Pre-purchase inspection: AA, RAC, EV-specialist?

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Tue 28 Sep 2021 12:09
Pre-purchase inspection: AA, RAC, EV-specialist? - sherop

Looking at buying a Leaf from a dealership at the other end of the country and can't travel to pick it up, so doing as a distance sale. Obviously this comes with pros and cons that I've carefully considered.

I intend to mitigate some cons by getting a competant pre-purchase inspection on the vehicle - but have read some comments online about AA/RAC inspections being a total waste of time and carried out by staff who commonly miss issues. Given it's an EV and so there are other priorities to inspect vs. an ICE vehicle, this is a concern.

So two questions:

1) What are your experiences of using AA/RAC/other organisations with pre-purchase inspections?

2) Are there reputable EV-specialists that could come and do this inspection instead?

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Tue 28 Sep 2021 12:53
Pre-purchase inspection: AA, RAC, EV-specialist? - badbusdriver

Regardless of which organisation you use for this inspection, it is inevitable you will find a couple of negative reviews. What you want to be looking at is the overall rating. Of course you also need to be aware that not all reviews are genuine. How old is the Leaf, is it still under warranty, and is it coming from an actual Nissan dealer?. I ask, because if the answer to the second and third points are yes, any issues which crop up can be dealt with by your nearest Nissan dealer, you won't have to return it to the other end of the country!. Also, if it is still under warranty, might be worth looking into the pros and cons of extending said warranty (assuming you can).

Might also be worth joining an EV/Nissan Leaf forum (assuming such a thing exists) to find out what specific issues to look for on a Leaf?. They might also be able to tell you about any EV specialist who could do the inspection.

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Tue 28 Sep 2021 16:49
Pre-purchase inspection: AA, RAC, EV-specialist? - Steveieb
If trhe car is out of warranty you are going to need the services of a specialist who repair down to component and Cleevely Electric Vehicles are highly recommended even if you don't live near Cheltenham.
But there must be others elsewhere .
Dealers restrict their repairs to major components which can run into several thousands of pounds so taking the car to a nearby specialist is recommended for a check over if the seller agrees.
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Tue 28 Sep 2021 17:21
Pre-purchase inspection: AA, RAC, EV-specialist? - mcb100
Assuming it’s at an independent dealership, give the nearest Nissan dealership to the car a call and see if they’ve any offers on a health check, including a battery health check.
Main dealers are usually happy to carry out health checks, in the hope that they can get pads/discs/tyres out of it. You can always decline anything they point out as being necessary, but you’d get an up to date picture of battery condition.
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Fri 1 Oct 2021 22:24
Pre-purchase inspection: AA, RAC, EV-specialist? - DavidGlos
Whereabouts is the Leaf you’re looking to purchase? Near us there’s a specialist EV garage with a good reputation (near Cheltenham) and one of the service guys there seems to do regular trips to Scotland to service various EVs.

Depending on the geography, they might be willing to call in and assess the vehicle you’re considering. Assuming it’s ok to post links here, they are: www.cleevelyev.co.uk/

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Sat 2 Oct 2021 07:35
Pre-purchase inspection: AA, RAC, EV-specialist? - daveyK_UK
Hi,
If the car is under 3 years old and has been serviced correctly, then you have little to worry about.
The UK wide manufacturer warranty can still be applied.

Do EV cars have a battery function like IPhones which tells you the battery’s health?
If so, it will be worth asking for this information.
I am not sure what the cut off would be, but assuming anything less than 80% battery health would be a reason to avoid as EV car as that means you have lost a 1/5th or more of its manufacturer charge potential.
Also ask the dealer questions in writing such as has the car been in an accident? Has it had any body repairs? What are the tyre tread depths?


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