This would be a substitute for bringing a used car to a repair shop for a pre-sale inspection and would allow you to consider cars beyond your local area.
Thanks in advance for any feedback!
One is a service where the seller delivers all their cars to a local vehicle inspection service that goes through a checklist and any later faults in a part that was tested is under extended warranty. I'm not much of a fan since who the customer of the vehicle inspection site is can be argued both ways.
The other service is where the car gets delivered by the seller to a vehicle inspection site that is owned by a motoring association that the buyer is a member of (like ADAC in Germany for example). This service I have a high amount of trust in since they are "on my side", paid by me and will sometimes take dealers that misbehave to court (sort of like the EFF).
A service somewhere in the middle of these two I'm not sure I would trust. If I hire a local mechanic to look at a car for me how do I know he doesn't have a deal with the local seller? If he doesn't spot a fault will he pay to fix it when it breaks? if not, what am I buying?
In short: No, I would not use such a service unless it is backed by a trustworthy motoring association that is squarely on my side and who will go to court for or with me if needed.
My experience with this kind of thing has been that it's hit and miss. It all depends on the person doing the inspection. Are you trying to do this as a startup? If I was convinced that the person really knew what they were doing, took lots of great pictures, scanned codes (including manufacturer specific codes), checked every panel with a paint meter etc. then I'd use it.
It might be useful if I'm buying a car remotely and I need someone on the ground to look at it, though.