Why do dealers rarely mention the condition of a car?
Discussion
Mainly on Autotrader,
I've noticed that most car ads on Autotrader contain no details whatsoever about the condition of a car, usually just stuff you already know, like the color & amount of doors it has.
Is there a tactic in all this?
I really do hate buying from a dealer but sometimes you're left with little choice, especially when the car you're interested in is mainly 80% dealer.
I've noticed that most car ads on Autotrader contain no details whatsoever about the condition of a car, usually just stuff you already know, like the color & amount of doors it has.
Is there a tactic in all this?
I really do hate buying from a dealer but sometimes you're left with little choice, especially when the car you're interested in is mainly 80% dealer.
Acheron said:
I hate the tactic of them not listing the mileage. Obviously this means its probably been to the moon and back, but i still want to know.
Very frustrating, especially when they list everything else (bar condition of course. 
) Private sellers also do this.I don't think you should have to phone up about anything other then a viewing date with a good listing. It should all be there, you get enough words to use, especially with PH.
If they're lazy enough to take only 1 photo or not bother with a description then it doesn't give me the most confidence.
Apart from the mileage, there is nothing useful to me in the advert description below.
"5 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 89,995 miles, Silver.
ABS, Alloy wheels, Folding rear seats, Immobiliser,
Passenger airbag, Radio/Cassette, Side airbags,
Radio/CD Multichanger, Rear headrests, Sports seats,
Traction control, Front fog lights, Steering wheel reach
adjustment, Alarm, 3x3 point rear seat belts, Drivers airbag,
Front electric windows, Height adjustable drivers seat,
Isofix child seat anchor points, PAS, Rear wiper, Rear electric windows,
Remote central locking, Electric door mirrors, Heated door mirrors,
Body coloured bumpers, Steering wheel rake adjustment. Insurance Group:16D"
Edited by Copperpot on Tuesday 7th June 20:47
Edited by Copperpot on Tuesday 7th June 21:02
Not defending it but there are several reasons:
It can be held against them if you end up in court if it later turns out to be a lemon.
They are busy / lazy - it takes a while to write a good ad.
They assume everyone knows all their cars are excellent examples.
Mileage - many people don't ask. So if you have a nice car but it's mileage is high sometimes all you need is to get someone to see it - I sold my Audi S2 with 170k like that. 3 weeks without a call. Deleted the mileage and the first guy to see it, bought it.
It can be held against them if you end up in court if it later turns out to be a lemon.
They are busy / lazy - it takes a while to write a good ad.
They assume everyone knows all their cars are excellent examples.
Mileage - many people don't ask. So if you have a nice car but it's mileage is high sometimes all you need is to get someone to see it - I sold my Audi S2 with 170k like that. 3 weeks without a call. Deleted the mileage and the first guy to see it, bought it.
Because one man's "That's in really good condition for the age" is another man's "Christ, it's scuffed and dinged to hell!"
How are you going to describe condition in an ad that explains to both types above the state of the car accurately?
At least over the phone you can go into "well there's a scuff on the front bumper and a feint scratch over the rear wheel arch that might polish out, and a tiny ding in the boot but it's not noticeable and the wheels could perhaps do with a refurb but they're not too bad and personally I wouldn't bother but if you're fussy you might want to get it done. Inside there's a mark in the headlining but it's over the boot so you won't see it unless you're looking for it... etc etc"
If they put "good condition" in an ad it doesn't really tell you anything does it?
How are you going to describe condition in an ad that explains to both types above the state of the car accurately?
At least over the phone you can go into "well there's a scuff on the front bumper and a feint scratch over the rear wheel arch that might polish out, and a tiny ding in the boot but it's not noticeable and the wheels could perhaps do with a refurb but they're not too bad and personally I wouldn't bother but if you're fussy you might want to get it done. Inside there's a mark in the headlining but it's over the boot so you won't see it unless you're looking for it... etc etc"
If they put "good condition" in an ad it doesn't really tell you anything does it?
