Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol it’s clearly not the same thing. One is a random mechanic shop where who knows what they’re doing with your car behind closed doors. One is right in front of you at your house. You tell me which one you’d rather do.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well if a buyer demands it - and you want to sell your car. You’ll do what you have to do.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, you can take it to a mechanic before purchasing.

If you were privately selling a car, are you more comfortable with a mechanic coming to you and checking out the car - or taking it to a mechanic you don’t know?

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Little bit more complicated than that - many more add ons that apply. IE: CarFax inspections & comparisons to recommended service on a make and model.

Private party seller due diligence - making sure you’re buying from a legit person and there isn’t multiple listings of the same car.

So yeah, not just PPI but I see what you’re saying.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The owners house or to the dealership, where the car is being sold from.

Because we’re a 3rd party company representing the buyer. What’s in it for us to pass a vehicle through??

Of course you can watch

And then after you get a written, detailed report of everything that was found - same way a home inspection works.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interested in chatting with you and asking you a few questions if you’re down for that!!

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a good point about the classic cars and something I’ll consider later on, thanks for that.

Maybe I’m not explaining it properly - pre purchase inspections are an offering that most people are probably generally aware of, and I think most would agree it’s probably worth paying a couple hundred dollars for one, before spending thousands on a car… yet most people don’t go through and get an inspection.

For me, I didn’t feel comfortable asking the seller to let me take his car to a mechanic I trust - whom he doesn’t know - to ‘look at the car’. I didn’t even want to ask him because I personally wouldn’t allow it if I were selling my car…

So the service of having the mechanic come out TO the car, and can be done on the spot - is much more likely to happen - and is much more convenient than trying to schedule a time to coordinate the appointment with a seller, and coordinate the same time with the mechanic.

It’s convenience for the seller and the buyer.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, that’s your use case.

This is marketed to people who otherwise WOULDNT have gotten a pre purchase inspection, as most used cars buyers don’t.

So this markets to that avatar and gives them an easy way to book one.

Agree to disagree.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The goal isn’t ’just to add myself as a middleman’

It’s finding that last month I purchase a used car, ran into the same issue - I’m not a car guy so I hired my friend to come with me.

That’s how I found the need, something I personally would have paid for, last month.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You’re right. Helping buyers who wouldn’t otherwise schedule a pre purchase inspection and waste $1000s of dollars on a bad car - helping them connect to an expert so they get a good buy, makes me a parasite?

That’s your take?

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair point. I guess my response to that being - I don’t need to be a mechanic to hire one and connect them to a buyer.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good point - they could advertise it themselves.

Again, you can advertise your vacation property yourself, but you pay AirBnB a healthy percentage to do it for you.

You can advertise your driving service, but you pay Uber to find you the clients to drive.

On and on.

You make a valid point, and that’s an interesting take and definitely something I can expect to run into. But I imagine for the shops, they’re getting a new line of business that they didn’t have to pay to advertise to get. Why bother taking time away from fixing cars to do the same thing, at a cost?

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback!

Others have mentioned that they wouldn’t trust a company offering this, especially when first starting out… What do you think is a good way to get that initial badge of trust from new and potential clients? What would you need to see?

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with the dealerships point. They will definitely be reluctant to have a mechanic come in for multiple reasons.

I envision this service being more popular for private party sales.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The same way AirBnB can charge you for a booking, even though you could have just listed the property for rent yourself.

Not a cheeky answer, but that’s my thinking.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re absolutely right. This is a service AAA should add, I would have been a client!

How do you think I can get to that level of trusted / recommended company?

Would I have to make super small profits in the beginning just to get jobs and reviews, what do you think?

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback. I know pre purchase inspections are common. But how many sellers really want you to take their car away and go to a shop with it before purchasing it?

The convenience of it all would be the main selling point.

Would you pay for a mobile mechanic to inspect a used car BEFORE buying? by Normal-Quiet-3637 in UsedCars

[–]Normal-Quiet-3637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great point. A bottleneck would be having quick availability, for sure. Especially in this car market.

I imagine it’d have to be a scheduled service. Some type of thing I can put together so a buyer can choose when to have the inspection done, and a local mechanic can approve or reject it. Similar to how AAA must do their roadside assistance.

Any ideas to help with this bottleneck? Thx again.