Vehicle Inspection Service

What Can ACE Inspect?

ACE is a privately owned company providing the personal touch that only small businesses can offer. ACE opened for business in 1993 to provide inspection services to mechanical breakdown insurance companies in the UK. Since then, we have expanded our services to include leasing companies and legal advisers. In the last six years alone, we have completed approximately 125,000 inspections, establishing ourselves as one of the leading independent consulting motor engineers in the UK, capable of addressing most, if not all, vehicle examination needs and requirements. At the end of the article there are two buttons one to the Ombudsman Website and the second to the Procedure Rules that we have to comply with under CPR 35/PD 35 Expert witnesses.

We often joke, that if it has wheels or an engine...

We often joke that if it has wheels or an engine, we will be able to inspect it and in most instances we would have completed multiple inspections in the past, ranging from classic cars, through to the current large goods vehicles, the ever-increasing electric vehicle fleet and supercars. We are completely committed to providing a fair and balanced service, as required by the procedural rules. It is often overlooked that when you commission a report, we are actually working for the courts or the Financial Ombudsman, regardless of who has paid for the service. We assist them in their decisions and support the parties involved in their arguments, providing an engineering perspective on how successful their case may be viewed.

The report must remain independent...

The report must remain independent of the parties involved, whom we refer to as being in disagreement. Unfortunately, one party in such situations will always be dissatisfied with the report's findings; this is inevitable in our line of work. However, the report must follow a logical interpretation of the evidence, and the outcome can never be guaranteed.

Our reputation in the motor industry

Our reputation in the motor industry for providing independent reports is well known. We acknowledge that feedback from the general public or garages often does not reflect the number of inspections we complete, which ranges from 25,000 to 27,500 annually. It should be understood that we cannot help everyone or provide a report that is both balanced and fair while satisfying all parties involved.

It is worth noting that we are the only privately owned consultancy practice recommended by the ombudsman, and we take pride in our record of delivering balanced reports. Even if some clients are unhappy with the results, we must prioritise our integrity in producing reports. This integrity is a major aspect of our services and complies with the procedural rules of CPR 35 and PD 35.

We have engineering consultancy resources across the UK

We have engineering consultancy resources across the UK, and our services include general and specific types of examinations on cars, classic vehicles, and commercial vehicles—essentially, anything with wheels. We provide a “one-stop” facility for our clients seeking information and guidance. We work closely with forensic science labs, oil and fuel labs, and metallurgists where necessary. Accuracy, fairness, and competitive pricing are our key principles.

Our consultants are among the best experts in the UK

Our consultants are among the best experts in the UK, and we comply with the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR 35), which are fundamental to our company ethos. Although we are not regulated by the FSA, we believe in the principles of Treating Customers Fairly. Each year, we complete approximately 18,000 inspections on cars and light vans, around 9,000 inspections on LGVs and trailers, approximately 250 classic car inspections, and around 600 laboratory reports. Additionally, we conduct garage audits, fleet gate checks, weight checks, metallurgical reports, and several other types of reporting systems, including pre-purchase and post-purchase reports, as well as documentary reports, maintenance records and disputes.

We Are Not Hired Guns...

It's a principle between ACE and its clients that they have to understand that we are not hired guns and we may not be able to prove their specific point as experts, we consider the evidence and provide a balanced report which can be used in a court environment or by the financial ombudsman, unfortunately this can lead to situations where what you believe may be the case, may not be supported by the evidence and it has to be clear when commissioning experts under the procedure rules, that their evidence may not support your position and in fact may run contrary to what you believe.