How Long Does a Pre-Purchase Car Inspection Take in Brisbane?

Last reviewed: 18 October 2026

How long does a pre-purchase car inspection take? Most take 60 to 120 minutes at the car, and the report, with photos and a PPSR certificate, follows the same day. Where a car lands in that range depends on the package, the type of car and what the inspector finds. We book 70 minutes for a Standard inspection (150 points) and 80 minutes for Premium (250+ points). A tidy late-model hatch sits at the shorter end, and a high-kilometre 4WD with a long list of findings takes longer. At an auction there’s usually no road test, so it’s shorter. The part most people get wrong: a longer inspection isn’t automatically a better one.

How Long Each Package Takes

A Standard pre-purchase car inspection takes about an hour, and Premium a little longer, because it covers more ground. These are the slots our booking system sets aside for the two packages:

Add-ons on Standard add a little time: an EV or hybrid check ($60), a 4×4, ute or van check ($49), or paint-depth mapping or a video walkthrough ($50). Most pre-purchase car inspections finish somewhere between 60 and 120 minutes, and the inspector doesn’t cut a check short to hit a time.

What Happens During a Pre-Purchase Car Inspection

The inspector works through the same checklist on every car, in roughly this order:

1. Vehicle details. The VIN, registration and odometer reading are checked and recorded.
2. Exterior and paint. Panels, panel gaps and paint-depth readings, which show where a car may have been repaired.
3. Under the bonnet. Leaks, belts, hoses and fluids, and how the engine starts from cold if it hasn’t been run.
4. Underneath. Leaks, rust and suspension parts, where they can be reached.
5. Interior and electrics. Controls, air conditioning and warning lights, a battery load check and a scan for current and stored fault codes.
6. Road test. 5 to 7 km on Standard and longer on Premium, where the car can be driven.
7. Photos and notes. Findings go into the report, which you get the same day.

What Can Make It Take Longer

Mostly the car itself. A pre-purchase car inspection runs longer when:

• it’s a 4WD, ute, EV, hybrid or luxury car on Premium, with more systems to check
• the car is older or has done a lot of kilometres, so there’s more to photograph and note
• access is hard, such as a tight garage or a busy yard
• the inspector has to wait for the seller or the keys.

Some things make it shorter. An unregistered car can’t be driven on the road without the right paperwork, such as an unregistered vehicle permit, so the road test comes off the list, and so does that part of the time.

Inspection Time by Type of Car

The type of car changes what the inspector has to look at, and that’s where most of the extra time goes:

• Hatches, sedans and small SUVs usually sit at the shorter end on a Standard inspection, with fewer systems and easy access underneath.
• 4WDs, utes and vans add the drivetrain, the transfer case and the underbody, which on a car that has towed or been off road can take a while to go over properly. More on 4WD and SUV inspections.
• EVs and hybrids add battery health, the charging system and the high-voltage parts, on Premium or as a $60 add-on. More on EV inspections.
• European and luxury cars have more electronics and more complex suspension, and Premium checks them along with live diagnostic data where the car supports it.

For example, a three-year-old hatch with its service books on a Standard inspection will usually finish near the hour. A ten-year-old diesel 4WD that has towed a caravan, on Premium, is more likely to run towards two hours, because there’s more underneath to check and more to write up.

If you’re not sure which pre-purchase car inspection fits the car, call us before you book and we’ll help you choose.

How Long Does It Take at an Auction or a Dealer?

At an auction, the viewing times set the limit. You usually can’t test drive a car before bidding, but you should be able to inspect it, so a pre-purchase car inspection there covers everything except the road test and takes less time. Check the auction house’s viewing hours when you book, because the inspection has to fit inside them.

At a licensed dealer, the clock that matters is the cooling-off period, not the inspection. It ends at 5pm on the dealer’s next business day, and taking the car for an independent inspection doesn’t end it. Book the inspection before you sign, or inside that window, and the report arrives the same day, in time to decide. We inspect on the dealer’s yard, so the car doesn’t have to go anywhere.

What If the Inspector Finds a Problem?

Then the pre-purchase car inspection takes a little longer, because each finding gets photographed and written up so you can see it for yourself. A small oil leak, uneven tyre wear or a stored fault code all go into the report with notes on what they mean. You can then use the findings to negotiate the price, ask the seller to fix the problem before you pay, or walk away. Nothing is decided at the car: the inspector reports, and the decision stays with you.

When Do You Get the Report?

The same day. The report from a pre-purchase car inspection sets out what the inspector found, with photos, and comes with a PPSR certificate. On Standard you can ask for a 5 to 10 minute call with the inspector to go through it, and on Premium a call is part of the package.

How Long You Have to Decide After the Report

That depends on who’s selling, and it’s worth knowing before you book:

• A licensed dealer. Until the cooling-off period ends, at 5pm on the dealer’s next business day, as long as you haven’t driven the car home. A same-day report leaves time to read it and decide.
• A private seller. There’s no cooling-off period at all, so get the report before you pay anything, and settle the price after you’ve read it.
• An auction. The decision comes when you bid, so the inspection has to happen during the viewing, before the sale.

Once you’ve bought, the next clock starts: Queensland requires the registration to be transferred within 14 days of getting the car. A private sale is where a pre-purchase car inspection does the most work, because once you’ve paid, there’s no going back.

Common Misconceptions About Inspection Time

Four ideas about pre-purchase car inspection time come up again and again, and none of them holds:

• A longer inspection is a better one. Not necessarily. What matters is that every point on the checklist gets done and written up. A simple, healthy car can be covered properly at the shorter end, and a long inspection may just mean a long list of findings.
• The booking slot is how long it takes. It works like a dentist’s appointment: the time on the booking is what’s set aside, not the moment the inspector packs up. The inspection takes as long as the checklist and the car need.
• The report takes days. With us it arrives the same day, with photos and the PPSR certificate.
• You have to be there the whole time. You don’t, which is the next question.

Do You Need to Be There?

No. For a mobile pre-purchase car inspection, the inspector deals with the seller directly, and you get the report the same day. That’s how remote and interstate buyers check a car before they travel. If you’d like to meet the inspector at the car and ask questions, say so when you book.

How to Keep the Inspection on Time

A few things on the day keep a pre-purchase car inspection on time:

• give us the car’s address and the seller’s details when you book, or ask us to contact the seller to set a time
• ask the seller not to start the car beforehand, so the engine can be checked from cold
• make sure the keys, and any service books, are with the car
• check the car is registered if you want a road test
• make sure there’s a safe, flat spot to work, off the road if possible.

The Short Version

So how long does a pre-purchase car inspection take? Plan on 60 to 120 minutes at the car and the report the same day. Standard suits most cars; Premium is for 4WDs, utes, EVs, hybrids and luxury cars. Compare the two packages, read whether an inspection is worth it, or see how mobile and workshop inspections compare.

Buying in Brisbane? Here’s how we inspect cars across Brisbane, from Logan and Ipswich to Moreton Bay.