Tag Archives: Unbiased Pre-Purchase Inspection MN

Importance Of A Complete Automotive Inspection

Thursday, 30 April 2020 11:56

Written by Robert Swedeen

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If you are not much of a car person, it’s critical that you find someone else that is. Afterall, you’d like to protect your vehicle investment and make sure that you get the most out of your car, right? If you are in the North Metro area, the best option for you is to put your trust in a team of car people, right here at Clark Automotive. Our ASE certified mechanics have a passion for working on cars and for providing the best customer service possible to our clients. If it has been a while since you’ve had your vehicle evaluated, now is the time for you to take advantage of our complete automotive inspection.

Honest Automotive Inspection: In the same way that humans need to visit the doctor for our annual recommended physicals, it’s important that your vehicle is regularly inspected as well. The problem is that there are a lot of auto mechanics in the North Metro area that take advantage of their clients during the automotive inspection.

Since most car owners don’t know the ins and outs of vehicle maintenance, they often are misled by certain mechanics into thinking that work needs to be done on their car when it really isn’t necessary. At Clark Automotive, we believe that is the wrong way to run an auto repair shop. Instead, our goal is to be as upfront and honest with all of our clients as possible. Through our complete automotive inspection, we’ll only provide recommendations that are truly needed.

Automotive Inspection Services

Throughout our inspection, our certified mechanics will evaluate every aspect of your automobile. Some of the common areas that we’ll inspect include:

● Brakes
● Tires
● Steering, Suspension & Alignment
● Exhaust System
● Electrical Components
● Heating and Air Conditioning
● Fluid Levels
● Engine Diagnostics
● Timing Belt
● Many More!

Courtesy Rides

At Clark Automotive, we know how busy the lives of our clients can be. To help encourage regular vehicle maintenance, we offer courtesy rides. So that you don’t feel like you are wasting precious time, we’ll get you to where you need to be while your vehicle gets worked on.

Making sure that your vehicle is regularly inspected by a professional auto mechanic is very important. If you’re in the North Metro and are interested in finding an auto shop that offers a complete automotive inspection from a group of honest and trustworthy mechanics, Clark Automotive is the shop for you. To set up your vehicle inspection, give us a call today at (763) 784-7944 or email info@clarkautomotiveblaine.com.

Pre-Purchase Inspection MN

Tuesday, 16 August 2016 20:38

Written by Clark Automotive

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Pre-Purchase Inspection MN When it comes to cars, purchasing used is a great move, unless you get a dud! When purchasing a brand new car, you instantly lose value the minute you drive your brand new car off of the lot. By purchasing used, you don’t lose as much value instantaneously as you do with a new car. However, if you have ever purchased a used vehicle, you always have a fear that the car may have an issue that you are not aware of. While most car dealers are trustworthy, it is critical that you bring your potential used vehicle to a reliable auto mechanic that can provide you with a pre-purchase inspection in MN. When it comes to a dedicated car inspection staff in Blaine, MN, look no further than our staff at Clark Automotive.

Mechanic Inspection Blaine MN

During the pre-purchase process, take this used car for a test drive over to our automotive shop and let us perform a thorough car inspection. Unless you work on cars regularly, how do you know what the dealership is saying is truthful? Until you bring the car to get inspected by our expert inspection staff, you will not be able to achieve that peace of mind that you are purchasing a used car in truly great condition. Spend a little money with our pre-purchase inspection so that you don’t find yourself spending way more money down the road by purchasing a used car in poor condition. Our team is eager to provide you an unbiased opinion on the quality of the vehicle you are interested in.

The Pre-Purchase Inspection Process

By dropping your prospective vehicle off with our team, we will provide the following services when it comes to our pre-purchase inspection:

Exterior Inspection – Our team will evaluate the entire exterior of your vehicle in search of dents, scratches, paint issues, glass or mirror damage.
Below the Car – Although the car may look beautiful from the outside, it could be a big mess once you look underneath the car. Let our staff lift your car in the air and take a look for potential leaks, cracks or rust around the exhaust or brake systems.
Pop the Hood – Next, we will pop the hood to ensure that all fluid levels are up to par and that the battery, engine and belts are in good condition.
Interior – Once inside your car, we will evaluate the health of the upholstery, check the heating and air conditioning systems and ensure that all seat belts and electrical features are properly functioning.
Test Drive – If you allow, we will take the vehicle for a spin to get a true feel of how it drives on the road. This will help us evaluate the steering, transmission, brakes and suspension.
Computer Scan – Lastly, we will perform a computer scan on the vehicle to see what codes and recommendations come up.

