THE AVAVA JOURNAL

What we learn on the ramp.

Inspection notes, buying guides and the occasional argument —
written by the people who put the cars on the lift.

The two faults we publish most often — and why we leave both alone

Across four hundred inspections last year the same two cosmetic points came up on nearly a third of the cars: a stone chip on the front apron and kerb rash on one rear rim. Neither is expensive to correct. We still hand the car over with both still there, and the reasoning is worth setting out properly.

Sofia MarchettiMASTER TECHNICIAN · MILAN 28 AUG 2026 · 9 MIN READ

BUYING GUIDES

What a 200-point report cannot tell you

A checklist is a floor, not a ceiling. There are three things we look for on every car that no standard inspection covers — and one thing everybody checks that we stopped bothering with two years ago, because in four hundred cars it never once changed a decision.

Marek VogelHEAD OF INSPECTION · MUNICH 21 AUG 2026 · 7 MIN READ

WORKSHOP

Why we measure tyres at four millimetres, not one point six

The legal limit is 1.6 mm. We stop selling a car on anything under four, and we will not run one either. Here are the wet braking numbers behind that line, measured on our own cars over a full set rather than taken from a manufacturer’s press pack.

Sofia MarchettiMASTER TECHNICIAN · MILAN 14 AUG 2026 · 6 MIN READ