Who should inspect a used vehicle?
A pre-purchase inspection on a used vehicle is only as good as the experience level of the mechanic and his knowledge on each and every system. Today's cars are so technologically advanced that most professional automotive technicians specialize only in one or two automotive systems. To properly inspect a vehicle the Technician should be an ASE Certified Master Technician (see below). This means the Technician is certified on every mechanical and electrical component and system. However, most ASE Certified Technicians are only certified on a few systems.
Be aware, Master Technicians are not certified on body and frame systems. You should have the body and frame inspected by an ASE Technician certified on Structural and Non-Structural Analysis. To properly inspect today's used vehicles, you need a professional inspection on the frame systems as well as mechanical systems .
What is ASE?
ASE stands for National Institute for Automotive
Service Excellence.
You may have seen the ASE blue logo at a repair shop or seen an ASE blue patch on the Technician's uniform. ASE is a national testing organization which sets standards for automotive technicians. To become certified by ASE, a technician first must have experience on a particular system, then take and pass the ASE test for that system. All ASE certifications are valid for 4 years, then the Technician must re-take and pass the current test to be re-certified on that particular system.
Example; a technician has been working at a brake repair shop for a year and wants to become certified on brakes. Since he has qualified the experience criteria for brakes, he may take the ASE test. ASE offers testing only twice a year. Once the Technician passes the ASE test on brakes, he is then given a "ASE Certification on Brakes". The Technician can now wear the ASE blue patch and display the ASE logo at his place of work.
Technicians can be tested and certified on any of the 8 general automotive areas. If a Technician is certified in all of the 8 areas, he is then know as a ASE Master Certified Technician.
For the types of certifications a Technician can have, click here.
