Theaacarcheck Reviews 

AVOID AA Vehicle Inspection the don't take any responsibility.
Had a Mini Clubman inspected by AA Vehicle Inspection. It came back clear so I bought the car. However, it had a fault that was immediately apparent on first drive, the wheels made a grating noise. This cost £250 to fix an obvious fault that should have been picked up on inspection. When I complained to the AA they washed their hands of the problem.

Decided it was worth having a full mechanical check on an older car that could have a lot more hidden problems. My expectation was to receive the assurance that it was not likely to give me any problems, and to highlight issues that I could either budget into the offer, or walk away from.

I paid around £300 and was expecting most of a day of someone's time for this. Firstly I booked on a Friday and snapshot the confirmation. Which was just as well as, despite mentioning I'd get an email, I didn't. Not until the day before the agreed inspection date, which is unacceptable. In fact I found out from the seller before the AA.
Anyway, they did inspect next day after contacting the dealer which was probably joust within their target. I missed a call from the inspector, who didn't leave a voicemail message, so phoned back the unknown mobile number hoping it was the AA.
I got a five minute verbal assessment and an opinion which was reassuring. They cited one potential issue which I had noticed myself, but were only able to hazard a guess as to the cause. I asked about other crucial systems like the exhaust (potentially really expensive) and was told because of under trays were not able to fully investigate. This is unacceptable, especially having paid for the all singing all dancing inspection. It then took the full 24 hours to receive the report on which they'd only conducted a shorter road test (meant to be 10 miles; nearer 6 though). Duration about 100 minutes total, when I was thinking it should be more like 3-5 hours for the cost.
Again the report only highlighted an observed potential issue and saying required further investigation. I would have thought they could have looked further (which they definitely would on a much cheaper MOT which takes all of 20 minutes), and then I could price up the repair and decide if I want to negotiate that off the purchase price prior to handing over the money.
The report itself is nicely documented if a little confusing. At first glance there are loads of items in the 'red' section which are major faults, before realising this is more their checklist than a report. It was bulked out considerably with photos which is fine especially if you' haven't seen the vehicle in person (I had). I was impressed by the information on tyres, showing tyre depths on each one and brand and specification. In fact I'd missed that there was a mix of front and rear tyres, and this revealed the rears will need replacing in the next year or so.

Since booking the inspection I did look at alternatives. RAC don't publish any estimates which is also disappointing as you have to phone. I don't operate this way. There are other independent inspectors, who are less than half the price, for the evaluation I paid for. I should have been more diligent. But the dealer is AA approved and I'm a member so thought it would be better.
The inspector said the car was well cared for and I suppose this does make the inspection shorter by its nature. So I'm dissatisfied that they didn't put the time saved into further investigation of the potential problem, particularly because it could easily be a deal killer. I'm still left with that uncertainty and will have to ask the seller to investigate and fix or pay for someone to look into it. Which is the whole point of this investigation.
Overall I'm mildly satisfied with a good dose of disappointment. Heavens only knows what you get for the cheaper level of service (not applicable in my case because of vehicle age).
I will probably not use this service in the future, even though the cost of it may be offset by having some official proof of a potential problem. I just think you'd probably get as good an assessment from a much cheaper alternative and there are many so look around. Stupidly it's only now I'm seeing what terrible reviews are given for this service. On the basis that I'm not shooting the messenger, I'm tempted to ask the AA for a partial refund, as I don't think the inspection lives up to my expectation and what most people would consider reasonable given the price. AVOID

Bought a car from a dealership that had a certificate that this had been AA inspected...... Drove it home and I had no working windscreen washer pump and electrical faults. Contacted dealer has the car was serviced inspected and MOTd and no one picked it up. AA inspection is not worth anything! Your next car West Drayton fly the flag but destroy the name AA.

Absolutely waste of time and money. They take forever to contact the seller. In my situation, I paid for an inspection after two days they hadn’t contacted the seller. Thankfully he called me tell me he’d sold the van. I then got in touch with AA to cancel the inspection and they charged me 10% of the inspection for doing absolutely nothing. Not even a phone call. Had the seller not contacted me and they’d actually made contact I believe they’d have kept the whole fee. Complete scam.

Why bother with AA inspections???
Absolutely useless to rely upon when buying a used car!!!!!

Incompetent technicians miss critical and obvious items in the inspection and the complaints department back them up saying that they did the inspection correctly. This feedback coming after a very long time after the complaint was made.

AA inspection missed an obvious issue when driving the vehicle during inspection that upon pick-up I could see within 5 minutes of driving.

