TrustThisCar

Know what a used car is hiding, in 3 minutes.

Plug a cheap Bluetooth adapter into the car you are about to buy. TrustThisCar reads the car's own computer and tells you, in plain words, what is wrong, roughly what it costs to fix, and whether to buy, negotiate or walk away.

Ask to join the beta

How it works

• Plug in. Any ELM327 Bluetooth adapter, the kind that costs about 20 euro, into the OBD port under the dashboard.
• Scan. Three minutes with the ignition on. The app reads fault codes, the freeze frame stored when a fault appeared, live sensor values, emissions readiness and the distance counters held in the engine computer.
• Read the verdict. One page: the faults that matter, the ones that do not, a repair cost range for your country, and a straight answer.
• Show it to the seller. The report has a link you can share. It is a lot easier to negotiate with a document in your hand.

What it catches that a test drive does not

• Fault codes cleared shortly before the viewing: the readiness monitors give it away.
• A pending fault that has not switched the warning light on yet.
• A mileage that does not match the distance counters stored in the car's own computer.
• The conditions recorded at the moment a fault appeared, which often say more than the code itself.

What it is not

It is not a mechanic. It cannot see rust, accident repairs, worn brakes or a tired clutch. Use it to decide which cars are worth a proper inspection, and to know what to ask before you pay for one.