Both are horrible in my opinion, they charge too much, make a big deal out of silly little things while not paying enough attention to the big important stuff. They are also not specialists, so don't necessarily know the little quirks that should be checked of a particular model.
My advice is to take the vehicle to a local specialist in the brand for a fair assessment. It will likely be cheaper too.
franc123,
Feb 28, 6:20pm
Neither, you get the top guy at the nearest franchise workshop for that make to spend an hour looking over it, and use the other two if this isn't possible. This is especially so the newer the vehicle is.
sieradendesigns,
Feb 28, 6:21pm
well that fills me with confidence!
kazbanz,
Feb 28, 8:33pm
if I only had those two choices it would be the AA. They do at least have some test equipment. BUT--I'd rather you go to YOUR mechanic.
tgray,
Mar 2, 4:55am
An AA inspection included a warning on the report the car has a 'stiff rear view mirror'. Luckily, my customer thought it was as ridiculous as I did. Unbelievable. By the way, I agree with all of the above.
mharwood,
Mar 2, 10:58am
if i was your mechanic i let you buy the one the would give me a lot of work you cant beat an independent inspector
but that's just my opinion after 50 years in the cars busness
gmphil,
Mar 2, 11:06am
like above! must be other places . ive never used either because when I was young I sein a shit load of report done on cars and watched was total appalled at wot they done there ability not to get dirty lol and there warning report of stupid stuff . even asked a guy wot about motor in running gear his retort put me off ive checked the oil . seems like it no more than a fifty point check yup wiper ok tread on tyres in stupid shit u can see urself
tamarillo,
Mar 2, 3:30pm
It's down to the staff member, which is why often your trusted workshop is better as you know they're good. SOME AA. And VTNZ. Are old farts passing the time and finding stupid things and missing important stuff, as others have said. But if you're looking at a car out of town, and need to get seller to take it to get tested, well I'd use AA, but be prepared to decipher what's important.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.