What should be your top concerns when planning to sell your car?

Whether you are selling your vehicle privately or trading it in to a dealership, you should treat it the same way. Think of what you are looking for in a vehicle and what would be important to you if you were buying your vehicle and make sure your vehicle is set up that way.

First it should look good. I have appraised thousands of cars in my career and I will tell you that overall, the cars that were clean and pleasant to be in were worth more than the ones that smelled funny, had stained seats and stale French fries stuck to the seat. A vehicle that is clean inside and out, as well as under the hood will many times fetch $500 or more than the same vehicle that is not clean. Remember, if you want all the money for your vehicle, your vehicle should look like it is worth all the money. Wash and vacuum the inside, clean the glass inside and out, wash and wax the exterior, clean the brake dust from your wheels, dress the tires and steam clean the engine compartment. The $20 worth of materials and the 3 hours of elbow grease will pay dividends every time. (One note: be careful when you clean the engine. If you use too much water, you can fowl the spark plugs and cause the car to run rough as well as have the check engine light come on and this will be more costly to make right.)

Second, make sure the vehicle is current with state inspection and emissions and if you are within the three-month window I would get new badges. When I look at a vehicle that does not have current inspection, or is up for inspection within a month or two, I figure there is a reason for it and I am going to appraise it accordingly. A fresh set of emission and inspection badges are worth several hundred more dollars than a vehicle that is out of inspection or close to it. Plus, if there are other potential issues with how the vehicle runs and the badges are not current it concerns me more and I will be even more conservative with the value of the vehicle.

Third, make sure your vehicle is in as good a running condition as possible. Change the oil and transmission fluid if needed. If the oil or transmission fluid is dark and dirty looking when the appraiser checks it, a red flag goes up as to how well the vehicle has been maintained, regardless of how it runs. If your vehicle engine is running a little noisy, you will want to either use an additive or a slightly thicker oil, 10w 30 over 5w 30, to make it run as quietly as possible. Cleaned and treated transmissions will normally shift better than a dirty one and that is important to who is evaluating the vehicle. Oil and transmission fluid are the two big things that need to be as good as they can, because they are easily checked. Anything that is easy to look at; transmission fluid, oil, serpentine belt and the top of the engine, you want to have standing tall. It will be worth $100s of dollars to you.

The most important thing to do is think of what you would look for when buying a used car and make sure your car is as close to that as possible. You will probably invest $100 to $200 dollars and 3 to 6 hours into making your vehicle stand tall, but is should make your vehicle worth $500 to $800 more as a trade in and $1000 to $1500 more if you are selling it yourself. Well worth your investment. Have a great one.

Picking the right car dealer

An anonymous reader asks:
OK, you've done your homework and picked out what you want and expect from your next car purchase. But how do you decide which car dealership (or even which salesperson) is right for you?

Cory Answers:
I like this question! Because this is a question that does not really require research, due diligence or any hard work. It requires simply your gut.

This is something that you won’t be able to truly determine until you visit the stores. The only research that could be done ahead of time is to check with the Better Business Bureau for the dealerships on your list.

Some people would tell you to also check online reviews and those are fine, but remember, they are unfiltered and usually only people that are disgruntled tend to take the time to post. Your best read on this is yourself; if you are comfortable with your experience then you will be in good shape.

If you do not feel good about your experience, then I would recommend to you not to buy the vehicle from that dealership or salesperson, because if you have a problem you will have to work with those same people again.

Plus, when you are parting with the sum of money it takes to buy a vehicle, you should be happy with the whole experience. If the vehicle, salesperson, manager, finance person and dealership are to your liking then go for it. If one or more of these aspects concern you, then I would move on. Remember, you have the power to choose.

Would you like to have Cory answer one of your burning questions about buying and selling cars? Participating is easy. Just visit our website at www.berksmontnews.com, scroll down to BerksMontNews.com blogs and click on Cory's Car Questions. Click on the comment section under any blog post and post your question. Your inquiry will be forwarded and answered then reposted to the blog and printed in a future edition of this column. If you need to know more about "How to buy, sell, trade and make sure you're getting the best deal" on your new or used car, ask Cory today!

When car purchases go wrong

What options are open to a car buyer who believes they have been wronged in a car purchase?

