Comparison · prices seen
AA vs RAC vehicle inspection: which one, and do you need either yet?
TL;DR. Both send an engineer to the car and email you a defect list. RAC’s Comprehensive (from £225) is the more detailed report; the AA’s Basic (£110) is the cheaper entry point but only checks 98 points. Neither includes an outstanding-finance or write-off check, neither guarantees its findings, and both need a weekday booking and a few days’ wait. The cheaper question is whether this car deserves £225 of engineer in the first place — and there’s a £29.99 way to answer that first.
What you get, side by side
| AA Vehicle Inspection | RAC Vehicle Inspection | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | £110 Basic (98 points) | from £132 Basic |
| Mid tier | £219–£319 Comprehensive (214 points) | from £225 Comprehensive (307 points) |
| Top tier | £279–£339 Advanced (221 points, video, OBD, wheels-off brakes) | from £290 Advanced (OBD, brake fluid, 20-mile road test) |
| Road test | basic / 10 miles | 3 / 10 / 20 miles by tier |
| Photos | Comprehensive and above | +£18 on Comprehensive, included on Advanced |
| Turnaround | aims for 2–4 working days | “usually within 48 hours” on the landing page, “within 3 working days” in the FAQ |
| History check | not included — sold separately at £14.99 | not included — sold separately at £14.99 |
| Guarantee | none; liability capped at £5,000 or the fee | none; liability capped at the fee |
| Won’t inspect | no-MOT cars, write-offs, modified cars | Basic tier: cars over 10 years, over 120k miles, 4x4s, hybrids, convertibles, vans, imports |
| Verbal summary | not stated | Comprehensive and above |
| Member discount | 10% for AA breakdown members | RAC member discount, amount not published |
Prices seen 26 Aug 2026 on theaa.com and rac.co.uk. RAC prices are “from” figures that rise with the car’s age, value and model; the AA’s Comprehensive tier is a range and the AA says about one in ten customers pays the floor price.
The price is not the price
Both companies publish a headline number most buyers won’t pay. The AA’s Comprehensive runs £219–£319 depending on the car, and RAC’s “from £225” moved to £250–£311 in the buyer reports we could find on PistonHeads and MoneySavingExpert. Add the history check neither of them bundles (£14.99 from either) and a realistic all-in figure for a Comprehensive inspection on an ordinary family car is £240–£330.
That’s fine if the car is right. It’s a lot to spend finding out that it isn’t.
What each report actually says
The AA report is a red/amber/green tick-list, item by item, followed by standard advice text. There is no overall score, no valuation and no suggested price. The sample report on the AA’s site carries the line “No history check has been completed”, which is the AA telling you that the finance, write-off and stolen questions are a separate purchase.
The RAC report is longer and more specific — tread depth per wheel, disc condition, the cambelt interval against the service evidence, a verbal debrief with the engineer on the Comprehensive tier. Buyers on forums praise exactly that concreteness. It ends, in RAC’s own words, with “you are advised to satisfy yourself”. RAC’s FAQ answers the guarantee question directly: “No, our inspection confirms the condition of the vehicle at the time of inspection.”
Neither report tells you what this engine is known to go wrong with at the mileage it’s at, what those faults cost, or what the car is worth with the defects they found. That is the buyer’s job afterwards.
Where the AA is the better choice
- You want the cheapest engineer visit. £110 Basic is the lowest published inspection price of the two, if the car qualifies.
- You’re an AA member. The 10% discount is published and applies across tiers.
- You want video. The Advanced tier includes a video walkthrough; RAC’s doesn’t.
Be aware: the AA’s inspection product has a Trustpilot score of 1.4 from 66 reviews (as of 26 Aug 2026, under theaacarcheck.com), with the recurring themes being missed faults, delays and declined liability. That’s the inspection product, not the AA brand overall, which scores 4.8 on breakdown cover. Read the reviews and decide for yourself.
Where RAC is the better choice
- You want the most thorough report available to a private buyer. 307 points on Comprehensive and a verbal summary from the engineer.
- The car is under 10 years and 120,000 miles. RAC’s Basic tier is closed above that, but Comprehensive and Advanced are not.
- You care about the specifics. Tread depths, disc wear and cambelt evidence are the details that turn into money at the negotiation.
Be aware: RAC’s Basic tier excludes precisely the cars most people want inspected — anything old, high-mileage, four-wheel-drive or hybrid. If that’s your car, you’re starting at from £225.
The third option: find out whether it’s worth £225 first
Here’s the sequence both companies quietly assume: you’ve already found the car, driven to it, decided you want it, and now you want an engineer to confirm. Their product is the last step.
Most buyers aren’t there. They have three or four listings open, an evening free, and no way to tell which one deserves the drive, let alone the engineer.
AutoSpect’s Decision Report is built for that earlier step. For £29.99, before you travel:
- The history check is included — outstanding finance, insurance write-off, stolen marker and mileage verification from the licensed registers. Both the AA and RAC charge £14.99 for this on top of the inspection.
- Every MOT advisory translated, with an urgency and an estimated repair-cost range, so “nearside front lower suspension arm ball joint has slight play” becomes a number you can raise.
- The faults this exact engine and variant is known for, with a typical cost for each — the thing an engineer’s checklist doesn’t carry. These are AI-generated guide figures, not quotes, and they can be wrong.
- A guided walkaround on your phone when you get to the car, so you’re checking the things that matter for this model rather than reading a generic list while the seller watches.
- A Purchase Score and a price to offer, which neither inspection report gives you.
It’s instant, and there’s no booking.
What it is not. It’s not an engineer under the car. A phone walkaround can guide your eyes; it can’t measure brake discs, read fault codes or spot underbody corrosion. If you’re about to hand over £15,000 for a car, the RAC Comprehensive is still worth its £225. The point is to spend that once, on the car that earned it, rather than on the first one you happened to visit.
How to use both. Run the Decision Report on each car you’re considering. Drop the ones the history check or the known-faults list rules out. Book the AA or RAC on the one that’s left. You’ll arrive at the inspection already knowing what to ask the engineer to look at.
Frequently asked
- Is the AA or RAC inspection better?
- RAC’s Comprehensive is the more detailed report (307 points, verbal debrief) and starts from £225. The AA’s Basic is cheaper at £110 but checks 98 points, and the AA’s inspection product scores 1.4 from 66 reviews on Trustpilot. Neither includes a finance or write-off check, and neither guarantees its findings.
- Does an AA or RAC inspection include a history check?
- No. Both sell it separately at £14.99. The AA’s own sample report states “No history check has been completed”.
- Is a car inspection guaranteed?
- Not by the AA or RAC. RAC’s FAQ says “No, our inspection confirms the condition of the vehicle at the time of inspection.” Liability is capped at the fee (RAC) or £5,000 (AA), and faults present before the inspection are excluded.
- How long does an AA or RAC inspection take to arrange?
- The AA aims for 2–4 working days; RAC says within 48 hours to 3 working days. Both need the seller available on a weekday. Customer reviews of the AA report longer waits.
Check the car before you book the engineer
Type the registration, get the history and MOT read back free, and decide whether it’s worth £29.99 — or £225.
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Competitor prices, terms and review scores are as published on the dates shown and may have changed since; check the linked pages before relying on them. AutoSpect’s AI analysis is a probabilistic tool, not a certification, and is not a substitute for a physical inspection.