Used car inspection, NEED

I want to but a used ford escape from a private seller, can i take the car to a certified ford dealership for a pre-sale inspection?

If the owner agrees to it, yes. Plan on spending at least $125.

Yes, you CAN but you'd be better off going to an independent mechanic. The one question I always ask is "would you buy this car for your wife/mother/girlfriend to drive?"

You can, but dealerships charge an arm and a leg. Call and ask them what it would cost, then call a couple of independent mechanics so you can compare prices.

Probably if the owner agrees. But, dealers are not cheap and they don't offer guarantees.

When I was a dealer, I would let anyone take the car anywhere nearby. But I refused someone who wanted to take it 90 miles away.

One lady took an old nissan she was buying for her daughter to Nissan. It was a good old car but the dealer left a recommended list of repairs totallying $2300. (To be up to factory standards)

She did not buy the car and thought I was trying to rip her off on the $1500 car.

Guess who bought it? The mechanic from Nissan. I asked him what he was going to fix. He said, nothing.

You need to ask the seller and arranged it with the dealer, but as far as I'm concerned, you may by all means.

Use an independent mechanic. The Ford Dealer will beat you out of all your money.

Any repair shop can do it. No need to take it to the dealer

The dealer would be the absolute worst place to take a car because they're going to charge you 2-5x more than anywhere else.
Go onto Yelp and find a reputable repair shop near you, and ask them if they do pre-sale inspections.

Yes, but like everything else at a dealer, it will probably be very expensive. You can take it to any old mechanic, or better yet, your mechanic. Of course, the seller has to agree to it.

Yes you can and it's a good idea.

make sure you tell them you want a pre-purchase inspection and nothing more