Absolutely useless
Absolutely useless, worse.... I lost the car I was going to buy due to 1. Their telephone consultant informing me that I'd receive a report relating to the structural integrity of the vehicle. They checked the conversation, admitted it, but refused to send the guy back unless I paid more money. 2. The mechanic reported that the bonnet hadn't been removed when I discovered later that in fact it had. 3. The seller said the guy was there about 15 minutes during which he took lots of pictures including one of the nearside showing the wheels without hubcaps - the seller later informed me that these had been taken off for cleaning; he asked the AA guy if he should put them back, the AA guy said no and more and more. DON'T WASTE TIME AND MONEY LIKE I HAVE, DON'T USE THE AA.
Robert
Don't waste Germany
Had a inspection booked for one o'clock so I could be there the AA tuned up at 10 o'clock in the morning we stated things on the telephone to me that I've no found out would not true regarding my Audi A4 and the gearbox removal I am now going to have the card take into Audi and pay that myself do not repeat do not reached your money on eaa unreliable and clueless and the fact he said he's been doing this for 20 years it's greatly stubborn when people tell you that as if to say I knew everything is 20 years absolutely discussed
david Smith
Don't waste your time
Booked a van inspection at an eye watering £299. AA say it normally takes 2-4 days from day of booking, dealer called me after 2 days to ask what was happening as AA had not contacted him, I called AA, spent 25 min on call waiting to be told they were really busy and inspection would take 8 days from time of booking. Not good enough. Cancelled booking at cost of £20 and I have to wait 21days to get refund. Got a next day inspection on Clickmechanic for half the price. Don't waste your time with AA.
Gregg Hingley
Not fit for purpose
I wish I had read the reviews on here before booking the service, as it isn't fit for purpose.Everyone I worked with was polite and cordial, it's just that the service didn't prevent me from experiencing high repair bills shortly after purchase.The service is delivered by a 3rd party, with very little accountability on the part of the AA.The AA complaints process for this service was a shambles.
Martin Saberton
If I could give no stars I would
If I could give no stars I would! Absolutely appalling and not worth the nearly £220. It cost me as I knew nothing more about the car after the inspection. I had a phone call from the engine to run me through his report. Firstly, he told me he wasn’t able to look at the bodywork condition because it was raining. He then proceeded to bamboozle me with techno speak. I kept explaining that I had absolutely no idea what that was or what it did in the engine and he provided no clarity whatsoever. I asked him for a simple assessment of whether he felt the car was fair for its age and he said he was not allowed to say I then asked whether he felt that the car was at least safe to drive and again he said he was not able to share that information with me. What was the point of the inspection? In fact the engineer advised me to take the report when it arrived some two days later to a garage and pay for them to decipher it. Absolutely ridiculous waste of money.
Liz Small
Absolute shambles of an inspection that cost be £5k in repairs.
In June 2024 i booked an AA vehicle inspection for a second hand car, i would then go on to purchase. What isn't made clear at the time of booking is that just because you book an "AA inspection" doesn't mean an actual AA employee in an branded yellow van with AA approved training will actually conduct the inspection, which is kind of the whole point of going for a large, well known company. Instead AA outsource their inspections to local mechanics. So save money and just go through an independent click mechanic inspection.The inspection itself was a disaster; the mechanic turned up late, then rushed through the inspection missing out key elements, like running the vehicle at high speed or even spotting things like the 12v socket not working or indeed the air-con not working (despite ticking both off as working in the report), which immediately brought into question anything else they'd ticked off in a hurry without actually testing. By far the biggest disappointment was that despite picking up multiple valid error codes relating to the automatic gear box in the report (seen in photos) this was not mentioned at all in the written report or verbally. And as it's not my job to understand all the error codes (thats why i paid the AA to do it!), i assumed it wasn't something to worry about. Shortly after buying the car the gearbox failed. The seller was clearly running a con, as they'd packed up and gone, leaving me to foot a £5,000 bill for a complete gearbox rebuild on a car i'd just bought.All of this could have been prevented if the inspector had been qualified enough to understand and advise on the seriousness of the error codes. I contacted the AA on multiple occasions, and was mostly ignored, and the only email i did get back i was told that the inspector carried out a full report and did their job. So they completely shook off any responsibility. In summary, you'd go for a large company like the AA thinking you're getting a big nation wide brand to give you confidence in buying a vehicle. In reality i got a palmed off to a local incompetent mechanic who rushed through an inspection in order to get home early on a Friday evening, who missed a massive error code in the diagnostics that should have been a huge red flag, which ended up costing me almost half the value of the car to replace and them absolved themselves of any responsibility.Avoid the AA Vehicle Inspection at all costs and just go for a smaller local brand or use Click Mechanic.
