Pre-Purchase Inspection · Kaki Bukit · Singapore
A 120-point independent check before you hand over a single dollar. From family cars to luxury marques like Bentley and Maserati, we strip back the polish, test what matters, and tell you straight what you’re about to buy. You’re welcome to come along and learn.
Why bother inspecting?
A car can look perfect on a Carousell listing, pass a 10-minute test drive, and still be hiding a repaired chassis, a flood past, a tampered odometer or a gearbox on its last legs. A proper inspection costs from $100. The car you’re about to buy costs fifty to three hundred times that. Worth the insurance.
Resprays, welded chassis, bent subframes. Paint shines, but the structure remembers. Our gauge picks it up in 20 seconds per panel.
Low-km car, but the ECU logs tell a different story. We cross-check ECU data against the shown mileage and service records.
SG floods during monsoon. Some cars are written off by insurers and quietly resold. Telltale: waterlines in fuse boxes, rust in unusual spots, musty smell.
New floor mats, polished dashboard, fresh air freshener. Meanwhile the transmission judders, CV joints click, and the timing belt is 20,000 km overdue.
What we check
Grouped into five areas. Every car leaves with a written report and photos of anything we flagged.
Not just a service, a learning session
Most workshops hand you a report at the end. We’d rather you stand next to us while we work. It’s the fastest way to understand what you’re buying, and the best way to recognise the same warning signs on your next car.
→ Paint thickness gauge: you see the reading on every panel and learn what “normal” vs “respray” looks like.
→ OBD scan: we plug in, you see every stored and pending code live on the screen.
→ Underbody walkthrough: car’s on the lift, we point out welds, rust, flood markers, suspension wear.
→ Road test: you’re in the passenger seat. We talk through gear shifts, brake feel, steering pull.
→ Buyer’s takeaway: you leave knowing how to spot the red flags yourself next time.
What we’ve caught before
Names and plates removed. These are inspections where our buyer walked away (or renegotiated) after we flagged what the seller didn’t mention.
Dashboard rolled back by a previous owner or dealer. Buyer walked away. Would have overpaid by at least $30,000 had the deal gone through.
Paint thickness gauge read 480 microns on a panel that should have been around 120. Clear evidence of accident repair.
Interior refreshed, new carpets, new-car smell. But corrosion in electrical connectors under the dash gave it away. Time bomb.
Accident not disclosed. Gearbox mount cracked, already causing the judder the buyer felt on the test drive. $5,800 fix quoted. Seller knocked $7,000 off.
Transparent pricing
No surprises. Flat pricing based on what you need. Final price confirmed on WhatsApp once you tell us the car.
* Prices cover labour, diagnostics, report and photos. WhatsApp us with the car listing → and we’ll confirm price + slot within 30 minutes during workshop hours.
What to expect
WhatsApp the listing link or make/model/year. We confirm slot, price and location (our workshop or seller’s site).
Buyer welcome, sellers briefed beforehand. We begin the 120-point inspection. Road test with buyer in the passenger seat.
We walk you through everything we flagged. Photos on the spot. No rush. Ask anything.
A written report with our findings will be provided. You decide: walk, renegotiate, or proceed with confidence. We don’t push either way.
Customer Reviews
The totally RIGHT place workshop to be if you need service and assurance! Strongly recommend this workshop, proprietor Ah Bao will walk you through the issue(s) and recommend the work needed with your needs in mind. Super professional, all conducted with cheerful and friendly expertise!
At first my car broke down on the road. The towing guy recommended me to The Right Workshop. The team was incredibly professional, specifically @Ah Bao who kept me updated with clear explanations of the costs involved for the engine overhaul and charged a very reasonable price. Highly recommend their honest and skilled work!
I’ve been servicing my car with Ah Bao for many years, and the service has always been excellent. He is reliable and never push unnecessary repairs. Rare to find such genuine individual. Highly recommended workshop!
I had an aircon issue and was recommended by friends to visit The Right Workshop. Ah Bao helped me understand what needed to be done and sent updates to reassure me. The repair only took a day. These guys are really fast and responsible and I would trust them with my car anytime.
Been with Ah Bao for many years, this mechanic knows a lot about different kinds of car brands and how to fix it right. Very honest and good after service, had a break down on a Sunday (his off day) but he came back to workshop just to help me. Price, service, and knowledge all top notch.
