Pre-Purchase Car Inspection: One Audi A4 We Advised Against, One Volvo S90 That Checked Out

The customer was in the market for a used continental car and had shortlisted two options: an Audi A4 at 69,661km and a Volvo S90 at 30,033km. Both looked presentable from the outside. Neither seller was offering any warranty. The customer wanted an independent inspection before committing money.

Buying a used car without an inspection is a gamble. What looks clean on the surface can hide worn suspension, failing mounts and absorbers that cost thousands to fix after you have signed. An inspection done before the purchase puts you in control: you either get a clean report and buy with confidence, or you find the problems and walk away before the money changes hands.

The customer brought both cars to us on separate days. The difference between them turned out to be significant.

We put each car through the same process: visual inspection with the car on the hoist, engine bay check, undercarriage inspection, a diagnostic scan for fault codes, and a road test.

Audi A4, 69,661km: The engine mount on the driver's side was sinking. You could feel it at idle: a vibration through the cabin that a healthy mount should absorb. On the hoist, the undercarriage told the full story. The front lower control arms were worn severely at the ball joints. Our team assessed them as approaching the point of failure: a control arm that separates at the ball joint causes the wheel to collapse inward, which means immediate loss of steering control. The front and rear absorbers were worn very hard, with almost no damping remaining. The car would have been bouncing its way over every bump and delivering poor braking stability.

Our advice: do not buy this car. The cost of replacing all four control arms and bushes, both front absorbers and both rear absorbers would be significant, on top of the purchase price. The seller had not disclosed any of this.

Volvo S90, 30,033km: The engine mounting was good: firm, no visible sag. The undercarriage was clean, with no oil leaks from the engine or transmission. The control arms and ball joints showed normal wear consistent with the mileage. The brakes were within service specification. The diagnostic scan returned no active fault codes that indicated a real underlying problem. The car felt stable and responsive on the road test.

Our advice: no material issues found within the inspection scope. Clean enough to proceed at this mileage.

The customer had no hesitation after seeing both reports. The Audi A4 was declined. The Volvo S90 was purchased.

The customer also brought their current car to us on the same visit for an engine oil service. During the service, our team noticed the engine oil was quite dark for the mileage and recommended a Ceratec engine treatment additive as part of the fresh oil change. Ceratec deposits a friction-reducing layer on internal engine surfaces, which helps reduce wear on a higher-mileage engine. The customer agreed and the Ceratec was added with the new engine oil.

The result: the customer left with a clear picture on both candidate cars, a confident purchase decision on the Volvo S90, and their existing car freshly serviced with the treatment added.

A pre-purchase inspection at 1 Car Service is complimentary when you purchase a $500 servicing credit, before GST. The inspection covers the major items, such as the engine and gearbox, on a best-efforts basis, and includes oil leakage checks and computer diagnostics, with a written report. An engine compression test is available at $120 if requested. Accessories such as windows, radio and signal lights are not covered. You can bring the car to our workshop at Sin Ming AutoCity, or arrange for the seller to deliver it.

If you decide not to buy the car, nothing is wasted: the servicing credit transfers to another car, or you can inspect another candidate at $100 per car, and that amount also adds to your credits.

An independent, unbiased assessment is the cheapest part of any used car purchase in Singapore. Compare it to what it costs to repair worn control arms, absorbers and an engine mount after you have already paid for the car. On the Audi A4 here, the repairs the customer avoided by walking away would have cost several thousand dollars on top of the purchase price.

If the car is clean, the report tells you that too, and you can buy with confidence.

This Audi, Volvo A4 and S90 (Pre-purchase car inspection) was handled at 1 Car Service, an independent workshop in Sin Ming AutoCity, Singapore. We hold a 4.9★ rating from 1,775+ Google reviews.