Phil
Still waiting for report 2 weeks after…
Still waiting for report 2 weeks after inspection took place not good enough is it
David Wallace
An absolute waste of money
Had the vehicle inspected before buying. The examiner said its OK except for a start stop warning that is probably a sensor. The garage I bought the vehicle from has had it for the repair of various issues longer than I have. I've broke down today. The clutch hit the floor and wouldn't come back up. I'm just glad my breakdown cover wasn't with the AA. An absolute waste of well over £600 (two inspections on two different vehicles).Here are some things that were wrong with the vehicle.Dangerously corroded rear springs.Blocked Dpf not recycling. Failing slave cylinderStart/stop switch issue (suspected weak battery) Loose passenger side wing mirror cover (it fell off in transit) Malfunctioning number plate light. Note this isn't a bulb issue. I'm still waiting for the written report by the way. I only got a brief verbal one.
Tim Ridge
Bought a car from V12 sports and…
Bought a car from V12 sports and classics in Worksop, it had an inspection done by the AA, this is supposed to be plus on the selling point, 3 days after buying the car the windscreen was leaking, we had water ingress into the engine compartment causing electrical faults, this is due to the engine under tray missing, the under body was ticked as a pass, the AA reported isn't worth the paper it's written on.
steve jeanes
Awful
Awful. Car inspected as part of motorway sales process. Very unprofessional attitude. Thrashed our car on test drive including into potholes to 'test the suspension'. Them announced it banged and pulled, so the sale was lost. Local garage inspected it properly and confirmed nothing wrong. Legal
Jonners
Travelled for 8 hours to a vehicle that…
Travelled for 8 hours to a vehicle that wouldn’t drive in ev only and the technician didn’t even drive the vehicle and after when the technician called re the inspection he stated all working fine Stay well clear the inspection was 270 complete waste of money as I was unable to purchase
Lee Porter
Paid £132 for vechical inspection for…
Paid £132 for vechical inspection for Car i really wanted even told Seller AA took their time to book it for Tuesday 4/11/25 by that the time the seller sold the car i really wanted and then called AA to get refund back they said up to 21 Days Do not use their services hugely dissapointing and very slow bussiness. would give them -50 for everything
Nikita
Still not even booked in 6 days later
Booked first thing Wednesday, it says should be booked between 2-4 days but nearly end of the day monday and hasn't even been booked in yet, rang and said I needed the car by Wednesday morning for work and I had thought a week would have been sufficient and they said it hadn't been booked in yet and refunded me, absolute waste of time. If you need a car for work you dont have that sort of time to wait for them, and also dont say 2 to 4 days if its not even going to be booked in by then. If im honest the rest of the reviews make me feel ive probably just saved myself £275 anyway as they are terrible.Update, its been 2 weeks since they cancelled and I havent had an email or my money back, awful for whats meant to be a large company, will never use for anything again
Sioni walmsley
I paid for the most expensive AA…
I paid for the most expensive AA comprehensive inspection valued at around £200. Given that the car was only 3 years old i should have been ok with the basic inspection at £120 but I don’t consider myself particularly car savvy so want to get it done properly. The inspection was carried out and basically came out with no faults detected. The next weekend I went to pay for the car and pick it up. Immediately upon putting my keys into the ignition there was a warning light. When we checked there was a problem with the driving lights and the windscreen wipers weren’t working. The garage said that it had a problem with the wiring loom. I immediately rejected the car and got a full refund. The AA on the other hand gave me a 25% refund and have failed to engage any further when I asked them for a full return. Had I left the forecourt or the car showroom it would have been extremely difficult to prove that the fault had not been caused by me. The AA take approximately 2 months to respond to your emails (this is apparently inline with the customer service guidelines ) so it is almost impossible to engage with them in any meaningful way. I would not use the AA again for a vehicle inspection
Nicholas
Waste of money!
