Free · No account · Built from NHTSA records
Know if it's worth the inspection.
Every used car hides something. Our free pre-purchase checklists combine a 31-point walkthrough with model-specific known issues and open recalls from public NHTSA records — so you can triage a car yourself before paying a mechanic.
Pick your car
How it works
- Pick your car. Make, model, year — no account, no email.
- Run the free checklist. Generic checks plus known issues and open recalls for that exact model-year.
- Decide if it's worth a pro inspection. Red flags up front mean you walk away before spending a dollar on a mechanic.
Why trust it
- NHTSA-sourced data. Recalls and complaints come from U.S. federal public records. See our methodology →
- Triage, not diagnosis. This is a screening tool to help you decide whether to pay for an inspection — never a substitute for one.
- Human-reviewed. Every new or changed safety card is reviewed by a person before it publishes. How we get our data →
Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission if you book an inspection through a partner link — it keeps the checklist free, and it never changes which issues we list.