These two things get confused constantly, and buying the wrong one leaves the largest risk on a used EV completely unexamined.
What each actually covers
| Pre-purchase inspection | Battery test | |
|---|---|---|
| Brakes, suspension, steering | Yes | No |
| Structural and accident damage | Yes | No |
| Tyres, lights, body condition | Yes | No |
| Service history and PPSR | Usually | No |
| Road test | Yes | No |
| Measured battery State of Health | No | Yes |
| Cell voltage spread | No | Yes |
| High-voltage fault codes | Sometimes, superficially | Yes |
| Five-year capacity projection | No | Yes |
| Verifiable certificate | No | Yes |
Why a general inspection cannot do the battery
A mechanical inspector is assessing things that can be seen, measured or driven. The battery's capacity is none of those. It lives in the battery management system, it is not shown anywhere in the car, and reading it properly requires diagnostic equipment aimed at that specific job.
Many inspection reports will note whether a warning light is on and what the dashboard range reads. Neither is battery health. The range figure is a prediction from recent driving efficiency — it moves with weather, speed and load, and two identical cars can show a 40 km difference on the same morning with identical batteries.
A good inspector will tell you this. A report that presents a full-charge range figure as evidence of battery condition is telling you something it cannot know.
Why a battery test cannot do the rest
We measure a battery. We do not assess brakes, suspension, structure, service history or anything else, and we would rather say that plainly than let a customer assume otherwise.
An EV with a perfect battery can still have been in a significant accident, have worn suspension from carrying the extra weight, or be due for tyres — which on a heavy EV is not a small bill.
Which to book first
On a car you are unsure about, book the battery test first. It is faster, it addresses the single largest and least recoverable risk, and if the result is poor you have saved yourself the cost of the second inspection.
On a car you have already decided on, book both. They answer different questions and the answers do not overlap.
On a car under about six years old with good history, some buyers reasonably do the battery test alone, on the basis that the mechanical risk on a modern EV is genuinely lower — fewer moving parts, no gearbox, no exhaust, brakes that wear slowly because of regeneration. That is a defensible choice, but it is a choice, and it is worth making deliberately.
What we do not do
We do not offer a combined package, and we do not have a referral arrangement with any inspection company. If you want a mechanical inspection, choose one on its merits — we have no view and nothing to gain.