How to read a 200-point inspection report
Every number on the report means something, and two of them matter more than the rest. Our lead technician walks through a real one, line by line.
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Written by the people who inspect, buy and drive the cars.
Buying guides, workshop notes and honest verdicts from our technicians and buyers — not press releases rewritten by a marketing desk.
If an article helps you decide against a car we have on the floor, it has still done its job. Nobody here is paid per click.
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Six months with a Taycan Turbo GT
What the range figure actually means in February, what charging costs on a long trip, and the one thing we would change about the car.
Deposit or term: which one actually lowers your payment
We ran the same $150,000 car through forty finance structures. The curve flattens in a place most buyers do not expect.
Brake fade on alpine descents, explained properly
Why standard discs give up on the fourth hairpin, what two-piece rotors change, and when an upgrade is genuinely a waste of money.
The nine cars we rejected last month, and why
For every car that reaches our floor, nine do not. Here are the actual faults that sent them back — with photographs.
What a trade-in valuation really looks at
Mileage matters less than you think. Service history and one specific piece of paperwork move the number most.
Home charging: 11 kW or 22 kW?
The honest answer depends on one thing about your house, not about your car. A short guide before you spend money.
Why we photograph every fault we find
A written report is easy to argue with. A photograph is not. How our inspection documentation works and why we publish it.
Winter storage without ruining the car
Six things that matter, three that do not, and the mistake that costs people a fuel system every spring.
Balloon payments: when they make sense
They lower the monthly figure and raise the total. Here is the arithmetic, and the two situations where we recommend one.
Manual gearboxes are not an investment strategy
Buy the third pedal because you want it. The resale argument people make for it does not survive the numbers.
Oil intervals: the manufacturer figure is a ceiling
What actually determines when your oil is finished, and why our workshop shortens the interval on two specific engines.