Friend's daughter needs a new car - MoT failure rest+emissions.
Budget is under £2,000 and we have seen some privately and back street dealers...private or dealer cars - I would have thought that they would be pressure washed, hoovered and generally buffed up.
But no - the car is as you see it. Dealer"we will clean it up prior to the car being picked up" - whilst not dirty the cars were not shown to their best.
One dealer had cars on sale, cleaned, oil& filter changed, new tyre etc but they were all £3,00+.
It does not take that long to buff up a car - I had been at the tip about 8/9 times last week. Car was dirty inside & out. £5.00 for a jet washed, 30 mins with the hoover and 10 minutes with a spray can and duster - the car looked amazingly different.
Surely if you are selling cars - as a dealer or privately you should at least try and polish some value/profit into each car to tempt the buyer.
|
Just after writing off my previous Vectra a few years ago, I was looking around a franchise dealership in Swindon. Most of the stock on the forecourt was dirty, all unprepped for sale, etc.
One car caught my eye from a distance, but upon closer inspection it was littered with car park dings down both sides and all the alloys were heavily scuffed.
Salesman "Oh don't worry about that sir, we'll put all that right once we've agreed the sale"
Me "No thanks. Seeing it in its current state, I would know that it's been an accident repaired car"
Salesman "What about this one then?"
Me "You mean the shed with 3 alloys and 1 steel wheel, a cracked windscreen, and the scratch down both sides? No thank you. Goodbye"
|
>> I would have thought that they would be pressure washed, hoovered and
>> generally buffed up.
I'd sooner a car hadn't been tarted up. One used car I bought had had the engine bay steam cleaned and it wasn't until I'd had the car a short while that I discovered it had an oil leak. The dealer rectified it, but if I'd known about the leak I wouldn't have bought it. Other cars I looked at had had silicone polish applied to the interior plastic trim. Eugh, horrible stuff.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Mon 2 Sep 13 at 10:53
|
|
Laziness in my opinion.Wash and hoover the car no big deal is it?
|
I occasionally clean cars for a small village garage when they have an old used car in and the owner reckons not only does having a decent valet make it easier to sell but especially on the older stuff he reckons I literally polish money into them. Giving an older car a going over with a cleaner wax can make such a difference it seems madness not to do it.
That said my Elantra, while on the surface quite clean, is actually pretty badly valeted and I spent a couple of hours today polishing scratches off, acid cleaning the alloys and polishing them up, then hoovering the carpets properly, scrubbing the leather and applying leather cream - not only does it look good, it smells better too. Annoyingly they left lots of dust bits in the corner of the trims, it is like a 30 second job, damn kids these days, nobody with any sense of doing a good job.
Last edited by: FoR on Mon 2 Sep 13 at 16:47
|
|
I did some valeting for a short while Stuart.Enjoyed it sprucing up a mucky car into something decent
|
I can't understand anyone buying a dirty car or one with problems with the promise "we'll sort that out after you agree to buy it".
On the couple of occasions they've tried it on me, I've told them to give me a call when it's sorted and walked.
I always clean a car for selling. You probably saw the pictures of the Kia and know what I used to do with that!
|
|
As a boy, sub 15 yo I worked for R.H. Smith Motorcycles in West Drayton. The old Guvnor always said, "Polish puts on Pounds". Lovely Bikes, lovely days..
|
|
I accept the outside will just get dirty while the car sits on the forecourt, so a bit of muck on the outside wouldn't put me off. I would expect the interior to be spotless, though, and any dings or paint chips to have been sorted.
|
As I have said before, I always try to buy & sell my cars privately. Prior to any individual, prospective purchaser viewing my car, I ensure it is immaculate both inside & out. When purchasing, I try my utmost to get a nosey inside the vendors home & garden. Always a good indicator as to how well the vehicle has been maintained.
And yes, I can be very particular.
|
>> I always try to buy & sell my cars privately.
>> Prior to any individual, prospective purchaser viewing my car, I ensure it is immaculate both inside & out.
>> When purchasing, I try my utmost to get a nosey inside the vendors home & garden. Always a good indicator as to how well the vehicle has been maintained.
>> And yes, I can be very particular.
>>
My latest car was a private purchase. Over a cup of tea I soon found it was a genuine reason for sale. Non company car, non smoking owner, no dog smells, loads of expensive extras full MD service history. It needed a simple wash as the owner was using her late husbands car.
So many boxes ticked ( so very very few on offer had two extras I would have liked) so that decided me that the price was right.
|
>> Other cars I looked at
>> had had silicone polish applied to the interior plastic trim. Eugh, horrible stuff.
>>
Years ago went into one of the car supermarkets looking for a Focus for my daughter, lots of cars unprepped, at the prepping station it was clear that the dash of every car was done with silicon polish as they went through.
Enough to put me off.
|
|
There are silicone free sprays that leave a far better finish, not too shiny, just enough to even up the look of the plastics, something I favour over plastic bling.
|
|
A couple of years ago I went to see a five-year-old Jaguar X-type on a main dealer's forecourt at 14k euros. It drove nicely so I asked the salesman if they would polish out a few minor scuffs around the tailgate and driver's door shut if we bought it. He said no, because it was five years old. Yet another French fail.
|
I am used to dealers not sorting minor dents and scrapes before a car is sold. Makes sense not to do so-- some buyers may not care. But not to clean the interior and exterior thoroughly is to risk lookers passing by...
Dirty cars are a turn off.
|
>> Dirty cars are a turn off.
>>
I enjoy seeing dirty cars. It really turns me on. I've just got a dirty mind.
|
|
Painted tyres immediately make me walk away.
|
>>Painted tyres immediately make me walk away.
Non-painted tyres make me inclined to walk away. The local Romanian boys painted your tyres as part of the £10 'valet'.
What can you do about a shiny dash? Even two years after I bought it the dash sparkles.
|
|
I thought the reason dealers didn't prepare cars until they've got a sale was to not waste money in case they had to trade them at a loss in the future. 'Wasted' preparation costs would just increase the loss. Poor preparation has put me off cars in the past, but obviously the dealers know best!
|
When I bought my old mk2 Mondeo, I spent a day getting the cockpit shine off the dash, gear lever gaiter, door cards....in fact just about every bit of exposed plastic more than an inch square. Hideous stuff that does absolutely nothing for the appearance of the interior.
I used hot soapy water and a lot of elbow grease.
|
Franchised Vauxhall dealer right next to Liverpool docks - every single car on display is covered with a brown dust. In addition, the ones with their boot open had the brown dust covering the interior.
Put me right off, but I suppose it would be nigh on impossible to keep them clean.
|
Why do dealers not clean cars until after sale. - VxFan
