Fig. 01 — Free Quick Check

Is that used car worth the asking price? Find out free.

We help Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist buyers skip the $2,000 repair traps and name a lower price — before you pay $200+ for a shop inspection. Type in the car for a free verdict, a mechanical risk score and how far the price is from fair. Serious about it? A person reads the listing and gives you the number to offer. $29.

Check a car free ↓ A minute to fill in · no card · no app

Step 1 of 2 · Which car?

Year

Make

Model (trim & engine if you know them)

Free · no card · one more step (miles, price, email)

No cardResult in minutesFull Report back in 2–4 hrsCar sells first? Full refund

✓ Three free checks, no card ✓ Built on the 47-vehicle Tank List ✓ Result link by email

No car picked out yet? See a real Quick Check result → Browse the 47-car Tank List →

Serious about one? A person reads it: Full Report $29 · 3-car comparison $59 · See the steps ↓

Back in 2–4 hours

Full Reports are read by a person and delivered the same day. Late? Full refund, and you keep the report.

Car sells first? You don't pay

If the car is gone before your report lands, you're refunded in full. Same day.

No card for the free check

Three free Quick Checks per email. Paid options are one-time Stripe payments, no subscription.

What it isn't

A physical inspection. It tells you what to have a shop check. Always get one before you buy.

Fig. 02 — What comes back

See a real one before you pay a dollar.

This is a report we delivered on a $5,000 Marketplace BMW. Nothing softened. Every report answers the same three questions.

Mechanic's viewThe failure points for that exact year and engine, ranked, with what they cost to fix.
Financial viewA risk score, the true cost against the asking price, and a target offer.
The scriptThe exact words to say to the seller, anchored to the repairs.

Read the whole BMW report → See a free Quick Check →

Sample · delivered July 2026 · Central Florida listing

2005 BMW X5 3.0i · 6-speed manual · 201,000 mi

Risk score6 / 10⚠ Buy with conditions

Cooling system — "the time bomb." Plastic radiator tanks, expansion tank and water pump fail at 80–150k. At 201k this truck should be on its second set. The listing says "coolant flush." That isn't the repair.
Rear subframe cracking. Safety-relevant on high-mile E53s. Must be seen on a lift before any money changes hands. $1,500–$2,250 if caught; up to $5,000 if the floor pan is involved.
Open recall 05V367000. Front-left brake hose. Run the VIN at nhtsa.gov before buying.

Seller details removed. Full report, all three sections →

Fig. 03 — What's free, what's $29

Free tells you if. $29 tells you what to do.

Start free. If the free check says the car can work, the Full Report is the step before you spend $200+ on a shop inspection: a person reads the listing and hands back the offer number, the walk-away number and the words.

What you getper car	Quick CheckFree · 3 cars per email · about 3 min	Full Report$29 · read by a person · 2–4 hrs	3-car comparison$59 · $19.67 a car
Verdict: buy, negotiate or walk away	✓	✓ confirmed by a person	✓ all three, plus which one to buy
Mechanical risk score	✓ 1–10	✓	✓
Is the asking price high?	✓ yes or no, and roughly by how much	Your target offer and walk-away number	For each car
Known failure points at this mileage	✓ the #1 one	All of them, ranked, with dollar repair ranges	✓
Recalls	✓ how many, and which	✓ plus whether the listing says they're done	✓
VIN check against the ad	✓	✓	✓
Word-for-word negotiation script	—	✓	✓
Title and history red flags in the listing	—	✓	✓
What to have the shop check, and 3 shops near the car	—	✓	✓
A read of the listing's wording and photos	—	✓	✓
Help answering the seller	—	✓ 7 days: send what they say, we write your next message	✓ on the one you pick
	Check a car free	Get the Full Report · $29	Compare 3 cars · $59

Checked a lot of cars already? The DIY Playbook teaches the method once — $14 on its own, or add it to a Full Report order for $9.·Three free Quick Checks per email; after that they're $4.99, or 3 for $12.

One-time payments through Stripe, no subscription. You pay first and paste the listing link right after. Reports are desk research on the listing, recall and market data, not a physical inspection — always get one before you buy. Car sells before your report lands? Full refund. All pricing and the refund policy →

Fig. 04 — Marketplace showdown

Same money, six SUVs. Which one would you buy?

