Abstract: A method for checking the buildability of a virtual prototype includes an automatic ascertainment of possible problem points that may arise in the course of assembling the virtual prototype from virtual components and do not satisfy predetermined structural, physical and/or aesthetic requirements. The method includes an assessment, assisted by a computer system, of at least one of the possible problem points as a critical or uncritical problem point, depending on several structural, physical and/or aesthetic features of the respective possible problem point. Furthermore, an apparatus is proposed for checking the buildability of a virtual prototype. With methods and apparatuses according to exemplary embodiments, the effort in terms labour and time and also faulty assessments are capable of being reduced by an automatic assessment of problem points and by a more efficient assessment of problem points.