A listing photo can't tell you how an engine sounds. A short video of it starting can tell you a little more, as long as you know what you're watching for and what the video can't show.
When a car is started in front of me, I check three things. We aren't mechanics, and this isn't a diagnosis.
The three things I check
Unusual noises
Is there any noise that shouldn't be there?
Whether it runs as it should
Does the engine run properly once it has started?
Whether the temperature settles
Does the coolant temperature, and so on, settle and stay steady?
How we film a start on a viewing
On an On-Site Vehicle Viewing, we ask the dealer to start the car and we film it, with the exhaust in view. We don't operate the car ourselves. We also record the dashboard warning lights with the ignition on and after the engine starts.
If you're asking a dealer for a video yourself, ask for the same: the exhaust in view, the dashboard before and after it starts, and whether the car had already been run that day.
What a start-up video can't tell you
- Whether the engine had been warmed up before the video. We can't tell that either, even when we're there.
- What's wrong, if something sounds wrong. We describe what we saw and heard. We don't diagnose, connect diagnostic equipment, lift the car or test drive it.
- How the car drives. A start-up video is the car standing still.
If the start matters to you, send us the listing and tell us what you want to see and hear. We'll film what can be filmed without driving the car, lifting it or removing anything, and tell you what we couldn't check.
Tyres: photographed, not judged
On a viewing we photograph the tyres (tires), but we don't judge them, and a start-up video says nothing about them anyway. My view: fit the ones you like once the car is in your own country.
Sources
- What to check on a start, and the view on tyres: the founder's own experience
- How we film a start, that tyres are photographed but not judged, and what we don't do: On-Site Vehicle Viewing, checked 3 October 2026
Want the start filmed before you decide? Send us the link.