Padstow is a settled residential suburb wrapped around a substantial light-industrial pocket, with the M5 and Salt Pan Creek on its edges. Private sales happen in driveways, work vehicles change hands out of the industrial streets, and we inspect either where it stands.
Off-street driveways, an industrial pocket with business-hours access, and motorway entries close enough for a proper road test.
Most Padstow houses have off-street parking on level ground, which is the best environment we get. It means every door can be opened fully for hinge and sill assessment, a paint-depth gauge can be run across every panel with a clean sight-line, and there is room to get a torch along the underbody without lying in a live traffic lane.
The light-industrial streets carry vans, utes and light trucks sold directly from businesses. Those are inspected on the same tiers, but the load side matters: tray and racking mounts, rear spring sag, tow-bar mounting and any body panel drilled for fit-out. Gate access and a site contact need to be arranged for a business-hours slot.
With the M5 entry close by, a road test can carry sustained speed and load rather than being a lap of the block. That is what surfaces wheel balance, driveline vibration, steering pull, brake shudder and torque-converter lock-up — faults that stay hidden at suburban speeds.
Streets toward the creek sit low, and on a car that has been parked at that level for years we look harder at the boot well, spare-wheel tub, carpet underlay and floor pan under the seat rails. We lift carpet edges and trace the sunroof and cowl drains rather than deciding by smell whether an interior has been wet.
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 Padstow. 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 Padstow 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.
Yes, all three are inside the standard Sydney service area, so the advertised prices apply with no travel surcharge: $199 Essential, $329 Comprehensive, $449 Elite, plus $199 for the EV or hybrid battery health assessment. All prices include GST.
Yes. The same tiers apply and the load side is assessed as well — tray and racking mounts, rear suspension, tow-bar mounting and any panels drilled during fit-out. Where the seller is a company, the PPSR check included with Comprehensive and Elite is worth having, because it shows whether a financier still holds an interest in the vehicle.
Where the vehicle is registered and insured and the seller agrees, yes. Sustained motorway speed is the only reliable way to assess wheel balance, driveline vibration and gearbox lock-up behaviour. If a road test is not permitted, we record that in the report rather than leaving the section empty.
You engage us and you pay us. We have no commercial relationship with the seller and no interest in whether you buy the car. Every defect raised is photographed, and the report goes to you alone unless you choose to share it.
Then you have evidence. The report photographs and explains each finding in plain English, which is what gives you the standing either to walk away or to go back to the seller with something specific rather than an impression.
Padstow sits inside our South-West Sydney 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 PadstowBook a same-day inspection in Padstow
At the seller's address · from $199
