Before you buy
Measure it,
do not guess
Many used car inspections cover the battery with one line, and that line is the dashboard reading.
At a glance
- The dashboard reading is the charge level and the range the car estimates
- That is not a measurement. It is what the car is guessing from recent driving
- A real test measures energy delivered between a full charge and a low state of charge
- Starting at $225, with the exact price before anything is booked
What a Dashboard Reading Misses
The range on the dash is a guess. The car works it out from recent driving, the weather and how hard it was pushed. A gentle week of driving can make a tired pack look healthy. It does not tell you how much of the original capacity is left.
So when an inspection report covers the battery, check what it measured. If the answer is the charge level and the estimated range, the battery was looked at, not tested.
What a test should tell you
- State of health as a percentage, and which quantity was measured
- How the modules compare to each other, because an average hides a weak one
- Fast charge history where the car exposes it
- Stored and pending fault codes, with the readiness monitors complete rather than freshly cleared
- Every open recall campaign on that VIN, including any that superseded an earlier one
The Kind of Tech We Send
Meet Matthew Bolen of Wrench Services in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
Matt has worked on engines since he was seven or eight. He learned from his dad, and from a brother who is a heavy diesel tech. He passed his Advanced Level Certification in Nevada in 2007 and became a G2 emission testing tech.
He carries scan tools, an oscilloscope, a hybrid battery tester and meters. He is also the first to say the tools are not the point. Reading the numbers right is.
Don't sell someone a $3,500 battery unless it needs it.
That is the rule a battery test is for. A pack with one weak module often needs that module, not a whole new pack. Matt will tell you which one you are looking at.
His Record
- EV and Hybrid credential on MechanicRank, scored 100 percent
- Advanced Level Certification, Nevada, 2007
- G2 emission testing tech
- Covers Rio Rancho and the surrounding area
And in Michigan, Ron at Manko
In Westland, the tech is Rani Taki, who goes by Ron. He owns Manko Mobile Automotive.
Ron has ten years in the trade. He spent two years at Ford as a diagnostic and drivability technician and a year on the road as a race mechanic. For the last six he has run his own mobile repair business across Wayne County.
Pre purchase inspections are one of his specialties. Electronic diagnostics are the other. A battery test needs both, a scan tool read the right way and a straight answer on what the car is worth.
His Record
- Ford diagnostic and drivability tech, two years
- Ten years in the trade, six of them mobile
- Pre purchase inspections and electronic diagnostics
- Covers Westland, Dearborn, Livonia, Canton and the rest of Wayne County
Who comes out depends on where the car is parked. Matt and Ron are the standard we hold every tech to.
What it would cost
Starting at $225.
The exact price depends on the vehicle and where it is parked. Send the listing and you get it before anyone is booked.
