RAC Vehicle Inspection - Waste of money and extremely misleading

caprikid1

Did I miss something , guy buys car, gets inspection done, battery dies blames the company that inspected it.


Every possible fault could be detected by a simple check, every car has a million things that could go wrong on it !.

jmajithia108

Car_54 wrote: »

If the RAC had done the same tests as your mechanic, then he would have found a different result. Otherwise, the car would not have started. As several people have already said, a battery can fail at any time. Any test can only show its condition at the time: for its condition in two weeks’ time, you need a crystal ball.

That unfortunately does not constitue a mechanical check of the battery as per what they state on their website: rac.co.uk > buying-a-car > vehicle-inspections > comprehensive-inspection

Car_54

jmajithia108 wrote: »

That unfortunately does not constitue a mechanical check of the battery as per what they state on their website: rac.co.uk > buying-a-car > vehicle-inspections > comprehensive-inspection

1. That website says the comprehensive inspection is "best for people ... who do not require any diagnostic assessment of the engine."


2. The only mention of the battery in the sample report is "Battery charging system".


3. A "mechanical check of the battery" would involve its structural integrity and security, not its electrics.


4. As you noted originally, the test claims it "[FONT=&quot]will give you a complete overview of any major faults found on the vehicle through full mechanical and structural checks on the car[/FONT]". No mention of electrical tests.

Hermione_Granger

jmajithia108 wrote: »

That unfortunately does not constitue a mechanical check of the battery as per what they state on their website: rac.co.uk > buying-a-car > vehicle-inspections > comprehensive-inspection

Which as I pointed out to you 3 days ago, is incorrect as the inspection sheet does not cover the electrical condition of the battery, only the vehicle's charging system. If the battery was getting charged by the alternator then it would have passed their test.
https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/vehicle-inspections/advanced-report.pdf

It appears that the only one to have ripped you off is the person or business that charged you £300 for a battery.

Jumblebumble

jmajithia108 wrote: »

No actually he would have found similar results to my mechanic. The battery had been on its last legs for a while and some simple readings could have told you that. Testing the crank power is not complicated. This is to do with the fact that the RAC claim to do a full mechanical inspection but actually don’t even attempt to test the battery. It’s the miss selling of information.

You are aware I suppose that a battery put on a car with a cold engine on a cold day may behave very differently to one on a hot engine on a warmer day?
Did your mechanic test under exactly the same conditions ?
Do you know that on some batteries the failure is caused by shorting out of the plates by rubbish that falls off the battery and that the the final failure may occur instantaneously?
Look on the bright side. You should not be troubled by a bad battery for the next few years which is a positive outcome

Car_54

As a postscript, Vauxhall are now advertising their winter check https://www.vauxhall.co.uk/owners/offers/check-up.html


This is a "29-point visual check" by their "highly trained experts" , which includes battery health. Perhaps their experts are highly-trained in clairvoyance?