AA complaints department say the AA inspection was adequate and that is it. You can go to the National Conciliation Service (NCS), a competent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider.

Thank you AA. You have just earnt yourself a lifetime of free publicity.

Seems like this is not a new issue as per an article in the Guardian: Buying a used car? 'Peace of mind' comes at a price. Cautious used car buyers can opt to pay £260 for the AA to inspect a vehicle. But is it worth it? One unhappy customer, facing up to £2,000 in repairs, thinks not

I purchased a car for my son and decided to get it inspected by the AA. They completed the report and highlighted a couple of minor issues so I decided to purchase the car. About 1.5hr after the inspection was concluded we purchased the car and I followed my son home. Immediately one of the rear light clusters was not working correctly and my son reported a loud noise coming from the front wheel. Upon inspection one of the wheel arch valances was sheered off and was flapping about. For me this called into question the whole thoroughness of the inspection. I had to pay to get both issues sorted. The AA response was to offer me 25% refund - I initially refused and said the inspection was substandard. They refused to budge and that was that. The informed me that they aren't regulated or part of an ombudsman so I had limited choices. Don't waste your money as the AA inspections just aren't worth it if they can't detect simple issues.

I have owned my BMW M3 from brand new. To put into context its only been driven at weekends, never in the rain and has been BMW every year for every service and every repair needed. Its done 30,000 and its been garaged and polished. I took it to a local car dealer who said its probably the best example of a car he has ever seen, even down to leaving stickers on the doors from factory. The car dealer had advertised it for me and an interested customer booked an AA inspection, the aa came out and completely lied about the condition. I couldnt recognise the report they had done, they said my rear seats was "well used" I have never had a passenger in the rear as its only me and my wife, "tyres getting low" it had 4 brand new tyres 2 months ago that cost me £600! Oil leaks, scratches and loads of other make up rubbish, they customer did not proceed with the purchase and I am honestly fuming. I will be visiting an AA inspected garage now and make sure I find all the faults with there so called inspection.

Worst company to use, you might aswell go with RAC it’s immaculate how much they go into detail. Used AA paid £300 and was advised that he couldn’t inspect the bottom of the car due to under tray? Isn’t the whole point of me paying £300 is for you to do a thorough check…? Removing an under tray doesn’t damage the car. Then to make things worse they didn’t even notice one of the parking sensors not even being in the bumper but hanging down behind the bumper which I’ve spotted in the some of the pictures they took but they failed to mention that so I’m assuming they didn’t pick that up. Lastly I had the inspection done 3 days before I was due to buy the car and they only got the report to me a day after I decided to buy it as I needed a car asap. Horrible experience

Bare in mind most people on here who leave reviews is because they arent happy with the service. Most people who are happy woth the results of the inspection won't leave a review.

I just had a car inspected which I was told had absolutely nothing wrong with it by the garage, and the inspection has found loads of issues. Thank you AA amd to the mechanic that explained everything over the phone to me. I got the comprehensive inspection and this has saved me a massove financial headache if I had bought this car

I booked this for 199 for a comprehensive check then read the small print on the confirmation email which excluded a lot and seemed more of a look and see with background checks you could get cheaper. I booked this on my daughter’s car thankfully. So I telephoned to cancel the next day to be advised they would be taking £20 fee off refund when no appointment was even booked or made. I disputed this and was told a manager agreed not to deduct but refund would be within 21 days 😳 no email confirmation of cancellation, still no payment so I have contacted my bank to reverse the transaction- what a hassle!

Took my Jeep Wrangler to AA for a check. I think they looked at the wrong vehicle. The car is regarded by my mechanic as "a really good one" but AA wrote it down as below average for a used car. On reading the report I could not recognise it as mine. Seems they are so concerned with covering themselves that everything is wrong now, just in case it goes wrong in future. Specially interior is mint and back seat has never been used but in storage, yet is worn according to the Inspector. Never again to AA. Sorry about that as I am a lifelong member - over 80y.o.

I booked a car inspection on a car i wished to purchase 6 days before the inspection was taking place the dealership phoned me to say they never realised the car has two outstanding recalls i said thanks for letting me know i will be back in touch i immediately phoned the AA and instructed them under no circumstances carry out the inspection until the dealership have had the recalls done 2 days later i received confirmation that they will carry out the inspection on the 31/10/2024 i then phoned the AA back to explain the car has 2 outstanding recalls and i have already instructed you under no circumstances to do inspection until recalls have been completed they said yes very sorry there is instructions on system not to attend i explained i will not pay for the inspection without the recalls being done on the 31/10/2024 i received a phone from the engineer at 12pm saying he has carried out a inspection without the recalls being done i have phoned the AA on multiple occasions to ask for my money back and why my instructions were not carried out i keep getting told a supervisor will call me back it is now the 17/11/2024 and no one has called i have cancelled my AAMEMBERSHIP and never use them again they don’t even deserve one Star

I am in the process of asking the AA to do a check for me on an range rover evoque (£195), but after reading all these messages, I am terrified of instructing them .

