Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Pictures Can Be Deceiving

This is the number one reason to purchase a used car inspection from Auto Inspex. Don’t place a deposit on a vehicle that you have not seen. So you might be thinking the dealership said it is completely refundable if you are not happy with the vehicle in any way. In most cases, that is very true. The one thing that many people forget to take into consideration is time and money. The dealer has elected to pick you up free of charge at the airport and drive you back to the dealership. You have lucked out and purchased a plane ticket in advance for let’s just say $200.00. You show up and instead of seeing picture “A” which was the first picture you saw just before placing the deposit, you see picture “B”. The dealer has you right where they want you. Why?



If you choose to go home without the car, you are easily going to be paying double on that cheap ticket for a same day booking. Let’s just say that it is now $400 dollars. So now you would be out $600 dollars and time, or take a car you are not satisfied with. The pictures may be an extreme, but think if it was just enough damage to cost you $600 in repairs. The salesman that was so nice on the phone is now taking direct orders from the sales manager on what the dealership can do. You guessed it, the least they can to get you to buy the car.

Everyday dealerships get more creative with not disclosing damage on pictures. They dance around your questions like a politician. There are even a few of the big name dealers that have a way of making the truth “disappear” on pictures. I am not talking about Uncle Bob’s Auto Sales on a local street corner. I would actually trust him more than some of the largest dealers in the United States. If it sounds a little far-fetched, do a check through sites like Rip Off Report, Consumer Complaints, or the BBB and search the dealership name. Read through a few of the instances. It’s rather alarming! We see the truth here every day and sometimes we are shocked, to say the least!
You don’t have to worry about being one of those people, even if you choose to buy from that dealer. They might have exactly what you are looking for at a very competitive price. You can rest assured that a Used Car Inspection is the answer to protecting yourself and your investment. The unbiased opinion that we have to offer is an absolute guarantee that the vehicle’s condition will be clearly stated and the truth be told. You see, the pictures above are the premise on why this company was established. It has been far too long that the consumer has been taken advantage of versus taken care of. Pictures are not always as they appear so, for better or for worse, take our advice. We have seen it all and frankly, we thrive to reveal it all. We are here to help and only a phone call away.




Saturday, October 24, 2009

Benefits Of A Pre-Purchase Auto Inspection

Everyone knows that feeling when you are buying a new or used car – not quite sure you are getting "all" the vehicle they say it is. You might even be wondering why the price is too high or too low compared to the Kelly Blue Book value or the NADA value. Through our business experience, we have seen that the buyer always asks the dealer the same questions. The sales force is trained and prepared for exactly that – all the questions. Your best bet is to do your own research on the vehicle’s history and hire an experienced certified inspector to perform an evaluation of the vehicle.

The dealer might tell you "it was a trade-in” or “we are selective with what we sell”; however, most dealership inventories come from auction. Checking the vehicle history report will reveal, in most cases, when/if the car was taken through auction. Auction cars are not always bad cars, nonetheless. They have that reputation from the early years in the car industry. Pioneer car dealers used to take the "bad cars" to auction to get them off their hands. In modern days, many off-leases, rentals, fleet vehicles, and off-brand (Toyota dealer taking a Ford trade-in) end up at auction across the United States.

When dealers buy cars from auction they intend to sell, they take many things into consideration. Note the last one on our list. It is the one most people are unaware of:

- Title Declaration - Clear, Salvage, or Non-Rebuildable

- Make, Model, and Year

- Mileage

- Trim Level

- Cost to Repair Damages to Vehicle

So, you might wonder what kinds of things they might repair. We can tell you from our years of experience in the car business, the question should be what kind of things they don't repair. We have been amazed at the kind of things we have seen disappear from the surface of many used cars. Most of the time, they are nothing more than a quick temporary fix. Dealerships pride themselves in their high level of customer satisfaction and service, but at the end of a deal, it boils down to money!! A dealership's staff has pay structure set directly behind the amount of profit they turn (the cheaper the fix, the higher the profit margin.) The more they make off the customer, the more the staff will make.

It is in the interest of the salesman to tell you whatever you need to hear to make the car deal come together. This could be the history of the vehicle or the condition of the vehicle. This is where the car salesman excels. The longer the salesman’s experience, the more refined they become in their sales antics. It is amazing the kind of things we find when we inspect a vehicle. Sometimes they check out totally fine, but other times we point out the shortcomings of the vehicle to our customer and let them make the decision. We let the customer make the choice on what they think about the vehicle, all the while presenting the facts. This is the premise in why we started our company – to help consumers all across the nation know exactly what they are investing in. If you are purchasing a vehicle sight unseen, a used car inspection is such a minuscule investment considering all the stories and issues that we have found that were not specified to many of our customers. It happens more than you know, trust us on that!

“The Truth is Our Source; Integrity is What We Stand By.”
-Auto Inspex