We will be closed on November 28 and 29 for Thanksgiving - Frank's Auto Service And Repair, Inc.
Auto on lift being inspected in Walnut Creek, CA

Pre Purchase Inspection in Walnut Creek, CA

Frank’s Auto Service, the premier Walnut Creek auto repair shop, offers broad range of automotive services, including pre purchase vehicle inspections. If you are in a market for a used car, we highly recommend having the vehicle inspected before you complete the purchase. Our mechanics, certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), can provide you with a detailed inspection of the vehicle you are buying. We will send you a digital copy of the inspection results – the good and the bad. With this information in hand, you will be able to make an informed buying decision, negotiate a better price, or forego the purchase altogether, if the vehicle suffers from too many significant problems.

Buying a used car can be a sound financial decision, but like all multi-thousand dollar purchases, it should be done with thorough research preceding the purchase. Unfortunately, modern cars have grown so complex that it takes a professional to fully ascertain that the vehicle does not hide any surprises. At Frank’s Auto Service in Walnut Creek, our technicians will perform professional digital vehicle inspection, and not only provide you with an electronic copy of the inspection results, but we will be happy to explain any issues we find, and their monetary implications – potential cost of fixing the problems, and whether they need to be handled immediately or if they can be deferred to a later date.

Our Walnut Creek auto repair garage can provide pre purchase inspections for a wide range of vehicles – pickup trucks, sedans, subcompacts and compacts, hybrid vehicles and SUVs. We work with domestic and foreign vehicles. Here is an abbreviated list of what we do during a pre-purchase inspection:

  • Brake inspection, including measuring thickness of brake pads, brake fluid check, rotors and calipers
  • We look for oil leaks, power steering fluid leaks, transmission leaks, and coolant leaks
  • We check condition of belts and hoses
  • We inspect cooling system and the radiator
  • Check fluid level and quality of the fluids
  • We use professional automotive computer scanner to look for trouble codes that might be store in the onboard computer
  • Tire inspection (uneven tire wear, tire pressure issues, visual signs of age)
  • Suspension check (including shocks and struts)
  • We research a national database with repair history of millions of vehicles
  • For hybrid vehicles, we check the high voltage battery
  • Observe vehicle behavior under real world conditions – we take the car for a test drive

We highly recommend obtaining a pre-purchase vehicle inspection before you buy a used car. Any professional auto repair shop can perform such inspection, though obviously we would like you to come to Frank’s Auto Service – we provide unbeatable combination of technical excellence and superior customer service. Our friendly staff will help you to make an appointment, and guide you through the process, while our mechanics will perform a thorough, professional vehicle inspection and will provide you with the information you need to make an informed buying decision.

For your convenience, we offer online appointments on our website, but you can also call us at the shop, and we will be happy to answer your questions, and make an appointment that fits your and the seller’s schedule.