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AA Vehicle Inspection Vs CarExamer Vehicle Inspection

Vehicle inspections are some of the most thorough, complex and specialised processes that an automobile can undertake in its life, and there are multiple providers out there that offer the service. CarExamer is the largest up and coming service with the most value prices for the most thorough checks in the industry, but one of the biggest questions that the service comes up against is how we compare to older industry giants like the AA vehicle inspection service. Here, we’re going to answer just that.

A full vehicle inspection comparison of the two services in-depth goes through a great deal of length as to how the two differ even despite the perceived brand values. As two of the most complete services in the business, pitching them head to head is an incredibly effective way to determine their differences and ultimately selecting the best choice for you and your individual needs.

Here is where we are CarExamer is already leading UK’s vehicle inspection service platform in such short time since operation began and operating across the whole of England, Scotland, Wales and the British Isles too. Offers comprehensive used car inspections at industry leading prices no matter what customers are looking from Motorhome inspections, classic car inspections to luxury and supercar inspections, and with different levels of inspection packages to suit all customer needs, it’s easy to find one that suits customer best. Each of them has their benefits as a service, and they can bring a whole new light to the potential of vehicle inspections. Biggest difference in the market currently not only in UK, but worldwide there is no vehicle inspection standard. CarExamer platform have created a inspection standard so inspectors can follow blueprint on what and how inspections needs to be conducted to avoid complaints. Inspectors inspect vehicles as they would be buying one for themselves. Customer reviews already placing CarExamer’s used car inspection service in the leading position in the UK.

First and foremost extra features from CarExamer is as follows. It does also need to be noted when focussing on the value of the inspections on offer that CarExamer has many service bonuses that are included in these figures. They aren’t always well known, and aren’t definitely not common among other services. This includes features such as an online portal to view your inspection updates in real-time, regular notification updates on every step of the booking progress, communication with inspector internally, unlimited vehicle images as required, potential repair costs provided, *free cancellations simply available from personal account, same day vehicle inspection options and loyalty discounts, multi-buy discounts all work together to give the best possible value for money from one of the only specialist inspection services that are on the market. If you are unsure about what you need and are looking to multiple inspections, that can make the prices even more favourable to you.

Inspections Available:

The first and without a doubt the largest difference between the two vehicle inspection services is the range of inspections available. CarExamer is developed of vehicle inspection specialists rather than being handy allrounders in the automotive industry, and as a result, there’s a large difference between what the two organisations are able to offer. Here, we look at the packages and inspections that are offered.

AA

The AA not being a specialist in vehicle inspection offers a halved selection of the CarExamer range, with just two options available for use. They are:

Basic

From £142

Number of Checks 155

The basic inspection can be carried out on any vehicle younger than 10 years old. As a result, it is very limited and very cautious, with little room for errors to cover their liability where possible. No diagnostic scan provided, no potential repair costs.

Comprehensive 

From £191

Number of Checks 206

A comprehensive inspection does take things to a much higher standard and removes many of the limitations placed with the more basic inspections, but for a much higher price with little room to manoeuvre. This is even more apparent with lower-cost vehicles. Diagnostic scan provided, no potential repair costs.

CarExamer:

CarExamer currently offers 4 inspection packages that all differ in what they have to offer consumers. Each one scales up the value of the service in gradual increments, enabling a wide choice of preference.

Engineers report 

From £269.99

Number of Checks situation based

Engineers report is for dispute resolution or used in court as evidence and is CPR 35 compliant. This inspection check is adjusted according to customers situation by Engineer. Costs provided is estimate only and may vary as every litigation and evidence required is completely different case by case basis and costings will be advised when Engineer accepts the booking.

Basic 

From £138.99

Number of Checks 100+ 

Basic inspections from CarExamer are in the same class as the comprehensive AA service in terms of points covered but is a lower cost and removes the restrictions of vehicle condition that is seen in the alternative package.

Standard 

From £184.99

Number of Checks: 200+

The standard vehicle inspection form CarExamer is much of a middle ground between the services offered by the AA and just another level in the specificity of CarExamer’s inspection tiers.

Premium 

Finally, there is also a premium service. This is much more suited to cars of much higher risk or of higher value to minimize the risk to buyers and ensure the highest possible quality of vehicle or a price that reflects the actual condition if not. This even includes video feedback and previous incident inspection to monitor anything and everything possible without being there.

From £249.99

Number of Checks: 300+

The Road Tests:

Another massive area of vehicle inspection comes from the road test that is involved. This is a massively important section of any vehicle inspection. It’s one of the main ways to identify many of the problems that only become apparent when the vehicle is actually in use, and more specifically, in motion.

AA:

The AA inspection criteria for a road test comes in mileage. For the basic test, that’s 5 miles and for the standard, it’s 10. This is quite a common industry standard for vehicle inspections, but can in itself be another large critique.

The main issue in this instance is that mileage is dependent. Depending on the speed limit of a road used for the road test, this could be dramatically shorter than it should be, and if the inverse is the case, that could be an issue due to the car not being utilised to its proper use.

CarExamer:

CarExamer’s vehicle inspection road test in light of this uses time-dependent standards rather than distance. This is split into 10 minute and 15 minute intervals instead, allowing more dynamic testing of the vehicle to utilise it as it will be used more accurately. Vehicle is also is left running during the inspection.

