Mechanic-made · Printable · Free to start
Used car checklists from a working mechanic
Mechanic-made checklists and spreadsheets for car buyers, car owners and small shops. Start with the free one-page Quick Check: the first things I look at before I'd tell anyone to buy a car.
Get the free Quick Check Also on Ko-fi See the $7 Inspection Kit
Made by an ASE-certified mechanic and licensed Pennsylvania state safety and emissions inspector.
01 Two ways to check a used car
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Free · pay what you want
Free Used Car Quick Check
One printable page for the driveway: paperwork, walk-around, test drive and a list of red flags that mean walk away. $0 is fine; $3 is suggested if it helps you.
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$7 · Printable + spreadsheetUsed Car Inspection Checklist & Offer Calculator
A 10-page printable with 87 checks, each explained, plus an Excel / Google Sheets file to compare up to 5 cars, score them, price the repairs and work out an opening offer and a walk-away price.
02 Who it's for
Car buyers
First-time buyers, parents helping a teen buy a first car, anyone buying from a private seller, and anyone comparing a few cars before deciding. Useful in every state, with extra notes for Pennsylvania inspections.
Car owners
Plain, practical guides on what to look for and what it means. Coming soon: a vehicle maintenance tracker.
Small shops
Coming soon: a mobile mechanic and small shop kit, with a labor and parts markup calculator, built the way a working shop runs.
03 Made by a working mechanic
Lug Nut Ledger is made by an ASE-certified mechanic who is also a licensed Pennsylvania state safety and emissions inspector. I inspect cars for a living. These are the checks I'd want a friend to take with them when they go look at a used car.
Most checklists stop at "check the tires." Mine tell you what you're looking for and why it matters: how to tell surface rust from structural rot, what a recently cleared check engine light looks like on a scan tool, what exhaust smoke color tells you, and which problems mean walk away and which just mean negotiate.
- ASE-certified mechanic
- Licensed PA safety and emissions inspector
- No fluff: plain checks you can do in a driveway
- Honest limits: a guide, not a pre-purchase inspection
- Not affiliated with ASE, PennDOT or any vehicle manufacturer.
04 Free guides
What to Check When Buying a Used Car (A Mechanic's List)
The order I'd check a used car in, from the phone call to the test drive, and which problems mean walk away versus negotiate.
How to Spot Rust and Frame Damage on a Used Car
Surface rust vs. structural rot, where to look on a salt-belt car, and the clues that a car has had collision or frame repair.
Test Drive Checklist: What to Listen and Feel For
How to plan the route, what the transmission, brakes, steering and suspension should feel like, and what to recheck when you park.
What a Pennsylvania State Inspection Sticker Does (and Doesn't) Tell You
A licensed PA inspector on what a fresh sticker actually means when you're buying a used car, and the big things it never checks.
How Much to Offer on a Used Car With Problems
A simple method for turning what you found on the inspection into an opening offer and a walk-away price, and knowing when no price is low enough.
Going to look at a car this weekend?
Print the free Quick Check and take it with you.
Get the free Quick Check Also on Ko-fi
Coming soon A mobile mechanic and small shop kit with a labor and parts markup calculator, and a vehicle maintenance tracker for car owners.