Why Perth buyers need their own inspection
No roadworthy on a WA sale
The transport department's steps for selling a WA-licensed car are a notice of sale within 7 days and handing the buyer the licence paper. There's no inspection in that list, so the car can change hands without anyone looking it over.
Private sale, your risk
Consumer Protection WA says that when you buy from a private seller, you're purchasing at your own risk. Cars sold privately aren't covered by the statutory warranties under the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, and nor are cars at an auction run for a private seller.
Dealer warranties run out fast
From a licensed dealer, a car no more than 10 years old with no more than 150,000 km gets a statutory warranty of 3 months or 5,000 km, whichever comes first. Between 10 and 12 years, and 150,000 to 180,000 km, it's 1 month or 1,500 km. Beyond that there's none, and commercial vehicles built mainly to carry goods are excluded, though the consumer guarantees still apply.
Cars from over east
Every interstate vehicle has to be inspected at an Authorised Inspection Station and given a certificate before it can be licensed in WA. If you're buying one to bring here, budget the time for that as well as the mechanic's check.
Isn't the DoT inspection the same thing?
No, and it's an easy mix-up when you search for a car inspection in Perth. The transport department says its inspection only decides whether a vehicle meets the standards for licensing. It isn't a full assessment of the car's condition and shouldn't be used to value one. Vehicle inspections in WA covers that side.
A pre-purchase inspection is a mechanic telling you what's wrong with the car, what's about to be, and what it'll need soon, before you've agreed a price.
What a good Perth pre-purchase inspection looks at
- A road test, including a cold start if the seller will allow it.
- Engine, cooling system and transmission, and any leaks underneath.
- Brakes, tyres, steering and suspension.
- The battery and charging system.
- Heat wear: hard or soft hoses, cracked belts, coolant stains, and air conditioning that blows warm.
- On a 4WD or ute: the driveline, diffs and underbody for signs of hard off-road or beach use.
- On an electric car: the high-voltage system, including a look at the battery.
What you can check before the mechanic goes out
- Run a PPSR search on the VIN to see whether the car is a repairable write-off, stolen or still has money owing.
- Read the service history in the logbook and match it to the invoices.
- Compare the odometer with the car's age: a typical Australian driver covers roughly 12,000 to 15,000 km a year.
- Ask whether any maker's warranty is still running from the original sale.
- If it's an interstate car, check for an open Takata airbag recall, because WA won't inspect a car with defective Takata airbags until that's fixed.
Our take
We'd arrange the inspection before talking price, and we'd walk away from any seller who won't allow one. In WA nobody else is obliged to check the car for you, so a mechanic's report is the only independent opinion you'll get. Send the job with the seller's postcode, since that's where the car is.