Six real listings, all within $1,000 of each other, run through the same check. The badge is the model's track record, not a verdict on the exact car.

VehiclePriceMilesStateBiggest flagRead

2016 Toyota RAV4LE · FWD$17,53871,947CALow risk, but priced above book value — negotiate, don't walkTank

2018 Honda CR-VEX · AWD$17,89885,866NJ1.5T head-gasket history; confirm Honda's extended warranty by VINProceed with care

2020 Subaru ForesterBase · AWD$17,34284,705FLCVT coverage ends in about 15,000 milesProceed with care

2020 Hyundai Santa FeLimited · AWD$17,90784,646ILNo powertrain warranty left for a second ownerProceed with care

2020 Kia SportageLX · AWD$16,28478,478NCEngine-bay fire recall to confirm; priced above bookProceed with care

2023 Nissan RogueSV · FWD$18,17183,978AZTwo engine recalls; $2,394 in dealer fees outside the priceTrap

Real listings as of October 5, 2026, chosen by BuyerAware. Prices include dealer-listed fees, before tax. AI-assisted research reviewed by a person. Track records describe the model, not this exact car — get any used car inspected at an independent shop before you buy.

Run the one you're looking at — free → Why the RAV4 is a Tank: the 47-car list →

Fig. 05 — Why this exists

I built this because I got it wrong first.

"A mechanic looking at that car for an hour would have told me most of it." Blake Dillon, founder
Ormond Beach, Florida

I'm not a mechanic. I'm someone who buys used cars off Facebook Marketplace, and I learned this the expensive way. In 2021 I paid $4,000 for a 1999 Lexus LS400 showing only 50,000 miles. That number should have stopped me. I now think the odometer had been rolled back.

I didn't research the seller. I didn't get a pre-purchase inspection. Over the next 30,000 miles I put in suspension bushings, spark plugs, and about $1,500 on a cooling system whose hoses were cracked and leaking from every joint. Then it threw a rod. I sold it with a blown engine for $500.

So on the next one I did it properly: research the platform first, check the year-specific failure points, read what the listing wasn't saying, and inspect before paying. That was a 2011 Prius from an elderly couple, warranty and all. I drove it almost four years.

The truck that replaced it, a 2010 Tundra, went through the same process and has been exactly what it was supposed to be. BuyerAware is that process, written down and done for you, for about the cost of a tank of gas. If the car you're looking at is a trap, I'll tell you plainly and point you at one that isn't.

The 6 rules I buy by now →

Fig. 06 — Before you ask

Questions, and the guarantee.

Prices and the full refund policy →

What's in the free Quick Check?

A verdict (buy, negotiate or walk away), a mechanical risk score, your repair exposure as a level, whether the asking price is high and roughly by how much, the #1 known failure point for that year and engine, recalls for the model, and a VIN decode that checks the VIN against the ad if you have it. It's automated and comes back in a few minutes. The next day we email you the questions to ask that seller.

What's the difference between a Quick Check and the $29 Full Report?

The Quick Check is automated and tells you whether there's a problem and how big. The Full Report is read by a person and tells you what to do about it: a target offer and walk-away price, a word-for-word negotiation script, dollar repair ranges, the full ranked failure list, a review of title status and history red flags in the listing, inspection shops near the car, and a read of the listing's wording and photos. Back in 2–4 hours.

What is the DIY Playbook?

A 34-page PDF that teaches you to run the same audit yourself with ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini: three master prompts, the five pillars of a real audit, a build-your-own Tank List method and a printable pre-purchase inspection cheat sheet. $14 on its own (instant download, 14-day refund), or add it to a Full Report order at checkout for $9.

Is this a physical inspection?

No, and we say so every time. It's desk research on the platform, recalls and market data. It tells you what to have a shop check. Always get an in-person pre-purchase inspection before you buy.

Why do you need my email?

To send you the result link, to keep it to three free checks per person, and to follow up with a few emails about your car search and the Full Report. We never sell your address, and every email has an unsubscribe link.

What if the car sells before my Full Report is done?

You're refunded in full. Reply to your order confirmation or email us and we'll process it the same day.

Who reads the Full Report?

Blake, with a structured research process behind him. The judgment calls, the recommendation and the negotiation language are written by a person for your specific listing.

Still shopping? 47 long-life vehicles, with the one trap to check on each.

See the Tank List →