Automobile Inspections, LLC

[Joel Falk]

Does anyone have experience with a company called Automobile Inspections, LLC ? I am considering using them to inspect an out of state vehicle I am interested in.

Please post or send comments, good, bad, or indifferent. I wonder if they really have the experience to be of value for Corvettes or if they are more of a general inspection house.

Thanks.

http://www.automobileinspections.com/index.asp

[Kevin M.]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

Don't trust anybody but yourself to inspect a Corvette. If you've been a regular on this site you should know that even experts get it wrong. It takes hours a lift and digital camera all the resources you can bring to determine the originality and condition of a car over 30years old. Will the inspection company look to see if the lighter is correct, the door handles, the soft top bows, window cranks. A good paint job can hide butchered body work you need to get down and dirty under and around. What I'm trying to say if your going to spend 20-30-40-100k on a car you better see it for yourself and have done all your homework.

Kevin

[Warren F.]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

Joel:

I read your signature, welcome!, to the best 'vette organization out there.

As Kevin says, you would be wise to join a local chapter as well, speak to several veteran corvette owners to learn the oddities and quirks each year has to offer.

I recently started a Corvette club called Early Sharks (mainly for '68 thru '72 models) and have witnessed first hand, several members purchasing their 1st corvette, only to have been misled by good intending, but unknowledgeable know it alls, and ending up with a "bubbaized" version of their dream machine.

[Chas Kingston]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

Muldoon Speaks correctly. As I read the web-page of "Automobile Inspections, LLC", I see nothing about undercar inspections on a lift, matching numbers, or the many factors that are critical to the assessment of a 40-yr-old Corvette. You pay your $369 and they tell you if the car has any obvious bondo. Big deal.

Ol' Geezer

[Joel Falk]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

Thanks guys. In their referals section that have an NCRS member's positive comments so I thought I'd ask here to see if others had the same feelings.

I agree that it is best to view the car yourself but in this case their fee is cheaper than my airfare/rental car/lodging to look at a car would be, so I was hoping for them to at least tell me if a car is worth considering further.

Thanks again.

[William C.]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

For a good prelim to sort out "wasted time" you might contact the NCRS chapter in the area of the car and see if there is a member qualified and willing (for a small fee) to check the car out for you. At the very least it can save you a trip full of abject disapointment even if you make the final inspection yourself. I've looked at several cars where the buyer and seller were on different planets in terms of the description of a car. Those make it an easy call to "Stay Away"

[Lenn #40977]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

I used them.
They suck.
Money wasted.

Follow the advice of the above folks...

[Lenn #40977]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

Oh, in may haste I forgot a couple of things.

1) Among other things, the representative they sent made an offer on the car that severely impacted my negotiating position.
2) I followed the above advice and ended up with a car I am happy with.

[Chuck S.]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

Bill, I have done a local inspection for a similar firm, and I believe the only way they can inspect a car for $369 is to use someone local that may not be as qualified as a local NCRS chapter member. They typically hire these people by third party recommendation with very little pre-qualification of the individual except a telephone call to ask them if they know Corvettes.

The process of finding a nice Corvette is getting harder and harder; you may look at dozens of unacceptable cars without finding anything worth owning. Perception of acceptable faults or perfection vary from one individual to the next..Further, if it's a "built" car, I don't want to be able to blame anybody but myself.

[Ted S.]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

Joel, Why not post where the car is located and maybe a member of the local NCRS chapter would take a look at it for you? You can have a stranger through some company do it or a stranger from a group that "knows" corvettes do it. If the cars been advertised one of the NCRS members may have already looked at it. Jus' my 2 cents.....

[Joel Falk]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

Good suggestion.

The car is located in Fitzwilliam, NH. It is a '62 Fuelie, and if anyone has looked at this car I'd appreciate your thoughts.

[Lee S.]

Re: Automobile Inspections, LLC

Joel - I faced a similar problem a couple years ago when I purchased a Corvette. I solved it by buying a car that had gone through flight judging recently. In fact, the car I bought was judged twice in three years. The oldest of these was two years prior to the purchase.

The car's owner had passed away and it was now being sold by his son. He was very forthright about the car. He sent me the judging sheets and I asked a friend of mine to look at the car. Except for photos (many with a very high quality digital camera), judging sheets, and my friend's opinion, I purchased the car sight unseen... off of e-bay. The car turned out to be exactly what it was represented to be. Was I lucky? Probably.

My advice to you is attend some Chapter meets. Get to know the members. Everyone knows of cars for sale. In most cases, these guys know the background of the cars in their Chapter as if they were race horses. The NCRS National Meet is coming up very soon. You can bet there will be some very nice cars for sale.

Second, attend local cruise nights in your area and other non-NCRS shows. There are many very fine classic, muscle, Corvette, etc. shows in every town throughout the summer. This will get you familiarized with what looks good vs. what is good. Try to attend these with someone knowledgable.

Lastly, if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck,...! The owners of nice Corvettes, Camaros, GTO's, etc. know what their cars are worth and can defend their value. Yes, there is always a little negotiating. But, you are not going to find the deal of the century on a nice car. You should expect to pay what its worth.

One more thing, buy local and stay away from brokers, auctions, etc. If the car was nice, why does it take a broker to sell it?