This will likely lead in almost all cases to a longer road test based on the principle of being able to drive at 60mph for 10 or 15 minutes at the very least rather than being the maximum for AA standards and lasting 5 or 10 minutes

Inspection Areas:

The final area of comparison for the two inspection services comes down to the categories of inspection that are available. Taken directly from both companies websites, this is the information provided on what is actually available to be checked by the inspections

AA:

This is the information as listed on the vehicle inspection page of the AA website. It does not declare a difference between the standard or basic inspection but gives a general overview of the categories involved from a general level.

  • Body exterior*
  • Engine compartment
  • Electrical controls (interior and luggage compartments)*
  • Front and rear suspension (front and rear under frames)*
  • Steering
  • Clutch
  • Transmission
  • Exhaust system
  • Fuel system
  • Brakes
  • Wheels and tyres
  • Road test of up to 5 or 10 miles (depending on the vehicle type, road conditions, traffic, fuel level and engineer’s judgement)

CarExamer:

CarExamer has a full and thorough comparison service displaying the differences in every possible sense in each inspection. There is no misconception or uncertainty in the slightest as a result, and the correct inspection can be obtained without any question.

  • Road Test
  • Electrical Controls
  • Plug-in Diagnostic Test
  • Interior/Luggage Compartment
  • Engine Compartment
  • Charging and Starting Systems
  • Cooling System
  • Hybrid system
  • Brake System
  • Wheels and Tyres
  • Front Suspension/Steering
  • Transmission
  • Rear Suspension
  • Under Body
  • Exhaust System
  • Fuel System
  • Body Exterior

Even on top of all of this information that CarExamer provide, another huge winning aspect that the service has is the estimates provided that go along with each of these points tested no matter what the price of the service chosen. 

The CarExmaer team are firm believers of clarity in the trade, and will tell you how much damage is present with anything mentioned as well as providing you with realistic and comparable estimates that give you a complete picture of what you could be getting yourself into and the severity of each and every aspect.

CarExamer also ensures that people who are truly unsure of what vehicle to invest in are also eligible for a discount on multiple inspections, to ensure that no matter how many cars you are unsure about, you can access all of the information that a professional mechanic and dealer combined would be able to to let you make a 100% informed decision with all of the guesswork removed from the equation.

  • All inspections are Guaranteed*
  • Potential repair costs provided
  • Have extended warranty packages available to protect you from future breakdowns
  • Have a very high reputation in the trade and we are highly respected; all inspectors are fully insured. We’re not just an online market place our passion is transparency in used vehicle purchasing
  • CarExamer works with handpicked individuals only who are the best at what they do with high ethical standards and extreme professionalism. Fully qualified professional technicians are our minimum standard
  • Offer a personal approach to every vehicle inspection carried out by inspectors. We have developed a blueprint and internal set standards so every inspection carried out by inspectors has the same completion process according to the selected inspection package
  • CarExamer inspector’s priority is to protect you and made you aware of potential issues with the vehicle and provide you an understanding of the overall vehicle condition and potential repair costs so you can make the best decision
  • CarExamer booking process is simple, clear and transparent
  • Full Control of your booking from your account for any updates on the inspection and have a communications dashboard with the inspector
  • Find out inspection early results while the inspector is filling out the report it’s a Sneak-peak of the inspection process while the inspector is capturing the vehicle’s condition get a sense of the condition of the vehicle before the inspection is fully complete
  • Report available in 3-5 hours from starting inspection depending on the inspection type selected. All reports are available securely in your account
  • Choose the level of inspection that suits you – basic, standard or premium
  • No age limit on vehicles inspected
  • Save 20% when you book multiple car inspections at the same address
  • Free cancellations, before 4 hours of appointment time after 2 hours full amount
  • Enjoy customer loyalty discounts- After the first completed inspection- 1st Inspection 5% discount, 2nd Inspection 7% discount, 3rd Inspection 10% discount, 4th Inspection 12% discount, 5th Inspection 15% discount, 6th Inspection 17% discount, 7th Inspection 20% discount
  • Fully qualified professional inspectors for a comprehensive report on your vehicle
  • No risk – pay only when the inspection is completed. We reserve your payment when you make a booking
  • Find out inspection early results while the inspector is filling out the report it’s a Sneak-peak of the inspection process while the inspector is capturing the vehicle’s condition get a sense of the condition of the vehicle before the inspection is fully complete
  • Resolution centre to quickly resolve any queries

The Summary

In conclusion, the differences in the services speak for themselves, and choosing the best fit is mainly dependent on prioritising what is required from the inspection more than anything else. 

There are always multiple reasons to get a vehicle inspection in the first place, and CarExamer gives a much more diverse range of choices more openly to be able to choose from and find the most specific detail of what will be undertaken. This is in top of the knowledge of a specialist company making inspections the forefront of the entire operation.

The AA, however, remains an all-round titan of the automotive industry, bare in mind vehicle inspections is not main business focus and they do perform everything to a uniform standard. Although this may be more generic than it could be in comparison with services like CarExamer, it also still has good standing in the automotive industry and is one of the most reputable generic automotive brands in roadside assistance service industry mainly on the road in the UK.

Ultimately, both services offer an extremely high standard of inspection, however, as specialists, the range and the clarity of CarExamer can be a seriously beneficial factor. As an organisation, CarExamer are firm believers in transparency above all else, and will always make sure that you have every shred of information that we can find so that you can make a justified and honest decision, because that’s what the entire business is based on. 

We always have an always will put the customer at the heart of everything we do, and that is something that will never change.

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