If you have fallen in love with a used vehicle in Blaine, MN and are ready to purchase, consider bringing it by our professional car inspection staff at Clark Automotive for a pre-purchase inspection. Give our team a call today at (763) 784-7944 or email info@clarkautomotiveblaine.com to set up an appointment in the near future!

Automobile Pre-Purchase Inspection Services Blaine MN Part 1

Tuesday, 09 December 2014 22:45

Written by Clark Automotive

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What is an Automotive Pre-Purchase Inspection?

What is the first step regarding a car pre-purchase inspection?

To find an unbiased car repair shop that is well versed in the inspection of a car that you are considering the purchase of. The average automotive repair facility can accomplish the inspection, but they are out to sell you services. That means they are not unbiased. That same auto repair shop doing the inspection has a conflict of interest. They are fearful of leaving you with the impression that the car is any good. The reason being, if you end up purchasing the car and need to fix something right away they don’t what to have said the car was in great condition. The unbiased car inspection will rather key in on preventing you from being surprised by the first upcoming repairs.

Is a Pre-Purchase Automobile Inspection worth spending money on?

The need for this inspection is highly recommended. We at Clark Automotive Clinic offer this service for a nominal charge ($60.00) to our clients. The list we use may not be as long as some out in the market place, but remember the goal of the pre-purchase inspection? The Pre-purchase inspection will/should allow you to buy the car without any surprises for the near term. The inspection should list immediate safety issues and near term repairs. The estimate of those repairs, though important, is not needed till you start to evaluate if this is the car for you. We started providing this service after a very good customer purchased a used car with much more wrong with it than he thought, given the price paid for the car.

What happens with free or biased car pre-purchase inspections?

Most shops use the pre-purchase inspection, some being free, to sell work. What they do is scare the heck out of you the buyer, and then you return the car. I explain it this way, if you pay $5,500 for a $5,000 car it had better be in perfect repair and offer the features you are looking for. It should not require any safety repairs and few repairs when looking at the foreseeable next few months. If on the other hand, you pay $4,000 dollars for that $5,000 car you might expect to need to fix something. The question then becomes honestly and with some integrity what are those repairs? So a free pre-purchase inspection showing $2,500 in repairs could be questioned as to correctness. We certainly have been called upon to offer second opinions when it comes to estimates. A customer once put it this way, “They are offering to make my potential used car new”; this is not an inspection, but rather an overstated repair sales estimate.

What should you expect as results of an Automobile pre-purchase inspection?

Those results of the inspection should identify deficiencies as safety, needed near term repairs, and pending future repairs and maintenance. Of course, “safety repairs” are needed immediately. Those repairs identified as, “Needed near term” should be budgeted for, and should be accomplished soon and not be left to pile up and cause other problems or break downs. Finally a pending repair is an identifiable repair or recommended maintenance item that you should also be installed into the budget equation. An example would be the timing belt and water pump repair needed in 15,000 miles.

What is the goal of the Car Pre-purchase Inspection?

The goal for the pre-purchase inspection is no surprises. We had a new customer inquire about an older and marginally collectable car he had just paid $2800 for. He had not had it inspected, thinking it drove real nice! He was having the car towed in after owning it three weeks with an engine problem. The engine developed a catastrophic failure estimated to cost over $3,500. This development may not have been discovered by a pre-purchase inspection, but the poor brakes, front drive axles, and two bad wheel bearings, would have made the $2800 dollar purchase of this $1,800 car questionable. The engine failure problem may have shown up on our internet research. The engine failure was a very common problem area for that particular model vehicle. The customer than not only had an expensive new repair, but also some seriously priced deferred maintenance repairs as well. To repair this car was not fiscally prudent and the car was junked out. Again, the bottom lines no surprises.

We have even more to share with you on Pre-Purchase Automobile Inspection, look for our next blog….Or just call us and we can discuss it further and set up a convenient time for you to drop by with your possible new vehicle purchase.

Clark Automotive Repair Shop Blaine MN

Shop Location
9985 Davenport St. NE
Blaine, MN 55449

Phone: (763) 784-7944
Email: info@clarkautomotiveblaine.com

Shop Hours
MON – FRI 8:00 – A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
SAT (BY APPOINTMENT ONLY)