Bring these items with you when doing a used car inspection.

The video above provides excellent advice on things to check when buying a used car. While there are plenty of good resources on inspecting a car, this article reviews the list of items you need to bring to do a good inspection.

List of times you need to bring when doing a used car pre-purchase inspection.

The items in this list are a must if you plan to check out a car hour away from home. Whether you are inspecting a used Mercedes-Benz or any other car, there are a few things you should take with you, which we have listed below. 

Jump Box–  Don’t be surprised if you show up at the seller’s house and the car doesn’t start due to a dead battery. Or maybe the car has a flat tire. To avoid headaches, bring with you an air compressor/jump box combo if you have one. You can jump the car and put air in any flat tire. 

Flashlight – Bring a flashlight with you so that you can use it to look under the car and hard to see areas including around the engine. Use the flashlight to check for oil leaks. We do not recommend you check out a car at night. Always check out the car during the day.

Jack and Stands– You will most likely want to inspect the car carefully and look underneath for oil leaks or hidden problems. You may want to jack up the car on the front to check the suspension and steering components. Not everyone every car buyer does such a detailed used car inspection. If you plan to get under the car, make sure to secure the car with jack stands. Don’t get under the car if you don’t have jack stands underneath.  

Rags – This is obvious but we just put it on this list as a reminder. You will check the engine, transmission, brake, and power steering levels and condition. Bring with you a couple of rags because you will need them.

Insurance Policy – Let’s say you decide to buy a car. How are you going to drive it back? You should bring the insurance card even if it still has the info from your other car. Most insurance companies will cover a car that you just purchased. To be sure, check with your car insurance. Or call your insurance company right after your purchase and add the car you bought to your insurance policy. All they need is the VIN. If you get pulled over, you will have insurance coverage to show to a police officer.

Diagnostic Scanner – The majority of the car buyers never bring an OBD-II code reader with them but doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. These little scanners will tell you a lot about the car. They will tell you if there are any problems with the engine, retrieve fault codes and see if the car is ready to be taken for emission inspection. These scanners are very easy to use and come in handy.

If you are serious about the car or if the seller told you that the SRS airbag light or any warning lights are on, then you may want to bring with you a more advanced scanner that not only can read the check engine light codes but also the transmission, ABS, ETS, SRS, airbag and other systems. One scanner that works on Mercedes-Benz and other cars is the YOUCANIC Full System Scanner.