How much does a used car inspection cost?
A pre-purchase inspection has two separate costs: paying someone to inspect the car, and getting the findings in a form you can read and act on. Autoquiry splits those apart. Reports on cars we have already inspected start at $49, an auction inspection you order starts at $99, a data-only VIN check is $1.99, and requesting a new inspection on a specific private-sale car is quoted per job.
Autoquiry pricing at a glance
One-time charge per vehicle. No subscription. All purchases are final and non-refundable. If an inspection you order cannot be completed, we refund your payment in full.
Instant VIN Check
$1.99No inspection needed — data lookup returned in seconds. Works on any car, whether it is being sold by a Private Owner or sitting on an auction lot.
- • Factory build data and specifications
- • Open safety recalls
- • “Should I buy this car?” — buyer's checklist
- • Stolen, salvage and flood-damage records
- • 180 days of access
Reports on private-owner cars
These are reports on cars an Autoquiry inspector has already checked. You buy the report, not the inspection, which is why they are the cheaper of the two paths.
Basic Report
$49The headline condition of an inspected car.
- • Vehicle cover photo
- • Overall Inspector Score with condition, risk level and recommendation
- • Vehicle identity and mileage
- • Top three inspector findings and recommended next step
- • Key condition highlights and summary findings
- • Selling price indicator — below market, at market or above market
- • Should I buy this car? buyer's checklist
- • 180 days of access
Full Report
$199Everything the inspector recorded, with nothing withheld.
- • Everything in the Basic report
- • Walk-around video of the vehicle
- • Inspector's written narrative, tire, brake and road-test measurements
- • OBD-II scan and history checks
- • Every checklist answer with severity rating
- • Inspector notes on each finding
- • Complete photo evidence set
- • Itemized repair estimates
- • Mechanical, structural, interior and electrical detail
- • Selling price indicator — below market, at market or above market
- • 180 days of access
Already bought the Basic report? Upgrade to Full for $139 — $49 + $139 = $188, $11 less than buying Full outright.
Auction vehicle inspections
At an auction the car has not been inspected yet, so you are paying for the inspection itself: an inspector goes to the yard, checks the lot and VIN you send, and publishes a report before you bid. The price is one flat charge per vehicle.
Is this car worth bidding on?
Condensed Report
$99- • Independent on-site inspection
- • Overall condition score
- • Major findings and key mechanical summary
- • Test-drive summary (where the auction permits)
- • 10–15 key photos
- • Estimated repair range
- • Bid / bid-with-caution / pass verdict
What should you bid — and what could it cost you?
Full Inspection
$299- • Everything in the Condensed Report
- • Detailed component-by-component inspection
- • Full underbody and structural assessment
- • OBD / diagnostic scan details
- • Tire and brake measurements
- • Walk-around video
- • Complete high-resolution photo gallery
- • Detailed repair-cost breakdown
- • Recommended maximum bid
Why the price varies elsewhere
Independent shops price a pre-purchase inspection by how long the car occupies a lift and a technician. A quick visual check is cheaper than a full mechanical inspection with a road test and a diagnostic scan, and mobile inspectors who travel to the seller charge for that travel. Rates also differ by metro area and by vehicle: an exotic, a diesel truck, or an EV takes longer than a five-year-old sedan.
Auction inspections price differently again. The inspector is on the lot, not on a lift, working in the time an auction yard allows — often with no cold start, no road test, and no way to put the car on a hoist. That is why a Condensed auction screen costs more than a report on a car we already inspected, and why the Full Inspection adds the scan, measurements and video that make up for what the yard will not allow.
What that price usually does not include is a durable, shareable report. Many inspections end in a phone call and a one-page form. Autoquiry keeps the full record — every rating, note and photograph — in your account for 180 days so you can re-read it, send it to your own mechanic, or use it in a negotiation.
Is it worth it?
Set the cost against what it protects. A single missed finding — structural repair, a failing transmission, four tires and a brake job — costs far more than the inspection. Even on a clean car, photographed findings give you something concrete to negotiate with.
At an auction the maths is sharper still: cars are sold as-is, bidding closes in seconds, and you cannot bring the car back. A $99 screen or a $299 Full Inspection is measured against the difference between a recommended maximum bid and the number you would have tapped without it.
If you only need to know whether the VIN is clean before you commit to anything, the $1.99 Instant VIN Check answers that in seconds.