The disappointing quality of used cars even at main dealers

[Scania]

Probably due to the increase in PCPs, people consider their cars a temporary expense. No one (ok, few people) are buying a £15,000 car anymore. People are spending £230 a month on a car and therefore they don’t have as much pride as you would if you saved up the money I suppose.
PCP is the most common method of dealer finance on used cars (up to 4 years old) as well now.

This is true, when my partner bought her approved used 1 Series (just under £15k) the salesgimp was genuinely surprised she wanted to buy it outright (no finance/pcp) he said she was the first cash buyer he’d had in weeks!

She insisted on a full detail to correct a few blemishes in the paintwork which they were glad to cover, he did say that the majority of customers couldn’t care less about swirl marks or minor paint chips/defects and the dealers know this hence cars not being prepared to the standard you’d perhaps expect.

 

[Jamesyboyjim]

Unless it's something quite rare, dealers have no reason to fix up a car before selling it to some mug. With rarer/classic things buyers will usually know what they are looking at.

For the sort of cars the masses buy on finance and get neglected (run the mill Audis, BMWs, VWs, etc). Inspect them thoroughly before buying, even relatively new ones. Many of them are absolute sheds under the surface!

Sadly true. Many people trade their cars in because of a nasty fault that will require fixing before long too. Dealers tend to just give the car a good clean and stick it up for sale the next day without knowing themselves the gearbox for example is able to go pop.

 

[Janesy B]

I've seen loads of adverts from dealers showing details of the car interior and the interior is covered in dust and sometimes with the seats still covered in dog hairs and they'll always want top money.

 

[Dav4]

Buy private op. As someone else mentioned try PistonHeads also because most on there are car enthusiasts who actually care for there cars.
I too have noticed a decline In the condition of used cars for sale and it is because most people get them on a monthly payment like a phone contract and just hand them back after 2-3yrs. Most drivers are now also too lazy to even wash there own cars which results in a £5 trip to the Polish car wash where they blast it with a jet washer from 2ft away and rub swirl marks all over your paint.
All my cars have been bought privately and half have been 1 owner examples which I make a point of looking for because you just know it’s been cared for.
Sadly year after year there is getting less and less private examples for sale everyone just part ex’s or uses we buy any crap which is sad. I was looking for a car on AT last week within 100 miles there was only 5 private adverts and 200+ by traders

 

[Housey]

Except they get totally screwed when they hand it back with any damage.

Not really.

My Polo had a noticeable dink on the glovebox from where an old PC case I was dumping scratched it. I had marks all over the passenger side paintwork from local crows trying to attack the birds that looked just like them in the windows, which I could not polish out. It had some paint blemishes from bird poo on the bonnet probably size of A4 in total that had damaged the lacquer. It also had a scratch on the bumper from getting bags in and out (I had not even noticed it) and some significant stone chips.

All fine, no charge from Arval after several people had told me to expect to be bummed come hand back.

 

[jpaul]

Isn't disappointing used car quality a corollary to reduction in new car 'quality' ?
both the paintwork (lamentable loss of solvent based paints ) and reduced overdesign of mechanical parts.

[

All fine, no charge from Arval after several people had told me to expect to be bummed come hand back.

the assesment criteria were posted up here a while back .. so should be no surprises
]

 

[paintguy]

Why would a dealer spend money getting the car up to your standard when someone else will buy it without them doing more than a valet?
I work for a major dealership, originally in sales but now elsewhere in the business and we will send the money getting the car ready for delivery once it’s been sold. It doesn’t make business sense to fix every scratch/ding/paintwork when It can be sold with these issues or a lengthy valet can fix it if the customer so desires.
When you’ve got 150 cars on your lot, they can’t all be perfect. Plus, they are used cars.

We tend to go the other way, and prep before the cars are presented for sale. I'm not saying it's a better method but with over 100 sales per week being common, and a record of nearly 180 in a week, it's working for us.
The majority of people (not enthusiasts of course) buy out of necessity these days. It's not like it used to be when people saw replacing their car as a nice treat, they now do it because their old one is just too big/small/old and knackered, so they are approaching the matter in a very different way. It's more like a chore so they'll find any excuse not to follow it through.

