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Greetings all
Just thought I'd put up a post on this as I thought it might help someone somewhere....
(I should also say I'm in no way affiliated with anyone mentioned below nor do I stand to gain anything out of this - just trying to help out. So hopefully I'm complying with the rules here - I'm new to the forums though so feel free to correct me!)
I just bought a 150 series prado, and wasn't sure whether to get it inspected or not. I'm not totally car-illiterate, but would struggle for example to pick previous smash damage etc. There really only seemed to be a choice between RACV (who everyone seems to default to) or a mob called StateRoads, whose website came up on Google (but I'd never heard of them otherwise).
In short, I ended up getting StateRoads to check it out, and it was the best $300-odd I've spent in ages.
I first rang RACV, and spoke to someone in a call centre, who couldn't really tell me much about what they'd do for a 4wd check, and it didn't seem to be a very detailed inspection (even though I wanted the "full" inspection). Wasn't that impressed. Was going to go with them anyway, but rang StateRoads basically just to compare price etc.
I was really surprised - they put me through to their head mechanic, who was (as you'd expect) quite knowledgeable, and was happy to talk about the Prados in general and things to watch out for with them. He also suggested I request a particular guy in his team who is a Toyota 4x4 fanatic (has a Cruiser himself). The report was really detailed, but what was even more useful was the phone call I got from the mechanic after the inspection. He gave me his view and didn't seem too caught up in disclaiming what he told me (he basically said there was nothing that would stop him from buying it, which I found really helpful). I knew the first owner of the car was the Dept of Primary Industries so it was in the back of my mind that it could've done lots of off-road, but he said he didn't think so as he'd checked for visible signs on the underside and there weren't any, apart from some gravel scratches.
Their testing also seemed more detailed than RACV. For example, StateRoads check paint thickness around the car, so they can tell prior smash damage/repairs. RACV said they don't do this. I also got verbal confirmation from the mechanic that all the weld points were original on the car.
So I felt much better about pushing the button and handing over the moolah!
Anyway, I hope that helps anyone else who's looking to buy - there wasn't too much info on the difference between the two mobs that I could find when I was looking.
Happy driving....
Cheers
Maggo
Just thought I'd put up a post on this as I thought it might help someone somewhere....
(I should also say I'm in no way affiliated with anyone mentioned below nor do I stand to gain anything out of this - just trying to help out. So hopefully I'm complying with the rules here - I'm new to the forums though so feel free to correct me!)
I just bought a 150 series prado, and wasn't sure whether to get it inspected or not. I'm not totally car-illiterate, but would struggle for example to pick previous smash damage etc. There really only seemed to be a choice between RACV (who everyone seems to default to) or a mob called StateRoads, whose website came up on Google (but I'd never heard of them otherwise).
In short, I ended up getting StateRoads to check it out, and it was the best $300-odd I've spent in ages.
I first rang RACV, and spoke to someone in a call centre, who couldn't really tell me much about what they'd do for a 4wd check, and it didn't seem to be a very detailed inspection (even though I wanted the "full" inspection). Wasn't that impressed. Was going to go with them anyway, but rang StateRoads basically just to compare price etc.
I was really surprised - they put me through to their head mechanic, who was (as you'd expect) quite knowledgeable, and was happy to talk about the Prados in general and things to watch out for with them. He also suggested I request a particular guy in his team who is a Toyota 4x4 fanatic (has a Cruiser himself). The report was really detailed, but what was even more useful was the phone call I got from the mechanic after the inspection. He gave me his view and didn't seem too caught up in disclaiming what he told me (he basically said there was nothing that would stop him from buying it, which I found really helpful). I knew the first owner of the car was the Dept of Primary Industries so it was in the back of my mind that it could've done lots of off-road, but he said he didn't think so as he'd checked for visible signs on the underside and there weren't any, apart from some gravel scratches.
Their testing also seemed more detailed than RACV. For example, StateRoads check paint thickness around the car, so they can tell prior smash damage/repairs. RACV said they don't do this. I also got verbal confirmation from the mechanic that all the weld points were original on the car.
So I felt much better about pushing the button and handing over the moolah!
Anyway, I hope that helps anyone else who's looking to buy - there wasn't too much info on the difference between the two mobs that I could find when I was looking.
Happy driving....
Cheers
Maggo
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