A used-car lot at dusk under sodium lights, one person crouched at a front wheel shining a flashlight along the underside of a sedan.

The Forty-Minute Inspection

A fixed sequence, done the same way every time, on a cold item, in daylight, with the seller standing where you can see them.

Module 3 of 74 lessonsWritten in full1 worksheet

Start this module The whole course

The lessons

All 4, in the order they are read.

1. Cold, and in daylight
Two conditions that a seller will resist and that reveal more than the rest of the inspection combined.
2. The walk-around
Panel gaps, tyre wear, fluid colour, corrosion at the seams, and the smell test that finds water damage in ten seconds.
3. Under load
Everything a machine hides at idle it reveals under load, and the load test is the half of the drive most buyers skip.
4. The professional inspection, and when it is mandatory
A hundred and fifty dollars spent here is the highest-return money in the whole transaction, and there are three cases where it is not optional.

The worksheet

Forty-minute inspection sheet

Print it, take it with you, and work down it in order in front of the seller. Doing that visibly changes the conversation more than anything you could say. Any 'fail' row becomes a line on the negotiation sheet in Module 5 with a repair cost attached.

Forty-minute inspection sheet
Stage	Check	Pass / fail	Estimated cost to put right
Before it starts	Engine cold to the touch — confirmed	—	—
Before it starts	All fluids: level, colour, smell	—	—
Before it starts	Under the oil cap and under the coolant cap	—	—
Walk-around	Panel gaps and paint texture consistent	—	—
Walk-around	Tyre wear pattern and all four date codes	—	—
Walk-around	Corrosion at seams, sills, mounts, frame	—	—

7 further rows in the downloadable sheet.

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