Pre-Purchase & RWC Car Inspection Checklist: 47 Things We Check Before You Buy or Sell

If you’re buying a used car in Melbourne, or trying to sell one without the buyer pulling out at the last minute, you need the same inspection: a thorough, independent pre-purchase car inspection that also checks for RWC (Roadworthy Certificate) readiness. We do both at once. One hoist, one report, two answers — is this car worth your money, and will it pass an RWC without a list of nasty surprises?

Honestly, the number of deals we’ve seen fall over because someone booked a quick roadworthy on a Friday and got back a fail sheet on the Monday is depressing. It’s not always major stuff. A perished CV boot, a worn front wiper, a slightly cracked windscreen. Small items, but enough to hold up settlement and put thousands at risk. This inspection is built to stop that happening.

What this inspection actually is

It’s two checks in one visit. We do the full pre-purchase inspection that any sharp buyer should insist on — the kind that catches the worn timing chain, the bodged accident repair, the gearbox that’s about to let go. While we have the car on the hoist, we also run a Victorian RWC checklist over it so you know exactly what would pass, what would fail, and what would be marginal in front of a different tester on a different day.

So whether you’re the buyer or the seller, you walk out with a clear picture. Buyers get a negotiation document. Sellers get a punch list of small fixes that mean the RWC inspection is a formality, not a gamble.

A real disclosure here: an RWC and a pre-purchase inspection are not the same thing, and we never pretend they are. An RWC only checks that the car is legal to drive on the day of the test. It does not tell you anything about gearbox life, head gasket condition, or whether the car has been in a serious crash. That’s why we run both. The pre-purchase inspection is the one that protects your money. The RWC check is the one that protects your sale.

Why this beats trusting the seller (or their mate)

The seller’s job is to make the car look good. That’s the structure of the deal, not a character flaw. Their mechanic — the dealer’s workshop, or the private seller’s “I’ve got a guy” — is being paid by them, not by you. They have a reason to walk past problems, even if they don’t mean to.

An independent inspection is the only one in the chain where the person looking at the car is being paid by you. The ACCC openly tells used-car buyers to do this. We don’t sell cars. We don’t get a commission. We just tell you what we found.

The 47-point checklist

Items marked (RWC) are part of the Victorian roadworthy check. Everything else is the deeper pre-purchase work that tells you whether the car is actually worth what they’re asking.

Engine bay (8 points)

Oil condition and level. Dark or burnt-smelling oil means missed services. Milky oil is a head gasket warning.
Coolant condition. Rusty brown coolant means a poorly kept system. Oil in the coolant tank is a head gasket problem.
Visible leaks at the rocker cover, oil pan, timing cover, water pump, power steering pump, and front and rear main seals.
Belt and hose condition. Cracks, fraying, swelling, or oil contamination. (RWC) for hoses that affect brake or fuel systems.
Battery age and load test. Most batteries last three to five years.
Engine mount condition. Soft or torn mounts cause shudder under load.
Cold start behaviour. Blue smoke is oil, white is coolant, black is fuel mixture. (RWC) for excessive smoke.
Idle stability. Hunting or surging usually means a vacuum leak or sensor fault.

Underbody and chassis (8 points)

Chassis rails for accident damage. Fresh welds, mismatched paint, kinks in factory crush zones. (RWC) if structural.
Subframe and floor pan rust. Surface rust is fine. Rust through the metal is structural. (RWC).
Exhaust system from manifold to tailpipe. Cracks, repair clamps, rust-through. (RWC).
Transmission and differential leaks.
CV boots on both front axles. (RWC) — split boots are a guaranteed fail.
Driveshaft and tailshaft for joint play and centre bearing condition. (RWC) if excessive.
Underbody panel condition including any aftermarket bash plates.
Tow bar wiring, hitch wear, frame mounting. (RWC) for loose or unsafe tow bars.

Tyres and wheels (5 points)

Tread depth on each tyre with a gauge, not by eye. Legal minimum 1.5 mm. (RWC).
Even wear across the tread. Our guide on tyre wear patterns explains each one.
Sidewall damage — bulges, cuts, cracks, age cracking. (RWC).
Tyre age via the DOT code. Anything older than six years should be on a replacement plan.
Wheel condition for kerb damage, cracks, or non-standard sizes. (RWC) if cracked or unsafe.

Brakes (5 points)

Brake pad material thickness on all four corners. (RWC) below minimum.
Brake disc condition — surface grooves, lip on the outer edge, minimum thickness. (RWC) if below spec.
Brake line condition, including any flexible hose perishing. (RWC).
Brake fluid condition — clear and amber is good, dark brown is overdue.
Handbrake function and travel on a slope. (RWC) if it fails to hold.

