I recently purchased a 1984 Jetta Turbo Diesel GL, which has a perfect body and clean interior. I bought it under the stipulation that the previous owner got it inspected (in this province, NB, Canada, it's mandatory for vehicles to have a safety inspection done) before I took ownership of it. He accepted and we both parted happily. I checked the tires, which looked good when I bought it. I didn't do a full inspection of the inside of the front tires, because that's one of the things that they check when inspecting it. Anyway, I bought it, found out that the passenger side tire was worn clear to the belts on the inside. I shrugged it off as an oversight on the part of the mechanic that inspected it and bought new tires for it. They started to wear after a week. I then figured it needed lined up. They mechanic that was doing the alignment noticed that the strut tower on the driver's side was loose (another failing point on the inspection), passenger side ball joint had play in it and the boot had been ripped (another failing point), it was leaking diesel (it only seems to be leaking when the tank's full, which I figured it was due to a bit of spillage when I filled it up, because the leak stops after a very short time), and there's play in the steering rack and is leaking power steering fluid.
So, after only having the car for 3 weeks (it was inspected the day I bought it), I realize that you definitely can't judge a book by its cover. I called the guy up and he offered me my money back, which was nice of him. So, I'm returning it for the purchased price but it leaves me without a vehicle.
Now I'm left with a couple of options, one of which is to report the garage that did the inspection, which would probably result in the guy losing his license (if in fact they discover that he's selling inspection stickers without doing a proper inspection). As bad as it sounds, I'm not sure if my conscience would let me do it.
Anyway, sorry for clogging up the newsgroup, I just wanted to vent. Thanks.
Mark Currie