Buying a car? Don’t forget the pre-purchase inspection

We’ve undertaken our fair share of road trips for Hagerty Classic Cars magazine — from traversing historic Route 66 to a family amusement park adventure in a classic wagon — and we’ve learned a lot along the way.
 
The lesson that resonated the most, however, was the importance of a professional pre-purchase inspection. See Exhibit A: Our calamity-filled Route 66 trip in which the shop tasked with the all-important inspection lets us down spectacularly.
 
Luckily, for our Hagerty Family Vacation we enlisted the assistance of Road Ready Certified from ClassicCars.com. Road Ready Certified sends a qualified inspector to the seller’s business or residence to actually lay a set of eyeballs on your prospective purchase.
 
Road Ready Certified inspects not just the cosmetics but some of the all-important mechanical systems like brakes, power steering, tires, etc. It doesn’t get as detailed or invasive as a compression test, but any smoke, funny noises, dirty oil, etc., are noted so that the prospective purchaser can take further action as warranted. The cost is generally under $300.
 
The result for us was good. Our classic American road trip in a ’71 Olds Vista Cruiser that had been inspected by Road Ready Certified went off without a hitch and we felt like we already knew the car when it arrived based on the detailed report from Road Ready Certified.