What goes into a pre-purchase inspection?

When I had mine inspected, it was taken by the sales consultant (of Niello Maserati) to an independent motor shop (Salerno) in Sacramento. I can post my PPi result later. It was a 5-hour process and yes, the inspector drives it (which was why he suspected the clutch was worn when it kept on shifting back to neutral) and put it up on the rack etc. The underbody panel was also removed. This was 3.5 years ago. I paid $350 and was worth it.

Also, when I sold my 328 here at Fchat, I took it to my dealer (RTGT) for PPi per buyer's request. Don't know how much he paid but it also took about 5 hours.

I think it is really a lengthy inspection (at least, my experience)

 

I just went through this when selling my car. I delivered the car to my buyer, brought it to his shop of choice. Guy doing the inspection had a very lengthy check list and basically went over/through every function of the car. Checking everything for working/not working from the horn to the gas door. Then up on the rack to inspect underside removing any panels required. Looked for frame damage/repair, signs of repaint, leaks, condition of brakes, suspension, rust, every last detail. Final phase was compression check. Inspector did not drive the car. Took about 3 hours

 

I had my car sent to Norwoods to do my PPI and they sent me a 4 page report and about 100 pictures. It covered everything from cylinder compression and leakdown to corrosion on the door handles. The car barely would run at the time, so there were things that could not be verified 100% such as the clutch condition and transmission, but I had enough other info to move forward and purchase the car. it cost 750 but it was the best money I've spent on the car. Having that engine info to me (since I'm a mechanic by trade) was worth every cent. Hope this helps.

 

My experience has been the same as the others. My first car was an F430 which I bought from an independent dealer but went through my local F dealer because I wanted to get the Power warranty. The dealer went through and did a complete inspection. The only thing the dealer did not do (and I inquired about it) was a leak down test. They said they do not perform this unless there has been an engine rebuild. When I bought my 458, I bought from and independent dealer and had a PPI done which consisted of checking brakes, tires, undercarriage, fluids, overall condition of exterior panels, test drive, and using the Leonardo to go through all the systems to check for any faults and stored codes.

 

I only had one PPI done so far, and im glad I had it done after learning to do so from joining up here. As a direct result of the PPI I did not purchase the vehicle. Appears the dealer that offered the vehicle for sale attempted to do a bunch of work to the car and damaged some of the systems and components the main 2 being the CCB rotors were chipped requiring replacement and the pads were very low and the F1 system was leaking and not performing properly. I think we paid $650 for the inspection and received a detailed report which i have no idea where I put it at this time. when you think about how expensive the repairs would be the money I paid to find out the issues with the car is nothing compared to how bad it would have been if id have bought the car blind. Im sure that the PPI will be under $1000 and is money well spent. In my case I flat wasnt going to pay 105k for a car that needed a ton of other work. I didnt even try to negotiate with the seller I just respectfully declined. Another thing I think I will be doing is focusing more on dealers who specialize in these types of cars or ferrari dealers directly and avoiding Joe Bobs used cars who happens to have a couple of exotics, at least until i learn a whole lot more about these cars and what to look for.

 

I don't know if they are still in business, but Motorcraft did mine a few years ago and did a great job. They are just west of O'hare.