A professional pre-shipment inspection typically costs a small fraction of the vehicle price and routinely pays for itself. A thorough inspection covers: paint thickness measurement across 30+ points to map body repairs; structural assessment of pillars, rails and crossmembers for accident damage; engine and transmission operation; a full electronic scan for fault codes; suspension and underbody checks for leaks and rust; and, for EVs, battery SOH and thermal management performance. You receive a written report with photos before the car is loaded — if the car fails, you can stop the shipment or renegotiate. Skipping the inspection to save a small fee is the classic false economy in used car importing: discovering a problem after arrival is far more expensive than preventing it at origin.

Currently, in most developing countries, there is a severe lack of deep repair capabilities for the three electric systems. We recommend that B2B car dealers must have basic electrical insulation testing capabilities.

Strict definition: All metal body parts (doors, hood, fenders) and the frame must retain the original factory paint, with uniform paint thickness readings. Minor touch-ups or replacements of plastic bumpers, as they do not affect metal corrosion protection and vehicle structure, can still be classified as "original paint" in a broad sense, but we will separately note the condition of the bumper.