Service category
Inspections services near you
Pre-purchase inspections for used vehicles, Safety Standards Certificate inspections and general health checks for the vehicle you already drive.
- Services
- 3
- 2 popular
- Shops in Canada
- 10
- doing this work
- Mobile service
- 2 of 3
- services at your address
3 services
What Inspections covers
An inspection turns a hunch about a vehicle into a written list of what is sound, what is worn and what is about to cost money. A pre-purchase inspection asks whether a used vehicle is worth buying, a safety inspection asks whether it meets your province’s minimum standard for the road, and a vehicle inspection asks how the one you already own is holding up.
Your province may add a legal step. In Ontario, for example, a used vehicle needs a Safety Standards Certificate before it can be registered in a new owner’s name, and only a licensed Motor Vehicle Inspection Station can issue one; other provinces ask for one when a vehicle changes hands, comes from another province, or every year or two. It is a legal minimum, not a mechanical report, so a buyer who wants to know about the engine, transmission, rust and earlier collision repairs needs a separate pre-purchase inspection, ideally before paying a deposit.
Pre-purchase and health checks can often come to the vehicle, which suits a seller’s driveway or your own. A Safety Standards Certificate can only be issued at a licensed station, so that one is always a drop-off. Whichever you choose, ask for the findings in writing, so you have a list to negotiate with or to hand to your repair shop.
Pre-purchase inspection
Pre-purchase inspection of a used vehicle by an independent mechanic: scan, paint and rust checks, underbody look, road test and a written report.
Safety inspection (Safety Standards Certificate)
Safety inspection at a licensed provincial station: brakes, steering, tires, lights and body checked, then a safety certificate issued on a pass.
Vehicle inspection
Car inspection for a vehicle you already own: a multi-point check of fluids, brakes, tires, battery, lights and leaks before winter or a long trip.
How it works
Tell shops the job. They compete.
You set the budget and choose the shop. Posting is free, and you pay the shop you hire only once the job is 100% done.
- 01
Post your job
Choose the service, describe the job and your vehicle, and set your budget. It takes two minutes and costs nothing.
- 02
Shops compete
Nearby shops that do the work see your request and send their best offer: price, when they can start, what is included.
- 03
Accept the best offer
Compare bids, ratings and distance, then hire one shop. The others are told, politely.
- 04
Talk and get it done
Your conversation with the shop opens right away to agree on the day. You pay only after the job is complete.
Questions
Questions about inspections
General answers for drivers in Canada. The shop you hire confirms the details for your vehicle.
What is the difference between a pre-purchase inspection, a safety inspection and a vehicle inspection?
A pre-purchase inspection is an independent condition report on a used vehicle you are thinking of buying, covering the engine, transmission, body, rust and a test drive. A safety inspection checks a vehicle against your province’s minimum safety standard and, on a pass, produces a safety certificate (in Ontario, a Safety Standards Certificate). A vehicle inspection is an optional condition check on your own vehicle, done before a trip, before winter or when something feels off.
Do I need a safety certificate to buy or sell a used car?
It depends on your province. In Ontario a buyer needs a Safety Standards Certificate to register a used vehicle, but a private seller does not have to supply it; it comes from a licensed Motor Vehicle Inspection Station. In some provinces only a vehicle from out of province needs one. Where a certificate is needed, a seller can offer the vehicle ‘as is’, and then the buyer pays for the inspection and for any repairs needed to pass. Settle who arranges it before you agree on a price.
Can an inspection be done at my home or the seller’s driveway?
Pre-purchase inspections and general vehicle inspections often can, because a mobile inspector brings a scan tool, a paint-thickness gauge and a flashlight to wherever the vehicle is parked. Without a hoist the underbody check is limited to what a creeper allows, so for an expensive purchase a shop visit is more thorough. Safety inspections cannot be mobile, since only a licensed station can issue the certificate.
Is a pre-purchase inspection worth it if the vehicle already has a safety certificate?
Yes, because they answer different questions. The certificate says the vehicle met the minimum safety standard on the day it was inspected. It says nothing about an engine that burns oil, a transmission that slips once warm, a repaired collision or hidden rust. A pre-purchase inspection costs less than a single major repair, and its findings can help you negotiate the price.
How long do inspections take and what should I bring?
Allow about 90 minutes for a pre-purchase or safety inspection and 45 minutes for a general check. Bring every key, including any wheel-lock key, and any service records you have. Tell the inspector about noises, warning lights or earlier repairs that worry you, and ask when the written report will reach you.
For inspection stations
Sign up as a business
Inspection stations across Canada: drivers post their Inspections requests here. Publish your weekly flyer, open the appointment windows you can take and bid on the jobs near you. Free while we launch, no commission.