Used cars
Author
Discussion

Cactussed

Original Poster:

5,335 posts

230 months

Thursday 5th January 2012
quotequote all
I saw a post recently about someon who went to view a 10yo car.
He went a few days early to 'scope things out' and reported back that the car was dirty and there were a few scuffs on the bumper. In his words, the car 'certainly wasn't as advertised'.

It got me thinking.

Do people really expect to turn up to a used car and see pristine paintwork, interior and next-to-no mileage?

Are people genuinely put off by the odd scrape or car park ding?

JulianHJ

8,851 posts

279 months

Thursday 5th January 2012
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Depends how it's described.

stowey1984

192 posts

168 months

Thursday 5th January 2012
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I think most people expect private cars for sale to be similar to cars that are presentable in dealers. A used car is, just that, used.

Liquid Knight

15,754 posts

200 months

Thursday 5th January 2012
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If someone describes a car as "mint" and it hasnee got no black and white stripes I tell 'em to like jog on man.

kambites

69,918 posts

238 months

Thursday 5th January 2012
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It depends on exactly how the advert is worded. If the advert says "perfect" or "as new" or something similar then yes I'd expect it to be perfect. If it says "good condition" then I'll assume it's significantly better than average for its age, but not perfect.

Classic Grad 98

25,711 posts

177 months

Thursday 5th January 2012
quotequote all
JulianHJ said:
Depends how it's described.
This. Hope it doesn't change because I like to have a bartering point or two.

Tino

1,948 posts

300 months

Thursday 5th January 2012
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I bought my G40 at 9 years old, and it was mint. literally no scuffs, dents or whatever.
I bought my wifes MK1 Golf clipper mint again. That was also approx 10 yrs old.
The Corrado took some finding. Literally 6 months and about 1000 miles to find a tidy one. Again, that was 10 years old.
My G40 is still kept mint, its over 20 years old.
There are countless 993's, 968's, Merc SL's, Golf MK2's etc etc etc that are kept immaculate
It is possible to keep a car very tidy, and if you are looking for something, and are willing to pay the cash for it, why would you not chose a perfect example over one thats been treated poorly.
I wouldn't not buy a car with a scuffed bumper, but I would expect it reflected in the price, and would hope to be told up-front, otherwise, if the seller lies about what can be seen, what's to say they are being truthful about the rest.