Have always looked for Ah Bao to rectify my car issues ever since my 1st ride back then 5 years ago, from a Honda Civic to now a Lexus IS250. Friendly & professional mechanic you could talk to regarding your ride problems!
Find the right person, for the right job at The Right Workshop 😎🮲🏼
I recently sent my car to The Right Workshop for paint and bodywork, and I’m extremely impressed with the results. Excellent paint finish, perfect colour match, delivered on schedule. It’s rare to find a workshop that combines great workmanship and genuine customer care. Highly recommended!
The totally RIGHT place workshop to be if you need service and assurance! Strongly recommend this workshop, proprietor Ah Bao will walk you through the issue(s) and recommend the work needed with your needs in mind. Super professional, all conducted with cheerful and friendly expertise!
The team was incredibly professional, specifically @Ah Bao who kept me updated with clear explanations of the costs involved for the engine overhaul and charged a very reasonable price. Highly recommend their honest and skilled work!
I’ve been servicing my car with Ah Bao for many years, and the service has always been excellent. He is reliable and never push unnecessary repairs. Rare to find such genuine individual. Highly recommended workshop!
I had an aircon issue and was recommended by friends to visit The Right Workshop. Ah Bao helped me understand what needed to be done and sent updates to reassure me. The repair only took a day. These guys are really fast and responsible!
Been with Ah Bao for many years, this mechanic knows a lot about different kinds of car brands and how to fix it right. Very honest and good after service. Had a break down on a Sunday (his off day) but he came back to workshop just to help. Price and service: top notch!
Have always looked for Ah Bao to rectify my car issues ever since my 1st ride 5 years ago. Friendly & professional mechanic you could talk to regarding your ride problems!
Find the right person, for the right job at The Right Workshop 😎🮲🏼
Excellent paint finish, perfect colour match, delivered on schedule. Rare to find a workshop that combines great workmanship and genuine customer care. Highly recommended!
FAQ
Can’t find what you’re looking for? WhatsApp us directly.
Absolutely, in fact we encourage it. The inspection doubles as a learning session. You’ll see every check live, understand what we’re looking for, and leave knowing how to spot red flags on your next car. Bring a friend if you’d like a second pair of eyes.
About 1.5 hours for a standard inspection. Add 30 minutes if we’re doing a compression test, and another 30 minutes if we’re inspecting at the seller’s location rather than at our workshop.
Yes, we require at least 2 days notice so we can reserve a bay and prepare the right tools. Urgent same-day slots possible, WhatsApp us and we’ll check.
Treat that as a major red flag. Legitimate sellers and reputable used-car dealers have no issue with an independent check. If someone refuses point-blank, they’re usually hiding something. Walk away, you just saved yourself from a bad deal.
Subject to availability. We always recommend having the inspection done at our Kaki Bukit workshop, where we have the full range of lifts, diagnostic tools, paint gauge equipment and lighting to do the most thorough job. If on-location is the only option, we can bring a portable kit (+$50 travel), but some checks that require a lift or workshop-grade equipment may be limited. WhatsApp us with the situation and we’ll advise.
We give you facts, photos, and repair cost estimates for anything we find. The final call is yours. Sometimes a car with flagged issues is still the right buy at the right price, we’ll help you work out what renegotiation is reasonable.
We approach every inspection with the same professional standard we apply to our own workshop cars. Our team does their best to identify every issue that can reasonably be found through visual inspection, diagnostics and a road test without dismantling the vehicle.
That said, cars are fundamentally mechanical and electrical machines. Some faults are intermittent, some are concealed by the seller, and some are physically impossible to detect without full teardown. No pre-purchase inspection, by any workshop, can guarantee 100% discovery of every present or future issue.
Our report is clear on what was checked and what was found. The Right Workshop is not liable for issues that fall outside the reasonable scope of a non-invasive inspection, but you can be confident that we apply our full expertise and experience to give you the most informed picture possible before you commit.
Book a first servicing with us to get baseline oil, filters and fluids all on a fresh record. We can also help with competitive insurance quotes through our broker partner, and schedule any repairs the inspection flagged.
Spot accident damage, paint tells and structural issues before you sign the transfer form.
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