Do dealers/garages allow for third-party inspection of their used cars?

Hi there,
I was wondering if you could help me with this situation: if I want to get a used car looked over by my own mechanic, will the seller – such as a dealership and/or auto repair shop - usually have no problem with it? Even if it’s a “certified” used car? I have my eye on one used car that was purchased by the dealer at an auction. The dealership is about 40 minutes away from my mechanic’s shop. How would I arrange that?
Thanks very much in advance,
rbracch

Most places have no problem with an independent inspection. We do them all the time. However they may have an issue with the round trip mileage. Ask them upfront if the you can take the vehicle for the time and mileage and see what they say.

I've gone to a couple dealers lots and inspected vehicles on site for friends/family. They will usually do whatever it take to get the sale.

Most places have no problem with an independent inspection. We do them all the time. However they may have an issue with the round trip mileage. Ask them upfront if the you can take the vehicle for the time and mileage and see what they say.

I've gone to a couple dealers lots and inspected vehicles on site for friends/family. They will usually do whatever it take to get the sale.

Yeah, what he said! As far as arranging the situation, just follow AirJer's advice and ask everything upfront - tell them you have a mechanic you trust, the estimated mileage of the trip, and tell them when/where you'd like to pick the car up. Call your mechanic and pre-arrange the meeting so it doesn't take all day. This way you also get a feel for how the car handles the open road, many test-drives are too short and leave drivers with an 'I love it!' feeling, without having really tested the longer-term feel of the car.

I was about to buy a 2006 VW Passat and asked the guy, 'if I'm interested, I have a mechanic that lives about 65 Kms West of here - I'd like to take it to him for an approval'. He agreed enthusiastically. Typically these guys want to sell cars, and if you're serious, don't mind a longer drive.

To be fair to the dealer though, don't waste everybody's time and money on a deal that you're not confident in. This should be the last step of the deal. If you have sat in the car, fiddled with all the buttons, gone home and thought about it, talked to everyone you need to talk to, got your financing in place, THEN do the mechanical. Otherwise it's a waste of time and will make the dealer hesitant to offer this to the next guy that actually is interested.

thanks so much for the valuable info guys! By the way, do you know if new car dealerships, such as Hyundai, usually allow for this with their certified pre-owned cars? Thanks, rbracch