Suspension and steering (6 points)

Shock absorber bounce test and visible leaks. (RWC) if leaking heavily or worn out.
Ball joint and tie rod play. (RWC).
Control arm bushes for cracking or movement.
Wheel bearings for roughness or play. (RWC) if there’s noticeable play.
Steering rack for play, leaks, and full lock-to-lock smoothness. (RWC).
Steering column for slop or noise.

Electrical (5 points)

All exterior and interior lights — high beam, fog, brake, indicators, reverse, plate, interior. (RWC) for all road-facing lights.
Dashboard warning lights. None on — airbag, ABS, traction control, engine, battery. (RWC) for safety-related lights.
Power windows, mirrors, central locking, boot release.
Climate control — blower speeds, all vents, air-con output, rear demister.
Infotainment — touchscreen response, speakers, reversing camera, Bluetooth, CarPlay or Android Auto.

Body and paint (5 points)

Panel gaps. Uneven gaps suggest accident repair.
Paint thickness with a gauge. Repainted panels read significantly thicker than original.
Overspray in door jambs, around window seals, under wheel arches.
Glass condition — windscreen, side glass, sunroof. (RWC) for cracks in the driver’s line of sight. This is the one that quietly fails the most roadworthies — a chip you stopped noticing six months ago.
Door, boot, and bonnet alignment and operation. (RWC) if anything won’t latch or close properly.

Interior (5 points)

Wear pattern on driver’s seat, steering wheel, pedals, and gear knob versus the claimed kilometres. A 60,000 km car with bald pedal rubbers is suspicious.
Seatbelt condition — webbing, retractor, buckle. (RWC).
Carpet for water damage. Lift the spare wheel cover and check for rust or staining from flood damage.
Smell. Strong air freshener often hides smoke, water, or pet residue. Trust your nose.
All keys present. A replacement key fob is $300 to $1,500 from a dealer, more on some European cars.

How this inspection sets the car up for a smooth RWC and sale

Here’s where the dual approach earns its keep. If you’re selling, you book the inspection a week or two before listing or before settlement. We hand you the fail list — usually small stuff like a wiper blade, a number plate light, a CV boot, a brake light bulb, a windscreen chip near the wiper sweep. None of it is dramatic. Fix it, get the RWC, sell the car.

If you’re buying, the report tells you the same things, but from the other side: this is what the seller would have had to fix to issue a clean RWC. Anything they didn’t fix is a negotiation point or a walk-away.

The only safety certificate you can trust is one issued after the work is actually done. A car that was offered with a “fresh RWC” and then needed three repairs to get it? That’s the seller telling you the certificate was issued thin. Treat it accordingly.

The 5 red flags that should still walk you away

A clean RWC does not save a car from these:

Major structural repair — welded chassis rails, cut-and-shut joins, mismatched VIN plates.
Flood damage signs — water lines inside the headlights, corrosion on connectors, mud in odd places.
Odometer that doesn’t match service history or wear inside the cabin.
PPSR or REVS check showing finance owing, written-off history, or stolen status. Always run a PPSR check before signing. It costs $2.
A seller who refuses an independent inspection. It is the single biggest tell in this business.

What it costs in Melbourne

As a rough Melbourne guide:

Combined pre-purchase plus RWC-ready check: around $220 to $400 depending on the car. European cars and 4WDs sit at the top end because there’s more under there and the diagnostic scan takes longer.
The single most common find on European used cars under $40,000 is overdue suspension bushes or worn lower control arms. That’s a $1,200 to $2,500 repair. One line item like that on the report pays for the inspection ten times over.

Common questions

How long does it take? Roughly 90 minutes for a standard car, two hours for a complex European or 4WD with a diagnostic scan. You get the written report the same day.

Will you issue the RWC at the same visit? We can flag the items that would fail an RWC and walk you through what needs fixing. If you want the RWC certificate itself, we’ll happily issue it once any failing items are repaired — usually a short follow-up visit.

The seller already has a roadworthy. Do I still need this? Yes. The RWC says the car was legal on test day. It does not say the gearbox isn’t about to fail or the car wasn’t a repaired write-off.

Can you inspect interstate or remote cars? A workshop inspection is always more thorough because the car can go on a hoist. We offer mobile in some cases at higher cost, but if you can get the car here, get it here.

Book an independent pre-purchase and RWC-ready inspection

We don’t sell cars and we don’t take dealer kickbacks. We tell you what we find, you decide what to do with it. Book online — takes 30 seconds — or call the workshop on (03) 9763 0100 to lock in a time. If you can drop the car off in the morning, the report is usually in your inbox by mid-afternoon.