Almost put down a deposit on a 2019 Prado in Al Quoz, glad I held off for a minute

[grahamcole]

So I went out to view a secondhand Prado yesterday that looked absolutely spotless in the seller's photos, but when I showed up in person something just felt off about the way the doors clicked shut and how the AC took way too long to kick in under the afternoon heat. I'm pretty new to buying pre-owned cars here in the UAE and honestly didn't realize how common hidden rust from coastal humidity or bad accident repairs really are until a buddy told me to learn more about pre-purchase checks on pre purchase car inspection before transfering any cash. Reading through some of those common warning signs made me notice a weird misaligned panel near the front headlight that I completely missed at first glance, so now I'm thinking I should definitely get a professional garage to put it on a lift and run a full diagnostic test before taking another step.