Saved me thousands. The report was thorough factual with evidence and saved us buying a ‘death trap’. So glad I invested the money and would highly recommend and definitely use again.

I'm not sure what all of these negative comments are about with the AA Car Check
I found it really helpful and worth every penny spent. I was extremely worried that I was about to purchase a Lemon, if you know what I mean, so I asked the AA to do a Check on a Jaguar XJ that I was interested in.
Well I couldn't have been Happier.
Their Engineer Rang my on site, just after he'd finished the check. His name is Geoff Percival. What a lovely Guy, We had a good chat, and he explained absolutely everything to me.
It had a few little problems that the Dealer rectified for me thanks to Geoff.
I now have a great Vehicle thanks to this man and of course the AA. Well done, one extremely happy customer!
A big thank you to Geoff Percival
From me Barry Joseph.

Bought car from a distance so paid for AA inspection and test drive . Paid extra for the hpi ,theft checks.
Ended up buying a Lexus 2017 as I thought . Car was actually a 2020 spec vehicle . Vins , window numbers vin stickers and plates all removed and did not even match . Turned out to be stolen and then impounded by police.
Nearly lost £20k. I complained and AA not interested even in a refund. Complete rip off.

I paid for a comprehensive AA inspection on a used car being sold by an AA approved dealer. The AA inspection failed to identify serious faults which rendered this car dangerous to drive. The inspection report stated the brake pads and discs showed only normal signs of wear and tear whereas the pads were found by BMW to be seriously worn and the brake discs rimmed to the point the car was dangerous and unroadworthy. The inspection was undertaken by a subcontractor and not the AA itself who I engaged and who I expected to undertake the inspection with the appropriate level of care and skill. The car was discovered by BMW to have had the brake sensors disabled but again the AA were not interested in this. I demanded a refund once the failings were identified but the AA refused this on the basis that their AA approved dealer had put the car through an MOT two days before the AA inspection was conducted. I informed the AA the MOT should not be relied upon alone given it was undertaken by the dealers mate and its authenticity was questionable. My advice never use the AA inspection service you will not receive the service you paid for and expect.

Useless inspection. Got a car from V12 sports and classics with DPF deleted. Approving faulty cars, after crashes and e.t.c. AA inspected-means nothing been checked, and bring car to independent garage straight away.👎

You do not get a detailed inspection of the body work. They do not report on the condition of the exterior if they feel any defects are deemed to be appropriate to the age of the vehicle. I travelled 222 miles to view the vehicle as it had been given a clean bill of health. However, there were issues on the body work and alloys. They should inspect the car and tell me everything they notice. It is not up to the AA to have an opinion. They should report to me what they find.

I can only speak from my own experience but I believe this could happen to any other consumer who is looking for a second hand vehicle, if not happening on regular basis. Long story short, I've been misled to buy a faulty Peugeot 208 GT EV. Along with the visual appeal and the satisfaction after the test drive, what has sold the car was an all pass/zero faults AA Inspection Report. During the dispute, I have found out some disturbing details. Since the AA engineer's name is anonymous, I contacted the Company directly. They refused to give an answer to my direct queries. On 01/03/2024 the vehicle has failed its MOT test. Reason: one dangerous defect and one major. The date coincides with the date of the AA Inspection Report. The first irregularity starts with the mileage. As per the document, the AA engineer road tested the vehicle for 6 miles, starting from 21702. The MOT certificate states 21703. The mileage difference suggests that the AA inspection precedes the MOT test. After a 6-mile drive the mileage should be 21708. The question that instantly appears is 'Was the car driven for one mile only or not driven at all?'. Second irregularity: AA Report PASS, with no damage to tyres + wheels and fully operational wipers. The MOT test registered two FAILS: Tyre has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Offside Front Inner (sidewall has 2 bulges) / • Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively (both blades). Meaning the vehicle is dangerous to drive and repairs should be made immediately. Both defects are visually detectable. The above does not include the other faults that occurred, with one of them related to safety. AA also avoided a written reply. Please check for similar discrepancies! The process of returning a faulty car is exhausting and expensive. You better say 'no' in advance.