Condition of used cars at dealers and car supermarkets
Discussion
Maybe I just have high standards but I have noticed the condition of cars I have looked at recently at dealers and car supermarkets just isn't very good.
Now I know a used car can never be perfect but you'd expect cars just off lease to be pretty tidy.
Obviously this will vary depending on the type of car, the price and the age.
Really I'm talking about Mazda 6, Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall insignia type cars, 2-3 years old and 30-50k miles.
I've seen cars with damage to the interior fabrics, lots of scuffs on interior plastics, poorly done smart repairs on paintwork etc
I haven't shopped for a fairly new used car in a few years but I just remember them being of a higher standard a few years back.
Damage aside, the cars aren't clean either! Usually they're ok on the outside but on the inside there's no attention to detail!
Am I just being fussy or is this a trend?
Now I know a used car can never be perfect but you'd expect cars just off lease to be pretty tidy.
Obviously this will vary depending on the type of car, the price and the age.
Really I'm talking about Mazda 6, Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall insignia type cars, 2-3 years old and 30-50k miles.
I've seen cars with damage to the interior fabrics, lots of scuffs on interior plastics, poorly done smart repairs on paintwork etc
I haven't shopped for a fairly new used car in a few years but I just remember them being of a higher standard a few years back.
Damage aside, the cars aren't clean either! Usually they're ok on the outside but on the inside there's no attention to detail!
Am I just being fussy or is this a trend?
I went car shopping a few weeks ago to help a friend, albeit at a lower price point (£6k). Not expecting minters but the amount of mingers was truly eye-opening. Zero effort on presentation and prep on a single car I saw, one key, no paperwork and mismatching budget tyres on most, and I must have visited more than 10 dealers.
Makes you realise how little value most dealers add. And how little the average punter cares about the condition of their cars. Perhaps particularly bad here in London, where every single car I viewed had significant dents and scrapes which I could not live with as is.
Whenever I sell a car privately, and I've sold cars from £1.5k to £33k in the past two years alone, they're as clean as they can be, with multiple keys, a ring binder full of invoices and a fresh MoT.
Makes you realise how little value most dealers add. And how little the average punter cares about the condition of their cars. Perhaps particularly bad here in London, where every single car I viewed had significant dents and scrapes which I could not live with as is.
Whenever I sell a car privately, and I've sold cars from £1.5k to £33k in the past two years alone, they're as clean as they can be, with multiple keys, a ring binder full of invoices and a fresh MoT.
Edited by plenty on Friday 29th April 23:27
Exactly this!
I can't believe how little people must care about cars. When I'm looking at cars that have had 1 owner and are 3 years old and they're damaged and look like they haven't been cleaned since new.
I seem to remember 6-7 years ago cars for sale were cleaner and in better condition.
My current car is an 8 year old insignia with 170k miles and it's as close to perfect as it can be
I can't believe how little people must care about cars. When I'm looking at cars that have had 1 owner and are 3 years old and they're damaged and look like they haven't been cleaned since new.
I seem to remember 6-7 years ago cars for sale were cleaner and in better condition.
My current car is an 8 year old insignia with 170k miles and it's as close to perfect as it can be
Last year when I was shopping for cars I found exactly this. I don’t think I saw a single car with 4 matching tyres. And a dealer definition of ‘full service history’ seems to be that it’s had a few services in its life.
It’s funny really, when you part exchange a car all these things like mismatched tyres, missing service history and any scrapes and dents is met with much sucking of teeth and knocking money off… but when it comes to purchasing cars with said faults it’s usually met with ‘it’s a used car, what do you expect?’
I had a particularly interesting viewing of a 4 year old Abarth 595 which was described as ‘immaculate’ on phone before driving 40 minute for a viewing. Car was anything but, never seen a 4 year old car with so many stone chips. Strong smell of fuel on the interior and several other faults including faulty boot handle. The dealer asked sarcastically whether I was looking for perfection… no, I’m not, but something at least reasonably presented and as described would be nice.
Sadly with it being a sellers market at the minute there’s no need for dealers to up their game with their stock. They buy them in, throw on a £200 RAC warranty which covers nothing and gets them sold.
I hate buying and selling cars.
It’s funny really, when you part exchange a car all these things like mismatched tyres, missing service history and any scrapes and dents is met with much sucking of teeth and knocking money off… but when it comes to purchasing cars with said faults it’s usually met with ‘it’s a used car, what do you expect?’
