Originally Posted by PWMDMD
Originally Posted by ryster
Every car I have ever traded, I get asked the same questions by every dealer:
"Why are you trading?"
"Did you buy it new originally?"
"Has the car ever been in an accident? If yes, how much were the repairs?"
"Are there any mechanical problems with the car?"
My typical answers are:
"I am bored with this one and want something different."
"Yes I bought it new" or "No, I purchased it used"
"No accidents" or "Yes, repairs done at a certified shop and covered by insurance"
"No, it has been running just fine!"
I have never had a dealer NOT ask me these questions. They all have.
I have also had appraisers confront me. One time I was trading in a Pontiac Grand Prix that was only 6 months old. Wanted something else and I was in a position to be able to do it. Appraiser comes over to me and says "The front end has been repaired". I said, "Really? That's news to me. I bought the car brand new 6 months ago and it has never been in an accident." Appraiser says "It has been in an accident and it was repaired. I can tell by the texture, shade, and luster of the paint on the front end. Perhaps it was damaged in transit and the dealer repaired it before selling it, but it has been in an accident and has been repaired."
When I traded my previous car 5 years ago, the appraiser said "Your car is in great shape, and even has new tires on it! We will be able to put it on our pre-owned lot with virtually no prep. Makes things really easy!" The tires that were on the car had 40,000 miles on them and were certainly not new.
My parents had a trade appraiser tell them flat-out one time "It doesn't matter how well you care for your car, what it looks like, or how many miles are on it. Trade value is always based on what I can sell it for at auction if I can't sell it on the pre-owned lot."
I've traded cars to Audi, Mazda, Lexus, Toyota, Acura and Suburu all over New England and have never been asked straight up has the car been in any accidents. Clean Carfax - Is it in good condition - does everything work - but that's it. I just assumed as long as the car looks good and runs well they didn't want to know either so they could sell it for more. It's not like they couldn't tell - traded a 2011 Honda Pilot that had been T-boned and needed $18K in repairs to Audi who gave me over book value. You could easily see the plastic wheel well clips on one side were different than the other side. It was also raining that day so they didn't see the huge happy face that one of my kids drew on the driver's door with a rock but it was all there for them to see.
Interesting. One dealer around here has a logbook you have to fill out when trading in a car. One of the questions in the logbook the customer has to answer is "Has your vehicle had body repairs in excess of $750?" Not sure why $750 is a magic number, but they ask outright.
If the car has a lot of squeaks and rattles I don't bother mentioning it. Likewise, the appraiser can see any cosmetic issues so I don't bother with those either. They can also see if the check engine light is on, so I don't bother bringing it to their attention if that is the case.
My current vehicle is reaching the point where it is going to start having all kinds of little issues start to go wrong with it. The suspension is starting to make more noise, I had to add refrigerant to the AC system the other day, the interior is rattling more and more. It is just aging. I would like to get something different and will probably start looking around. The goal is to trade what I have before having a 4-figure repair bill for something expensive, and getting stuck having to fix it just to trade it in a few weeks later. The car buying process is just horrible, and I dread it, but at least it is only every 5-6 years.