If a customer is looking round our cars and finds them full of scratches, dog hair etc, it's just what they need as an excuse to put it off for another day. If we can present our cars in a better than average condition it's one less obstacle in the buying process.

 

[danielanthony]

PCP deals keep a steady supply of abused cars for the 2nd hand market, you don't own it and will be giving it back in three years so why bother?

 

[kaiowas]

We tend to go the other way, and prep before the cars are presented for sale. I'm not saying it's a better method but with over 100 sales per week being common, and a record of nearly 180 in a week, it's working for us.
The majority of people (not enthusiasts of course) buy out of necessity these days. It's not like it used to be when people saw replacing their car as a nice treat, they now do it because their old one is just too big/small/old and knackered, so they are approaching the matter in a very different way. It's more like a chore so they'll find any excuse not to follow it through.

If a customer is looking round our cars and finds them full of scratches, dog hair etc, it's just what they need as an excuse to put it off for another day. If we can present our cars in a better than average condition it's one less obstacle in the buying process.

I was looking at a car at a main dealer at the start of the year and there were several minor issues that I wasn't happy with. The salesman was very accomodating and in his attempts to win a sale was prepared to address almost all of them, however in the end I'm still not sure that he understood my reasoning for not buying the car. It wasn't the condition it would be in when I got it that was the problem, it was that the overall condition at that point in time was indicative of a previous owner who hadn't cared for it and that for every issue I'd found there was probably another that I hadn't. If the car had been prepped before I saw it, it may have been a different story.

 

[chroniclard]

PCP/leasing doesn't mean you can disrespect the car, if you give it back trashed you will get charged a fortune I thought? All depends what the damage is I suppose.

 

[danielanthony]

PCP/leasing doesn't mean you can disrespect the car, if you give it back trashed you will get charged a fortune I thought? All depends what the damage is I suppose.

I've returned my 530D after three years with two kerbed alloys and various chips in the paintwork. Plus the rear tyres had 0.01mm legal tread left. No charge. In fact, the bloke who picked it up thanked me for having it cleaned.

 

[chroniclard]

I've returned my 530D after three years with two kerbed alloys and various chips in the paintwork. Plus the rear tyres had 0.01mm legal tread left. No charge. In fact, the bloke who picked it up thanked me for having it cleaned.

Hmm brothers just given his S3 back and they went over it with a fine toothed comb! Our lease goes back in July but I look after it.

 

[Sui]

I've returned my 530D after three years with two kerbed alloys and various chips in the paintwork. Plus the rear tyres had 0.01mm legal tread left. No charge. In fact, the bloke who picked it up thanked me for having it cleaned.

Yea mine was just washed down at the local Asda every now and again, bird poop etchings all over the bonnet and a damaged rear bumper and the guy picking it up said it's nice to see someone that has looked after their car! They must pick up some truly awful vehicles.

 

[danielanthony]

Yea mine was just washed down at the local Asda every now and again, bird poop etchings all over the bonnet and a damaged rear bumper and the guy picking it up said it's nice to see someone that has looked after their car! They must pick up some truly awful vehicles.

Company cars are the worst. I had to borrow some HR girl's company car to get to a site once, the oil warning light was on and the cabin smelled like a toilet. Ex-hire cars are almost as bad, red-lined from the time we drive them out of the parking garage, and hard breaking is de rigueur.

 

[Ahleckz]

Except they get totally screwed when they hand it back with any damage.

Majority of customers don’t hand back, they trade in against a new PCP.

We tend to go the other way, and prep before the cars are presented for sale. I'm not saying it's a better method but with over 100 sales per week being common, and a record of nearly 180 in a week, it's working for us.
The majority of people (not enthusiasts of course) buy out of necessity these days. It's not like it used to be when people saw replacing their car as a nice treat, they now do it because their old one is just too big/small/old and knackered, so they are approaching the matter in a very different way. It's more like a chore so they'll find any excuse not to follow it through.

