Carlton is a compact St George suburb on the Illawarra line between Kogarah and Allawah, mostly older houses on modest blocks with newer unit developments near the station. We inspect the car at the seller's address and hand you a written, photographed report before you commit to anything.
Carlton is small and tightly built, sandwiched between the rail corridor and Princes Highway traffic. The practical questions here are where the car can be worked on and how we get it onto a road that tests it.
The older housing here typically has one narrow driveway, sometimes leading to a garage off a rear lane. That is enough for a full inspection provided the car can be pulled forward clear of the eaves and the fence line, because we need to open doors fully, sight along panels from a distance and get a jack onto a proper lift point.
Streets backing onto the Illawarra line collect brake dust and rail grime, which settles on paint, in window rubbers and in air-intake and cabin filter housings. It is cosmetic more often than not, but it also hides surface condition, so we clean and inspect rather than reading a dusty panel and calling it sound.
Carlton's residential grid is short blocks and give-way intersections — useless for assessing a gearbox. The Princes Highway runs along the suburb's edge and gives sustained speed and repeated braking. With the seller's consent and the car registered and insured, that is where we take it, because driveline shudder and brake shudder need load to show up.
The newer developments near Carlton and Allawah stations park underground with fobbed access and few visitor bays. Diagnostics run fine down there; paint and underbody assessment does not. We confirm the access arrangement with the seller when booking and ask for the car to be brought up to street level for those sections.
You don't need to be there and you don't need to move the car. Timing depends on inspector availability in your area and on when the seller can make the vehicle available — we confirm a time with you once we've spoken to them.
Send the listing and the address of the car. Tell us if there is anything specific you want checked.
We contact the seller or the dealership directly and lock in a time that suits both sides, based on inspector availability in your area. You don't need to be there.
A qualified mobile inspector attends the vehicle where it is and works through the full checklist, including a road test.
Comprehensive and Elite reports are issued on site. Essential reports are delivered the same day. Every report ends with a plain-English recommendation and a phone call if you want to talk it through.
Every price below includes travel within our Sydney service area, so there is no surcharge for Carlton. All prices include GST.
Visual and mechanical safety check, OBD-II scan, measured brake and tyre life, battery and charging test, and a road test.
Written photo report the same day
with code SAVE10
Everything in Essential plus a full mechanical assessment, an undertray-off leak-source check where safe and permitted, every suspension bush inspected, PPSR history and repair-cost estimates.
Report issued on site, before the inspector leaves
Everything in Comprehensive plus a senior inspector, paint-thickness readings on every panel, cold-start assessment, advanced history deep-dive and on-site price negotiation.
Report issued on site, before the inspector leaves
Adds a measured state-of-health assessment of the high-voltage battery on any EV or hybrid, issued as a separate certificate.
Certificate issued with your report
If we miss a major fault that was present at the time of inspection on an Elite Buyers' Protection inspection, we contribute up to $3,000 toward the repair within 30 days. Essential and Comprehensive do not include this cover.
A pre-purchase inspection in Carlton removes most of the risk in a used-car purchase. It does not remove all of it, and you should know where the edges are before you book.
Usually, if the car is pulled forward clear of the house line and the fence. We need full door swing on both sides, a clear jack point away from the gutter, and enough distance to sight along a panel. If the driveway will not allow that, moving the car to the kerb for twenty minutes solves it.
Where the car is registered and insured and the seller consents, yes. Highway speed is what exposes wheel balance, driveline vibration, torque-converter lock-up and brake shudder. A lap of the local streets is not a substitute, and if no road test is possible we record that in the report rather than glossing over it.
Yes. Scan-tool diagnostics, battery testing, fluid checks and interior work are unaffected. Paint reading and underbody sight-lines need daylight, so we ask for the car to be brought up where the building allows it, and we note any check the parking limited.
$199 Essential, $329 Comprehensive or $449 Elite, with the EV and hybrid battery health assessment at $199 on top of any tier. Prices include GST and travel within our Sydney service area — Carlton carries no surcharge.
On site before the inspector leaves for Comprehensive and Elite, and the same day for Essential. Reports are photographed throughout and finish with a clear recommendation, so you can negotiate or walk away on evidence.
Carlton sits inside our St George coverage. If the car you're chasing is a few suburbs over, it's the same service and the same price.
Tell us where the car is and we'll arrange the inspection with the seller. Written repair cover on Elite (30 days / up to $3,000).
Inspection in CarltonBook a same-day inspection in Carlton
At the seller's address · from $199