This is a good one. Because I deal primarily with used vehicles now and I do get to deal with this from time to time. If you feel you have been wronged first thing you want to do is make sure that you actually were wronged and that it is not just buyers remorse.

When you buy a car from a dealership, you will sign a good amount of paperwork and have plenty of opportunity to scrutinize the deal. If anything does not feel or seem right as you are signing, stop and ask for clarification.

Until you sign all the paperwork and drive the vehicle away it is not yours. However after you have signed and driven the vehicle away it is primarily yours, so make sure you feel everything is in order before you take the car. Remember, if you buy from a private seller the vehicle is always assumed “as is” and your recourse is very limited, so make sure you are very careful before you hand over your money.

After you have looked at your situation and still feel you were wronged then the next step is to contact the dealer. Problem solving with cars, as well as anything in life, should be attempted at the lowest level possible, so start with your salesperson. People that try to go directly to the owner or the general manager get a slower response because they have to go back down through the levels to find out all the details.

Your salesperson is already familiar with you, the car and the deal, so if you picked a good one he or she should be able to help you out the fastest. If you are still not satisfied with your results then the next step is to talk to the department manager and explain your concerns. You want to make sure you remove negative emotions from your conversation. If you yell or threaten you will tend to get less help and remember, at this point and time you own the vehicle and if you can not resolve it at the customer business level the next steps will cost you much more in money and time.

Do not ever threaten to use a lawyer. If you do, most managers are instructed to stop all conversation and have you have your lawyer contact the company's lawyer, because once lawyers are involved the company has to be very careful on how it proceeds.

So, unless you are at the point were you are going to turn the matter over to an attorney, don’t just threaten it. You will want to explain your concerns clearly and directly and where you feel you were wronged and allow the dealership to try to resolve the problem. If your concern can be resolved by the dealership they will usually try to find a solution.

Also, do not threaten to not pay the payments on the vehicle. Every car dealer knows that they have already assigned the financing to a bank and they will get paid on the car from the bank. So, if you stop paying it will be the bank and you that have a problem, not the dealer. If you are a reasonable person with a reasonable complaint the dealer will more times than not try to make you happy.

If you do not feel that you have had your problem resolved at the department manager’s level, and you still feel that it is a problem, then it is time to go to the general manager or owner. I would write them a letter with the details of your problem and what has or has not been done to resolve it up until this point.

I would send it certified to make sure they get it. Again all the rules of engagement still apply. Do not threaten, just simply work to get your problem resolved. If after all that you still feel wronged and that it has not been resolved to your satisfaction, you will want to get an outside force involved: either the factory, if they are a new car franchise, an attorney or the media.

You will want to explain your situation to them and what you have done to try and resolve it. They will either help you or tell you that you do not have a legitimate complaint. This is the best course of action to take to get a concern resolved. Remember, the nicer you are the nicer the dealer will be and try to get it resolved at the lowest level possible. This will give you the best chance at satisfaction. Good luck and have a great one.

Steps for getting the best deal

What steps can a car buyer take to be sure they are getting the best deal for their money?

Cory’s response:
The best way to get the most for your money is to simply do your homework. Know what you want, what your budget is, what you are willing to pay and what you are looking for is worth. If you do your pre-work, shopping will be easy and you will be able to feel good about what you have done. Here are the steps you should take when you are ready to buy a car:

