I saw an ad the other day and I have seen them before.
This was an ad about buying a vehicle as a very large INVESTMENT!
There is only ONE way to consider buying a vehicle as an INVESTMENT
and that is if a person buys a COLLECTIBLE vehicle that will increase
in value. Normal vehicles DO NOT increase in value. The real meaning
of the term is that a person is INVESTING in TRANSPORTATION and
transportation COST money. Buying a vehicle is just that, BUYING
not INVESTING.
A person should do a lot of research BEFORE they spend a lot
of money on a vehicle, just like they would research any other
large PURCHASE. If I had a dollar for every time I heard from
someone that had bought a vehicle with problems that cost big
money, I would be rich. I would like to make a few suggestions
regarding some of the things a person should check out before
they buy.
The first thing a person should do is to find out what sort
of laws there are in the area to protect consumers and what
sort of recourse a person might have. Some areas have time limits
in which a person can take back a vehicle and get a FULL refund,
if the vehicle is a problem. Most areas have laws that require
a vehicle to be Emission legal in order for it to be sold. This
means that if a person buys a vehicle that will NOT pass a required
emission test, the SELLER has to do whatever is required at
their expense or refund the purchase price.
Know what sort of protection you have BEFORE you buy. What
about warranties? If you buy a new or used vehicle, you should
read the warranty on that vehicle and make sure you understand
what IS covered and what ISN'T covered. I have seen lots of
warranties that are advertised as "Bumper to Bumper Coverage,"
implying COMPLETE coverage when if fact the warranty covers
little more than the "Bumpers." Extended warranties are extremely
complicated by design and DO NOT take someone's WORD for what
the warranty covers.
Although there are some laws regarding VERBAL agreements,
you are further ahead getting it in writing. Just another bit
of food for thought. I hear a lot from people who have purchased
vehicle with specific equipment, only to find out a few weeks
later that the vehicle is not equipped as they were told. However,
there is nothing on the purchase agreement that says anything
about the special equipment, only a STOCK NUMBER. For example,
one fellow bought a truck and was told it had a camper package
and trailer package but the sales agreement only showed a stock
number "As Equipped". When the fellow found out that the vehicle
was in fact a STANDARD LIGHT DUTY truck with a trailer hitch,
he was not happy, but there was nothing he could do. This fellow
had to spend a lot of money to get his vehicle PROPERLY equipped
to haul his camper and boat trailer.
Make sure that you are getting what you pay for and I always
tell people that are buying a vehicle, to get a written list
of the equipment the vehicle is supposed to have. The BIGGEST
thing of all is to ask someone that knows and that does NOT
mean the Salesperson you are dealing with.
Mind you, if you are in a position where your vehicle is tax
deductible, you may not even care.