BMWBen said:
It's because people have wildly differing opinions about what "condition" is, and even what "good" or "bad" is.
So best to avoid the topic entirely and let people decide for themselves.
Exactly. What would "clean interior" mean to you? To me it would mean no stains, rips, tears - basically as good as new. But to someone else, it might mean something else entirely. It's a liability to use a descriptive.So best to avoid the topic entirely and let people decide for themselves.
Also, they want people to come in and provide a better opportunity for the seller to close on that car or on another. Bait and switch in disguise a little bit, I suppose.
Primarily laziness - with Autotrader, you put the reg in and it pre-pops the form with all that guff about electric front windows, pollen filters, etc. You can replace it with something slightly more informative if you like but lot of dealers simply leave it as it is.
As others have pointed out though, statements about condition are entirely subjective.
As others have pointed out though, statements about condition are entirely subjective.
AUDIHenry said:
Exactly. What would "clean interior" mean to you? To me it would mean no stains, rips, tears - basically as good as new. But to someone else, it might mean something else entirely. It's a liability to use a descriptive.
Also, they want people to come in and provide a better opportunity for the seller to close on that car or on another. Bait and switch in disguise a little bit, I suppose.
This is a perfect example: I'd read 'clean interior' to mean no major stains or damaged points, but depending on the age of the vehicle could expect fading in spots, and some trim pieces not being quite right, either in fit or being missing. To me it's a description of cleanliness more than quality - sort of a way to say 'not been a smoker's car' etc.Also, they want people to come in and provide a better opportunity for the seller to close on that car or on another. Bait and switch in disguise a little bit, I suppose.
I too find this very frustrating - its like thier silence says it all.
Why not just give a detailed description of interior and exterior condiion? If they do not, to me, it says there is nothing to hide.
I once travelled 70 miles to look at a car, with the cash, as the lovely chap selling it told me it was in great condition and we had spoke on the phone for a long time about it, when I arrived, he said 'oh, i have just valeted your car, its ready to go....' (Hold your horses kind sir, i want to see it first...)
When looking it at, it was possibly the worst condition car I have ever seen in my life: Cracked lights, scratches, foglamp covers missing, worn interior, stained roof lining, stank of smoke, dents, carpets filthy. Shocking.
I told him it was not for me within 2 minutes, and he seemed very sad about this.
Best thing to do is to ask for extra pictures and a run down of each panel and the interior, if they cannot be bothered to do this or respond, its not worth making the trip.
Why not just give a detailed description of interior and exterior condiion? If they do not, to me, it says there is nothing to hide.
I once travelled 70 miles to look at a car, with the cash, as the lovely chap selling it told me it was in great condition and we had spoke on the phone for a long time about it, when I arrived, he said 'oh, i have just valeted your car, its ready to go....' (Hold your horses kind sir, i want to see it first...)
When looking it at, it was possibly the worst condition car I have ever seen in my life: Cracked lights, scratches, foglamp covers missing, worn interior, stained roof lining, stank of smoke, dents, carpets filthy. Shocking.
I told him it was not for me within 2 minutes, and he seemed very sad about this.
Best thing to do is to ask for extra pictures and a run down of each panel and the interior, if they cannot be bothered to do this or respond, its not worth making the trip.
A lot of car dealers use a company called Motortrak (you'll see their details on the bottom of dealers pages) this system allows you to put the reg number and mileage in and the rest of the details will be self populated; hence you end up with 3x3 point seatbelts, 4 wheels etc.
They don't get the chance to put in 'good condition' 'huge spec' as there's nowhere to put it, it's not them trying to hide something....as much as the 'PH Massiv' would love to believe and shall probably assume anyway!
They don't get the chance to put in 'good condition' 'huge spec' as there's nowhere to put it, it's not them trying to hide something....as much as the 'PH Massiv' would love to believe and shall probably assume anyway!
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