1. Figure out your budget.
a) How much you have available to put down on a vehicle. Unless you have strong credit the banks will give you a better interest rate if you are putting 20% to 30% down and covering tax, tags and fees. Either way, figure how much you are able to put down without draining your bank account. You do not want to have a cash emergency and not have money available.
b) Decide what you can afford a month. If you have standard credit plan on every thousand dollars you borrow to be about twenty dollars in payment. (i.e. $10,000 borrowed for 60 months will yield a payment of around $200 per month) Do not forget about insurance, if you are financing you will need full coverage insurance, usually with $500 deductibles. If you are not sure of your credit situation you can always buy your credit report; 720+ score and you can expect the best rates; 680 to 719 you will still be easy for a bank to approve and you will still get a very competitive rate; 620 to 679 you should be approved at an average to slightly below average rate; 580 to 619 may require some more money down and a little bit of work on the dealership to get you approved. You will pay a higher interest rate, but you still should have a chance to be approved. Below 579 and you will require some help and special attention to get a loan. Once you know about where your credit situation is and what you can expect as an interest rate you can go on line and find a loan calculator and really hone in on what you can expect for the amount you can afford per month.
c) Now that you know what you are putting down and what you are able to afford for a monthly payment, you will be able to calculate what the price of your new vehicle will be. What you need to do is add your down payment to what your monthly payment yields you, subtract $200 in document and tag fees, then multiply it by 94% to account for tax. This will give you your budget for a vehicle. (Example: $2,000 down payment + $200 monthly payment over 60 months yields ($10,000)= $12,000 - $200 fees = $11,800 X .94 (94%)= $11092, so you should be looking for a vehicle in the $11,000 range)
2. Figure out your vehicle (create the shopping list)
a.) Now that you know what you have to spend, you will want to figure out what you would want in your price range. There are several good sources for this; go on either cars.com or autotrader.com or any auto sales web site, type in your price parameters and scan through what comes up. Another good source is Consumer Reports used car guide. In this guide, you will find lists of Consumer Reports recommended vehicles broken into price ranges as well as vehicles they feel you should avoid. In this step, I recommend that you look at every vehicle available to you so that you can get a full picture of what you might be able to buy.
b.) Once you have a picture of what types of vehicles are available to you in your price range, decide which would be best for your needs. I would pick five types that are acceptable and rank them 1 through 5 on what you like best.
3. Time to shop
a.) The best start for your shopping trip is a virtual one. Go on line to the same sites I told you about above and a half dozen others and gather your list of vehicles that suit your price, needs and wants list. Simply print out the information sheets on the vehicles and pile them up.
b.) Now that you have a list of vehicles that might fit your needs in physical existence, sort them in order of your top choice on down. Start calling the dealerships to make sure the vehicle is available and book an appointment to see the vehicle and the dealership.
c.) Remember, if this is a used car you must be prepared to buy when you find what you want. You need to remember that no two used cars are alike and the used car you are thinking about today may be the same used car that someone else looked at yesterday. Plus if you are in a position to buy that day and the dealership knows it, you will be in a position of greater power because they will work harder to make sure you leave with their car.
d.) You pick the best vehicle for you to look at first because you do not need to waste your time looking at vehicles if you find the best one for you right off the bat.
e.) If you like how the vehicle drives and looks then it is time to work on buying it. You need to negotiate your price, but make it pending your mechanic checking things out.
4. Buying your vehicle
a.) You have driven the vehicle, visually inspected it, checked out the dealership and the salesperson you are buying from. Now you need to ask yourself some questions. Do I like the vehicle? Does it look and feel right? Do I like the person I am dealing with, or at the very least do I not dislike them? Does the dealership make me feel comfortable? If I had a problem with the vehicle does it feel like the dealership would work with me? If the answer to any of these questions is “no” then you should probably move on to the next car on your list. If you can answer these questions “yes”, then it is time to negotiate.
b.) When you are negotiating you will want to have all your research available to you. Give the dealership all your initial information so they can get the process started and then, before the salesperson goes to talk to the sales manager, let them know two things. First, if they make you happy you will buy their vehicle today and second, what you are willing to pay for the vehicle. You want to do this because the dealership will work extra hard for your business if they know that you are prepared to buy if the circumstances are right. You want to start with your numbers because then the dealership will need to work up from your number rather than down from their number. Usually whoever starts the negotiation will start at the extreme end of the scale, so you want to start out at your end, not theirs. Keep in mind what market value is for the vehicle and what your budget is and let that be your guide to when to say yes. Many times a dealer will try to move the discussion to payment and down payment. Let them know that you have already worked that out and the price of the vehicle is all that matters to you and the value of your trade if you have one.
c.) Finally after they have agreed to your terms and you to theirs, it is time to do the paperwork. As stated before, if you are buying a used car, I would buy the vehicle with the condition of having your mechanic check the vehicle first. Put a deposit down on the vehicle and arrange to have your mechanic take a look at it. The $50 - $75 you spend for them to look it over could save you a future headache. Keep in mind that all pre-owned vehicles are not perfect and your mechanic may tell you every little detail. You may not need to sweat the small stuff, but at this point it is your choice.
5. In conclusion, the simple rule for making buying a vehicle less stressful and making sure you get the best deal for you is to do your homework. Good luck and good shopping.