If a customer is looking round our cars and finds them full of scratches, dog hair etc, it's just what they need as an excuse to put it off for another day. If we can present our cars in a better than average condition it's one less obstacle in the buying process.

We of course prep them, don’t just stick up the price as they come into the lot but there’s little money spent beyond what’s legally necessary and a basic valet.

100 a week? What are the staff doing for the other 3 days they are meant to be selling?

 

[paintguy]

100 a week? What are the staff doing for the other 3 days they are meant to be selling?

We get them cleaning cars to keep the prep costs down

 

[[TW]Fox]

there’s little money spent beyond what’s legally necessary and a basic valet.

So what value are you adding to the product?

 

[233]

modern cars are crap even when new

mk5 mondeo with paint so poor you get chips if you even look at it the wrong way. stupid waterbased crud.


my 20 yr old Omega has better paint than my 2 yr old Mondeo

 

[cuke2u]

PCP deals keep a steady supply of abused cars for the 2nd hand market, you don't own it and will be giving it back in three years so why bother?

Because I do, and all our cars have been a pcp purchase for the last eight years. All of them have been treated with care and respect and been professionally detailed. You are making generalisations and assumptions as there are many of us that cherish our pcp owned vehicles.

 

[danielanthony]

Because I do, and all our cars have been a pcp purchase for the last eight years. All of them have been treated with care and respect and been professionally detailed. You are making generalisations and assumptions as there are many of us that cherish our pcp owned vehicles.

Well, you're cherishing something which doesn't belong to you and you're only doing the finance company a favour by keeping the car in an as-new condition. A dream customer, some might say. A car is to be used as a workhorse, I've got a busy life and a large family, if the car takes a few bumps and scrapes during its lifetime I don't care as I've got bigger things to think about.

If you're wondering what the limits are on fair wear and tear, see here: http://www.kia-leasing.co.uk/instances/balgores/data/pdfs/BVRLA-Guide.pdf

Chips

Small areas of chipping, including door edge chipping are acceptable. If the areas of chipping require the entire panel, bumper or trim to be repaired or repainted, the damage is not acceptable.

Dents

Dents (up to 10mm) are acceptable provided there are no more than two (2) per panel and the paint surface is not broken.

Dents on the roof or swage line on any panels are not acceptable.

Scratches

Scratches and abrasions up to 25mm are acceptable, relative to the vehicle’s age and mileage, and provided the primer or bare metal is not showing.

Moulding, wheel arch trims

Scuffs and scratches up to 25mm are acceptable provided the moulding or trim is not broken, cracked or deformed.

Tyre wear and damage

All tyres, including any spare, must meet minimum UK legal requirements and comply with the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations of tyre type, class*, size and speed rating for the vehicle.

There must be no damage to sidewalls or tread.

Evidence of uneven wear due to under- or over-inflation is not acceptable.

Wheels and wheel trims

Dents and holes on wheel rims and wheel trims are not acceptable.

Scuffs totalling up to 50mm on the total circumference of the wheel trim and on alloy wheels are acceptable.

Any damage to the wheel spokes and the hub of the alloy wheel is not acceptable.

The spare wheel (including ‘spacesaver’), jack and other tools must be intact, stowed properly and in good working order.

The emergency tyre inflation canister, if supplied when new, should be in full working order, serviceable and ready for use. A canister that has been partially or fully discharged should be replaced.

Passenger area, seats, headrests and trim

The interior upholstery and trim must be clean and odourless with no burns, scratches, tears or staining.

Carpets should not have holes.

All seats originally supplied must be present.

Wear and soiling through normal use is acceptable.

Interior fittings such as seat belts, rear view mirrors, courtesy lights, sunvisors, door bins, etc, must be present, intact and free of damage.

Door aperture, boot, boot liner and luggage area

Scratches on treads, sills and seals that reflect normal use are acceptable.

Torn or split floor coverings and damaged surrounding trim panels are notacceptable.

Accessories such as parcel shelves, load covers, restraining straps and nets must be returned with the vehicle.