Walked away — saved me a $14k mistake on a Mazda 3."
Priya S.
First-car buyer · Marrickville
Booked to verdict in under 24 hours.
01
Book online
Pick a Sydney suburb and a time slot. Booking confirms instantly and the seller gets a friendly heads-up SMS the morning of.
02
Inspector dispatched
A qualified mobile inspector is assigned and calls the seller to confirm address, access and that the car will be cold for the start-up test.
03
Onsite check (45–75 min)
Safety walk-around, fluids, tyres, brakes, lights, OBD-II live scan, 3–5km road test, 60–80 HD photos — done in your seller's driveway.
04
Same-day report
PDF report, photo gallery and a Buy / Think Twice / Avoid verdict in your inbox before dinner, plus a 5-minute post-inspection phone call.
What our Essential inspectors actually check.
Engine & under-bonnet
Cold-start behaviour, idle quality, fluid levels and condition (engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, power steering, washer), visible leaks, belt and hose condition, battery age and terminals, engine mounts, obvious aftermarket modifications.
OBD-II live scan
Stored and pending fault codes from the engine, transmission and ABS modules, readiness monitors (critical for upcoming pink slip), live coolant and intake temperatures, and a check for recently cleared codes that hint a seller wiped the history before you arrived.
Brakes, tyres & suspension
Pad thickness front and rear (measured, not eyeballed), disc condition and scoring, tyre tread depth on all four corners, tyre age (DOT date), uneven wear patterns that point to alignment or suspension issues, bounce test on each corner.
Lights, electrics & safety
Every exterior bulb (head, tail, brake, indicators, reverse, fog), interior dome and dash lights, dashboard warning lights pre- and post-start, horn, wipers, washers, all seatbelts including rear, child anchor points, airbag indicator.
Body, paint & glass
Panel gaps, paint colour consistency across panels (signs of repaint or accident repair), windscreen chips and cracks, rust hot-spots (rear arches, sills, tailgate seams), bonnet/boot/door alignment, undercarriage scrape damage.
Interior, A/C & road test
All seats power and manual functions, dashboard electronics, infotainment, reverse camera, parking sensors, air-conditioning cold-air temperature at vent, heater function, 3–5km road test covering cold and warm operation, gear changes, brake feel, steering pull, suspension noise.
Common defects we catch at Essential tier.
Pending OBD codes
Sellers regularly clear the dash before listing the car. A fresh scan exposes pending codes (P0420 catalyst efficiency, P0011 cam timing, P0301 misfire) the dash hasn't re-flagged yet — the most common Essential save.
Worn brake pads under 3mm
Especially on older Mazdas, Hyundais and Korean SUVs. Eyeballed pads look fine until measured — a $400–$700 deduction the seller never volunteers.
Aged tyres with deep tread
DOT codes older than 6 years. Tread looks legal but the rubber is hardening — replacement due regardless. Easy $800–$1,400 negotiation lever.
Coolant contamination
Cloudy or oily coolant in the overflow tank — early sign of head gasket failure on older Subaru EJ engines and Holden Alloytec V6s. Walk-away findings.
Repainted panels
Detected by panel-gap inconsistency and paint sheen mismatch. We can't measure paint depth on Essential (that's Elite), but obvious respray work is flagged in the report.
Cleared adaptation memories
Transmission adaptive memory reset within the last 50km — a sign someone wanted the gearbox to feel smoother than it actually is. Particularly common on CVT Nissans and ZF 8-speed BMWs.
We come to the seller's driveway.
Aussie Auto Care inspects across 40+ Sydney suburbs — from the Inner West (Marrickville, Newtown, Leichhardt) to the Eastern Suburbs (Bondi, Randwick, Maroubra), the North Shore (Chatswood, Hornsby, St Leonards), the Northern Beaches (Manly, Dee Why, Mona Vale), the Hills District (Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Kellyville), Parramatta, Liverpool, Bankstown, Penrith, Campbelltown and the Sutherland Shire (Cronulla, Sutherland, Miranda). Same-day or next-day slots most weekdays; Saturday inspections book out 3–5 days ahead.
Common questions.
Buy smarter.
What's checked in a pre-purchase inspection?
A line-by-line breakdown of every system, every fluid, every code.
Read article →
10 red flags to spot before booking
What an experienced inspector notices in the first 60 seconds.
Read article →
How much should a Sydney inspection cost?
Tier-by-tier pricing logic, what you're paying for, what you're not.
Read article →
Ready when you are
Book Essential from $199.
Same-day Sydney slots most weekdays. Lock yours in under 90 seconds.