Gordon's used cars are some of the best-kept in Sydney and some of the most misleading. Garaged, dealer-serviced, low kilometres, one careful owner, immaculate paint. Most of that is true. The problem is that it describes a car that has aged rather than worn, and age produces a completely different set of faults to kilometres. A large share of the cars sold here come out of downsizing, retirement and deceased estates, sold by family members who never drove the car and cannot answer a single question about it. They are often excellent buys. They are also cars that may have sat for a year with a flat battery, perished tyres and a sunroof drain full of leaf litter. We come to the car, complete a structured inspection, run a professional multi-module diagnostic scan, road test it on the hills, and hand you a written, photographed report on the spot with a plain verdict and costed repairs. We do not sell cars and the seller pays us nothing.
Same-day or next-day inspection appointments, subject to availability.
The upper North Shore is leafy, damp under the canopy, and full of wildlife. Cars that sit for long periods under trees or in a garage develop blocked drains, perished rubber, moisture in the brake fluid and flat-spotted tyres, and possums and rats find engine bays an attractive place to spend the winter. None of that is visible from the driveway.
Possums and rodents nest in engine bays and chew through wiring insulation, vacuum hoses, coolant hoses and sound deadening. The damage is often invisible until an intermittent electrical fault appears months later. We inspect the engine bay for nests, droppings and chewed insulation, and scan every module for the intermittent communication faults that chewed harnesses produce.
When the seller never drove the car, the inspection is the only source of information. We verify VIN and compliance, check for money owing, assess service history against both kilometres and dates, and look for the evidence of a long period of inactivity: battery condition, tyre flat-spotting, seized caliper slides and stale fluids.
Direct-injection petrol engines that do short trips coat their intake valves with carbon; timing chains and tensioners on several European engine families wear early; dual-clutch and torque-converter transmissions develop mechatronic and fluid faults. We read live data for misfire counts and fuel trims, listen on a cold start, and scan for stored transmission faults.
Cars parked under trees fill their cowl, sunroof and door drains with leaves. Blocked drains put water into footwells, under seats and into body control modules. We check drains, lift carpets, test the spare wheel well and look for corroded seat-rail fasteners and under-dash connectors.
A car serviced by kilometres rather than dates can be years overdue on brake fluid, coolant, transmission fluid and timing belt. We check the record against the calendar and flag anything due by time, because on an interference engine that one check can be worth the car.
We read every tyre's date code, because a seven-year-old tyre with full tread still needs replacing; we check rotors for pitting and calipers for seizing; and we test battery condition and cranking, because a car that has sat for months has usually deep-cycled its battery.
Gordon's blocks are steep and its driveways are steeper. We inspect sumps, undertrays and exhausts for scrape damage, test park brake holding on a real gradient, and assess clutch and torque-converter behaviour under load on a hill.
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 Gordon. 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 Gordon 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.
Sometimes. Low use produces its own faults: perished rubber, overdue time-based services, corroded brakes, tired batteries and blocked drains. We assess condition and dates, not just the odometer.
Yes. We inspect the engine bay for nests and chewed insulation and scan for the intermittent electrical faults that damaged harnesses produce.
Yes. For those we usually suggest the highest inspection tier because the cost of a missed fault is proportionally much larger.
Yes. That is exactly the situation where an independent inspection replaces the missing history.
No. Flat fee, no travel surcharge.
No. We deal with the seller and send the report to you directly.
Cars, utes, vans and SUVs. Not trucks, motorcycles, caravans or boats.
Gordon sits inside our North Shore 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 GordonBook a same-day inspection in Gordon
At the seller's address · from $199