I had a particularly interesting viewing of a 4 year old Abarth 595 which was described as ‘immaculate’ on phone before driving 40 minute for a viewing. Car was anything but, never seen a 4 year old car with so many stone chips. Strong smell of fuel on the interior and several other faults including faulty boot handle. The dealer asked sarcastically whether I was looking for perfection… no, I’m not, but something at least reasonably presented and as described would be nice.
Sadly with it being a sellers market at the minute there’s no need for dealers to up their game with their stock. They buy them in, throw on a £200 RAC warranty which covers nothing and gets them sold.
I hate buying and selling cars.
Try looking at Suzuki Jimny's at £4-5k. It's a typically very rusty car, and can have serious structural issues. My aunt is determined to buy herself another but virtually everything going in that price range has a very "spicy" mot history when you look.
This is typical at a small local dealers, tyres slick and some underseal anyone?
I just found my dream car... Search for yours https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203294...
10 advisories in 2020 for rot and wear items, undersealed later and now a nice shiny advert later in life.
This is typical at a small local dealers, tyres slick and some underseal anyone?
I just found my dream car... Search for yours https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203294...
10 advisories in 2020 for rot and wear items, undersealed later and now a nice shiny advert later in life.
Edited by 200Plus Club on Saturday 30th April 06:46
Those types of cars you mention OP would have been most likely ex company lease and not the pride and joy of some middle management rep.
In general, I've found the A4/XE/3/5series etc of this world better looked after from ex lease.
Car supermarkets are a mixed bag. Some horrors, some gems. Happy hunting!
In general, I've found the A4/XE/3/5series etc of this world better looked after from ex lease.
Car supermarkets are a mixed bag. Some horrors, some gems. Happy hunting!
SidewaysSi said:
CoolHands said:
a) brits are now mostly scum and treat their cars as such
b) dealers are mostly (yes not all) lazy fecks who don’t spend 1 penny on the motor, hence them not being cleaned or prepped
+1. Dealers are a waste of time.b) dealers are mostly (yes not all) lazy fecks who don’t spend 1 penny on the motor, hence them not being cleaned or prepped
I always find the dealer has chucked all the paper work away too. Leaving just the service book, which is often full of main dealers, apart from the last mot and service which will have been done by their preferred back street garage in East London and MOTd by stevie wonder himself.
Could it be the type of cars the OP is referring to are leased business cars and are generally used as a mobile office, perhaps little care given to the condition?
What is disappointing is the lack of pre sale preparation, some dealers simply don’t seem to care, I guess it’s a sellers market at the moment.
What is disappointing is the lack of pre sale preparation, some dealers simply don’t seem to care, I guess it’s a sellers market at the moment.
Ice_blue_tvr said:
But very hard to find a private seller these days
Probably because potential buyers whinge when a three year-old, 50k mile car has a few scratches on it. 
I suspect the problem is just that all second-hand prices have risen dramatically which means the cars people are looking at buying are considerably "further down the market" than they would have been five years ago, if that makes sense. I'm sure the good, well kept cars are out there, they're just bloody expensive.
Well this is what I would have thought. With a few cars I've looked at they've been pretty fair with the price and part ex value, given the market conditions. When I've walked away they've asked if there's anything they could do, as in a discount. But it's not the money, it's the car. You don't want to swap your 8 year old car which is in near perfect condition for a 3 year old car which is trashed
Working at a car garage who has over 120 used cars for sale, Main issue we are having at the moment is time to actually prep the car.
Short on staff * hard to find people who want a job it seems * we are short on a valeter, 2 mechanics and 1 bodyshop guy.
Majority of the cars we are selling get sold before they are prepped just due to time.
We have about 30 in a awaiting prep line, not cleaned, due alloy scuffs bumper scuffs and other things, its the first part of our site people are drawn towards for some reason
Depends on the customer but some are fine and say as long as they are done before collection i will buy it, others wont look until its prepped.... but then they lose the car because someone else buys it.
Short on staff * hard to find people who want a job it seems * we are short on a valeter, 2 mechanics and 1 bodyshop guy.
Majority of the cars we are selling get sold before they are prepped just due to time.
We have about 30 in a awaiting prep line, not cleaned, due alloy scuffs bumper scuffs and other things, its the first part of our site people are drawn towards for some reason
Depends on the customer but some are fine and say as long as they are done before collection i will buy it, others wont look until its prepped.... but then they lose the car because someone else buys it.
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