Waste of money!A potential buyer arranged for an AA inspection. All seemed to go well, he was here for an hour and did a test drive. Potential buyer pulled out because AA report said aircon wasn't working (it is, it was re-gassed a few months ago, works perfectly) and there were 'leaks'. The car has full service history and i've always had recommended work done, never any mention of 'leaks'! I suspect this is a tactic to cover themselves from complaints! Waste of money for my potential buyer. I will not use them in the future and I will not recommend!
Neil
Definitely not recommended at all
We paid £250 for a 'comprehensive' report but ended up feeling comprehensively ripped off by the AA. We were buying from distance so wanted a road test, however this was not carried out and the AA refused a partial refund. The report had clearly been put together in a rush and contained an image of a different car(??). The report does not include checks for whether the car had been in an accident, etc, which we had reasonably assumed that a 'comprehensive' check would incorporate. I was twice told that a manager would call me back to discuss my concerns but this did not happen. Overall I would definitely not recommend this AA service at all and am surprised that a national organisation like the AA is delivering such a seemingly shoddy service.
customer
Would have given 0 stars if allowed
Would have given 0 stars if allowed. My partner paid around 250 for van inspection, said they would book within 2-4 days. First they didn't even attempt contact the seller, the seller told us this after several days. My partner had tobohone back to prompt them. They booked direct with seller, the day of inspection came and received an email saying could not inspect due to vehicle not being parked on level surface and they want £76 to rearrange. Spoke to seller, he said they did not even knock on at his house so he didn't know they were there. Avoid at all costs!!!
Amy Woods
AA Vehicle Inspection Service - zero care and appalling non existent customer service.
I booked a £289 comprehensive inspection. Four hours later I am still waiting for a receipt or an acknowledgment for either the payment or my booking. I tried AA live chat - it’s hopeless for anything “inspection”related. I tried Facebook - no joy just some random comment saying I’ll get a confirmation eventually despite not being asked who I was. Tried phoning but gave up after 15 minutes on hold. When I first called the auto message says be kind and don’t be horrid to the call centre. I wonder, if AA sorted out this fiasco and shambles of a customer service offering then people like me wouldn’t feel so cross and thoroughly hacked off. This is before the inspection has even taken place. Can you guess how low my expectations are?
Philip Richardson
Lied about speaking to seller.
Extremely disorganised, and were dishonest. I was quite surprised at the shocking service as AA has a reputation and I thought they would be quick and reliable. However they did give me a full refund. Service was atrocious and I had to go elsewhere in the end, but at least I got my money back.
Ay
Diabolical service from the AA and we…
Diabolical service from the AA and we haven’t even had the inspection yet.Booked with the AA for my father to purchase a vehicle as we have always assumed The AA were the best. It has been non stop problems from the start. Having to chase up the booking as it wasn’t booked in, the aa claiming the sellers phone was ringing out (apparently not true) now on day of inspection which was booked 8-12, no sign of the inspector, have been on the phone to Aa they have said the booking was from 12-3pm … untrue. I’m sure the inspector when he arrives will be unaware of the sh1tshow behind the scenes so of course it’s not their fault in the slightest. I feel my father should be given a full refund after this. I have put in an official complaint and would suggest if you are looking to book an inspection report that you consider other companies.
Lilly
