Free Used Car Inspection Checklist (Printable PDF)
Print it, bring it, tick each box as you look at the car. Write down what you find.
2 pages. Free. No sign-up.
What's on it
- 1Before You Go
- 2Top 5 Questions for the Seller
- 3Documentation Check
- 4Exterior Inspection
- 5Under the Hood
- 6Interior Inspection
- 7Underneath the Vehicle
- 8Diagnostic Scan
- 9Test Drive
- 10After the Inspection
How ours compares to ChrisFix's checklist
ChrisFix publishes a free used car inspection checklist too, and it goes with his video on inspecting a used car. Both are free. Here is how they differ, so you can pick one or print both.
| Topic | ChrisFix's checklist | Our checklist |
|---|---|---|
| Length | ChrisFix's checklist: 4 pages to fill in | Our checklist: 2 pages to tick off |
| Paperwork and history | ChrisFix's checklist: Links to free VIN recall and theft checks, the car's value, and 7 questions to ask the owner | Our checklist: Title brands, VIN match on the title, dash and door jamb, service records, history report, open recalls, keys, a price check against Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds, a free NICB theft check, and 5 questions for the seller (the full list is a separate printable in our toolkit) |
| Body and paint | ChrisFix's checklist: Scratches, dents, panel gaps, paint seams, magnet and tap test for body filler | Our checklist: Paint mismatch, feeling for filler, magnet and knock test, panel gaps, glass, every light, rust spots |
| Tires | ChrisFix's checklist: Tread, matching tires, wheel damage, spare, alignment | Our checklist: Tread on all four, mismatched brands or sizes, wear patterns and what they mean |
| Under the hood | ChrisFix's checklist: Fluids, oil cap, hoses, belts, battery, motor mounts, cold and warm start, head gasket signs | Our checklist: Hood struts, fluids, under the oil cap, then lifting it with the engine idling to look for puffs of smoke, belt, hoses, battery and its date, leaks, a freshly cleaned engine bay |
| Interior | ChrisFix's checklist: Every option, under the carpets, the trunk, jack and lug key, pedal and shifter wear | Our checklist: Wear against the mileage, headliner, water under the carpets and trunk floor, warning lights, gauges, climate, electronics, smells, spare, jack and lug key |
| Underneath | ChrisFix's checklist: Leaks, rust, suspension parts, frame damage | Our checklist: Frame and subframe, exhaust, suspension, bounce test, brakes |
| Diagnostic scan | ChrisFix's checklist: Scan before and after the drive, a sign the codes were cleared recently | Our checklist: Scan before and after the drive, which codes to ask for and watch, readiness monitors, what a basic reader cannot see |
| Test drive | ChrisFix's checklist: Regular and hard acceleration, turning and sway, regular and hard braking, downshift at cruising speed, cruise control, city and highway | Our checklist: Cold start, idle that settles, engine mounts, city, highway, hard acceleration, downshifts when slowing and passing, body lean in curves, cruise control, one firm stop, steering lock to lock, coolant bubbles, warm restart, parking |
| After you look | ChrisFix's checklist: Not covered on the checklist | Our checklist: Adding up the issues, repair estimates, negotiating, when to walk away |
Both cover the scan, the test drive and the interior in detail. Ours adds what to do after you look. Get ChrisFix's free checklist or watch his video.
ChrisFix is not affiliated with Car Pro Inspections. Compared with his checklist as published on November 9, 2026.
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