A few weeks ago I wrote about trading a vehicle in
and since that time I have received a number of E-mails that could
best be described as "Interesting". It brought up the "Other side"
of the deal, meaning someone else is going to buy the vehicle
that gets traded off.
How often do you hear about people buying a used vehicle that
turns into a nightmarish money pit? Or, how often have you heard
about someone claiming that they were "Ripped off" by a used
car salesperson? Both of these questions have a lot to do with
the bulk of the e-mail that I received on this subject. I got
notes from people suggesting that I was "Crazy" to recommend
someone spend time and money on a vehicle they were just going
to trade off. So, I thought I would spend a few minutes exploring
this trade in process and also the purchasing side of the vehicle
that has been traded in. (Stay with me, as this is even confusing
to me.)
OK, a person buys a used vehicle that is in very poor condition
and it requires a lot of expensive repairs. How does this happen?
Does the car dealer that has taken the vehicle on trade, purposely
inflict a lot of damage to this vehicle before they sell it?
I know that is a stupid question but just think about it. One
of the biggest reasons for trading a vehicle off is because
it requires a bunch of repairs that the current owner does not
wish to deal with. Someone has traded the vehicle in to the
dealer in that condition, so who is really at fault for the
condition of the vehicle? Is it the dealer or the person that
traded the vehicle in? (The answer is obvious isn't it) Sure,
some dealers try to do as much as possible to make sure that
the vehicles they sell are somewhat "Reconditioned", but the
amount the can do is limited because they have to try and sell
the vehicle for a cheap price.
The majority of people want to buy the NEWEST model they can
and condition has very little to do with the purchase. For example:
Lets say that there are two IDENTICALLY PRICED vehicles sitting
on a lot, but one is three years older than the other, which
one would you buy? Would you buy the vehicle that is three years
older because it is in better condition or would you buy the
newer one thinking that you can fix it up? It seems that the
majority of people would buy the newer vehicle rather than buy
the older vehicle even though it was in better condition.
Here is where the dealer is caught in the middle, if they
spend too much money on reconditioning the vehicle it will be
a lot more difficult to sell. So if the majority of people trade
vehicles off because they need expensive repairs and the majority
of buyers want the newest model for the cheapest price, who
should be blamed for the problems? You know the funny thing
is, I have had hundreds of people tell me that they believe
that they get what they pay for and then these same people go
out and buy the "Cheapest" vehicle they can find. Then they
come back to me to complain about how they got ripped off. (??????)
Bottom line: You get what you pay for and the vehicle you
trade off is going to be someone else's problem. Do you care
whose?
