Used Car Pre-Purchase Inspection Sheet
Carry out the same inspection on every car you view, so a decision made in somebody's driveway is based on what you saw rather than what you remember.
VB-01 2 pages
Vehicle buying and selling · VB-13
Van and Commercial Pre-Purchase Inspection
A free printable van inspection sheet — load area, doors, racking, bulkhead, plated weights, towing gear and the walk-round, with a faults and costs table.
Download Free · no sign-up
2 pages. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Inspect a working vehicle for the wear a working life leaves, in the places a car checklist never looks, and leave with the plated weights written down.
Who it is for
Sole traders and small businesses buying a used van, pickup or light commercial, and anyone buying an ex-fleet or ex-hire vehicle.
How to use it
- Fill in the top block from the advert, and take a torch and something to probe the floor edges with.
- Find the plate first and copy every weight into the box before you forget.
- Lift the lining where you can; the floor and the door runners tell you how it was used.
- Drive it, loaded if the seller will allow, and listen to the clutch and the rear suspension.
- List every fault with a rough cost, and add the total to the asking price.
What is on the sheet
2 pages, in this order:
Page 1
Printed under the title: A working vehicle looked at as one — load area, doors, racking, bulkhead, tow gear and plated weights alongside the mechanical walk-round — with a faults-and-costs table at the end.
Read the plate, not this sheet. A van has usually earned its living, and the wear is in different places from a car: the floor, the door runners, the clutch and the rear suspension. No load limits, tyre ratings or mileage expectations are printed here — read the plated figures off the vehicle and check them against what you need to carry, and check the rules where you are for anything to do with weights and licences.
Write-on lines: Make, model and body · Year · Odometer · Asking price · VIN / chassis · Registration / plate · Plated weights (from plate) · Previous use
Load area and body
- Floor lifted or probed at the edges for rot, rust or a soft patch under lining
- Ply lining, racking and shelving checked for how it is fixed, and what is behind it
- Tie-down points, load rails and any tail-lift or crane tried
- Rear and side doors run on their tracks, latched and locked, seals checked
- Roof, roof rack and any roof-mounted gear checked for leaks and fixings
- Bulkhead present, secure and undamaged; signwriting removal marks noted
- Body: dents, rubbed corners, previous accident repair and door alignment
Weights, towing and equipment
- Plate found and every weight written down in the box above
- Tow bar, electrics and any trailer socket tried; wear on the ball noted
- Tachograph, telematics box, speed limiter or camera fitted: noted and status
- Beacons, reversing sensors, alarm and any extras demonstrated
- Overall height and length noted against where it will be parked or garaged
Page 2
Running gear and mechanicals
- Cold start, smoke and noises noted; engine bay looked at for leaks
- Clutch bite point, gear change and any drivetrain vibration on the drive
- Rear springs and dampers checked for sag, cracks and uneven ride height
- Tyres: wear pattern, sidewall marks and matching across each axle
- Brakes and steering tried loaded if possible, and the handbrake on a slope
- Underside: chassis, cross-members, exhaust and fuel tank for corrosion
Cab and paperwork
- Seats, seat belts, mirrors, heater and every switch tried
- Warning lights watched at ignition; any that stay on noted
- Service history, test certificate and plating certificate seen
- Keys, locking wheel nut, spare, jack and any fitted equipment listed
Faults found and what they might cost — your estimate, or a quote
Table, 9 rows: Fault · Where · Serious? · Who quoted / source · Your estimate
Questions
Why are no load limits or tyre ratings printed?
Because they belong to the vehicle's own plate and the tyre sidewall, not to a generic sheet, and what you may drive or tow on your licence is set by the rules where you are. Copy the plated figures down and check them against what you actually need to carry.
Does this replace the Used Car Pre-Purchase Inspection Sheet?
For a van, yes: it covers the mechanical walk-round as well as the body and load area. For a car-derived van or a pickup used as a car, either works.
Related sheets
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Fleet Vehicle Register
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