This driver thought he’d found a bargain second hand Tesla but would have lost $45,000: Here’s the one thing you should check

A man who thought he had found a cheap second-hand Tesla online was stopped at the last minute by his mechanic who knew it was a write-off.

Jeff Zarif, from Wollongong in Central NSW, negotiated with a Facebook marketplace seller from $56,000 to $45,000 for the used Tesla.

The seller said the electric car needed to be sold as quickly as possible, so Mr Zarif texted his mechanic, Mitchel Pedavoli, to see if the paperwork had been checked.

Mr Pedavoli quickly searched for Tesla’s vehicle identification number (VIN) and discovered the car was not roadworthy, making it illegal to sell in NSW.

“Don’t touch it with a three-metre pole, mate, because it’s written off,” was the response Mr Zarif quickly received.

Mr. Pedavoli did a quick pre-purchase inspection and discovered the Tesla had been written off

Mr Zarif said if it had not been for his mechanic, he would have wasted tens of thousands of dollars as the car’s warranty would also have been voided.

“I would be stung because those Teslas are really only as good as their warranty,” he says told Yahoo News.

It is illegal to sell a written-off car in NSW, but Mr Zarif claimed the seller could get around this by simply registering it in Queensland where the law is different.

Currently it is still legal to sell a car that is not roadworthy in the sunny state, but new rules will be introduced that would be more in line with NSW laws.

Queensland is one of the few states without this type of legislation, with others having introduced it since 2010.

Mr Zarif said he immediately abandoned the purchase and the ad was removed shortly afterwards.

He added that this was not the first time Mr Pedavoli had saved him from wasting money on a broken car with a simple pre-purchase inspection.

Mr Pedavoli (pictured) charges $250 for pre-inspection purchases, where he checks to see if a used car is in good condition before spending money on it

Mr. Pedavoli offers the service for $250 and when Mr. Zarif previously asked him to look at a Jeep Grand Cherokee, he discovered it had a cracked cylinder head.

That particular part would have cost Mr Zarif between $5,000 and $6,000 if he had chosen to go ahead with the purchase and replace it himself.

“Some people put their life savings into a car and when you find out it’s unreliable, that’s probably not the best feeling,” Mr Pedavoli told the publication.

During the pre-purchase inspection, Mr. Pedavoli thoroughly examines any accident damage or leaks on the vehicle, as well as a simple VIN verification.

A car’s chassis number contains valuable information, such as: whether there is money on it, warranty information, if it has been written off in a collision, flood or fire or if any of the parts have been dismantled and replaced.

Mr Pedavoli said the most common things he came across were when inspecting used cars damage from accidents, oil leaks and tampered odometers.