A gravel drive, wrought-iron gates, a pleasant detached property and a well-to-do owner. Those factors, in some combination or another, are often reputed as being indicative of somewhere you could confidently buy a used car from.
I would beg to differ. Not everyone can afford a top-drawer house, for starters, and not everyone wants to live in an area where properties have names and quarter-mile driveways. They might, however, choose to sink all of their disposable income and effort into a different asset: their car.
As a case in point, I once went to view an allegedly immaculate E34-generation BMW M5 that was being sold from a location that police vans would probably drive around, rather than through. That didn’t bother me, though, as I wasn’t buying the place – I was only interested in the car. The BMW subsequently checked out, as did its paperwork, and I bought it.
Furthermore, an upmarket environment is no guarantee that a used car is any good. I’ve seen plenty of poorly maintained and dubious cars on offer at glam locations, and the surroundings alone could cause some buyers to inadvertently overlook all manner of issues.
That’s not to say that the sellers are being intentionally deceptive, just that you need to focus on assessing the car. Admiring the owner's garage is all well and good, but it’s not going to help when you later discover a fist-sized hole in the underside of your new purchase.
It’s a similar story when you’re looking at classifieds and auction listings online – and even more so these days, given the increasing prominence of long, descriptive and captivating adverts that showcase smart-looking cars.
These adverts are particularly common when it comes to modern classics, due to the growing popularity of that market segment, and I’m sure you know the type I mean: a clean car, photographed properly, often against a pleasing or uncluttered background, backed by an extensive description.
Now, there’s inherently nothing wrong with such listings. I used to sell cars in a similar fashion; I’d put down all the details, the history, every fault, how the car drives, what spares availability was like, and so on. The aim was to capture a wider audience, instil confidence, ramp up the bidding, and strike a painless exchange.
The quality of your advert is often proportional to the quality of interest, after all, in my experience. I found that big listings, with lots of accurate details and information, attracted few timewasters – if any – and, because the buyer knew exactly what to expect, every sale was completed without fuss.
Many adverts now understandably and sensibly take a similar, and honest, approach. Unfortunately, some sellers appear to be capitalising on the use of attention-grabbing listings, truckloads of waffle and neatly presented cars to create unjustified excitement and a false sense of security among buyers.
In some instances, such cars are poised to spring all manner of nightmares upon their new owners – but the sellers pour on the praise and positivity in the advert, and neglect to mention certain problems, in what I feel is a manner designed to deter the buyer from making a more critical assessment of what’s in front of them.
For example, I was recently pointed at a listing for a tidy modern classic. The description did everything it could to make it sound like a particularly rare car in excellent condition, while also rattling on about how it had supposedly been mollycoddled and that no expense had been spared.
Except that, if you decided to doubt the seller for a moment, an MOT history check would show that every expense had been spared – and that the car was far from in good condition. Corrosion, dubious welding, long-standing faults, neglect; it was all evident just from that one quick bit of research.
Someone could easily pay top dollar for that car, and be over the moon with their purchase initially, but next year’s MOT could bring the fairytale crashing to an unpleasant, problematic and expensive halt. That’s the kind of nightmare I want people to avoid, particularly given the investment required for such purchases.
People misrepresenting cars isn't new, mind, but I worry that inexperienced or overly trusting buyers may put too much faith in adverts packed with exceedingly eloquent text and carefully shot pictures. Ultimately, getting ensnared by what appears to be perfect may lead to a disappointing car and a depressing and costly ownership experience.
At the end of the day, you’re not buying the sales pitch, the surroundings, stories or statements – you’re buying the car. By all means, read the description, dig through the details, and inspect the pictures. Just remember to do your research to filter out the nonsense, look carefully at what isn't being shown or highlighted, and work out whether the car is as claimed before taking the plunge.
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Keyword: Opinion: Buy the car, not the claptrap