What the photos don’t show
Sellers post the pretty angle. We say what’s in the shots — and what isn’t: odometer, engine bay, underside, frame.
Built for people who get talked past at the shop
Don’t get ripped off on a private car sale.
Walk into the driveway already knowing what this car is famous for breaking. Paste the Marketplace or Craigslist link. Get a one-time PDF you can hand a partner or a technician — known problems in dollars, whether the ask is fair, state tax in plain language as we add it, and a lift shop when we’ve confirmed one. Lead with the PDF in hand. Not a chatbot chat. Not Carfax. You still get it inspected.
- $29.99 USD once · Stops one bad $7k truck that needs $5k of work
- Marketplace, Craigslist, and Facebook private-party listings. We read the ad and the photos.
- A PDF you take to the driveway — not a tab of chat replies
Paste the listing — $29.99 See how it works
Read a sample Real 12-page PDF from a Seattle Forester listing — open it before you buy your own briefing.
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Paste the link
A Marketplace, Craigslist, or Autotrader link — phone or computer. We read the ad and the photos.
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We do the homework
What the photos don’t show. What this year and model is famous for breaking, and what that costs to fix. Whether the asking price is fair. What tax usually applies in your state — confirm locally. A nearby lift shop when we’ve confirmed one.
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You walk in prepared
Open the PDF on your phone, or print it. Last page is a checklist for the driveway. If the seller won’t go to a shop, don’t buy it.
The expensive jobs
Every year and model has expensive failures. We name them in plain English, how you’d notice, and typical independent-shop cost — so a $7,000 truck that needs $5,000 of work is obvious before cash changes hands.
Price, tax, and the usual tricks
A fair price range, in dollars. What private-sale tax usually does in your state (rules vary). Claims and details to verify — pretty photos, a warm engine at arrival, “as-is so you don’t need a shop,” no returns — and a straight answer for each.
Why this exists
Someone we love kept buying Marketplace cars that looked fine in the photos and turned into money pits. Pretty angles, warm engines, “as-is so you don’t need a shop.” This product is the PDF we wished they’d had in hand before the driveway.
What this is / isn’t
What this is
A pre-viewing briefing: known problems for this year and model, what the photos don’t show, fair price, state tax in plain language as we add it, a lift shop when we’ve confirmed one, and a driveway checklist.
What this isn’t
Not Carfax. Not a pre-purchase inspection. Not a chatbot. Not a subscription. Not a verdict to skip the shop.
Clean Carfax®* ≠ safe buy.
We cross-examine the ad: photos, known failures, price, tax, checklist. History reports don’t do that. $29.99 USD. Once.
CARFAX® is a registered trademark of Carfax, Inc. (a Mobility Global company). IsThisCarOK is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or connected to Carfax, Inc., Mobility Global, or their affiliates. Mentions of Carfax® are for comparison only. Vehicle history reports and pre-viewing briefings are different products; IsThisCarOK does not provide Carfax® reports or Carfax® data.
Then take it to a shop with a lift. Not a driveway glance.
This briefing is homework, not a mechanic. When we’ve checked a lift shop in that city, you get the name, address, and phone. If we haven’t, the PDF says so and still tells you how to book.
What to book
Independent lift inspection
We print a name, address, and phone only after we’ve checked the shop. Until then the PDF tells you how to book one. You pay the shop, not us.
Typical independent PPI is a few hundred dollars. Not included in this report.
We only print shops we’ve checked. Not an endorsement. Shops can opt out.
Paste the listing. Get the PDF. Take it to the driveway.
One listing. One $29.99 USD PDF. Built for people who get talked past at the shop — we write the PDF so you don’t have to DIY a research loop.
Paste the listing — $29.99