The disappointing quality of used cars even at main dealers
- Thread starter Hades
- Start date
This.
When i see someone driving around in a pile of filth I always wonder what state their house is in. To me a battered car is like walking around in dirty clothes.
Will you tell the next owner that you fitted a tuning box to your new A4?
The return costs for my leased Golf R were £650 : £200 for a lost key, £200 for bodywork repairs and £250 for wheel refurbs.
Associate
- Joined
- 27 Jan 2014
- Posts
- 892
Just a reflection of the country as a whole. Go down south around Greater London or Birmingham.
What dumps. What were once nice houses are now multi-occupancy ruins with knocked over front walls rubble and mattresses and 3-4 cars where neat lawns and colourful tended flowerbeds once were, sheets at the windows. Many of these cars are owned by these people too and they change them out as soon as they need money spending.
What dumps. What were once nice houses are now multi-occupancy ruins with knocked over front walls rubble and mattresses and 3-4 cars where neat lawns and colourful tended flowerbeds once were, sheets at the windows. Many of these cars are owned by these people too and they change them out as soon as they need money spending.
The UK is some weird microcosm for car ownership though, many people spending a disproportionate amount of their income on this shiny 'status' symbol, which they cannot really afford, if they were more realistic about addressing pension provisions, or their health/obesity (66% UK adults)
15-20 years back healthier people had typically older cars ?
Caporegime
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2006
- Posts
- 38,372
I'd still say people don't take as much care of anything these days as they used to
that's only part of the story. it's all the other muppets out there. they don't care if they damage somone elses property.
i've had my car door dinged at least twice. once when i was sat in it and the woman opened her door straight into mine to guess what throw litter into the car park. she never bothered to look in my direction or apologise after doing it either. i got out and checked but couldn't see any damage so i left it.
then when i was washing the car about 6 months later. ding on the door with paint gone. i had washed it 2 weeks previously and it wasn't there.
i've also had someone fall into my car too and dent it. going to try and use boiling water and a small plunger to get that out.
Soldato
Huh, and the connection in wanting my car to look pristine is? You think I am doing this for the next owner, or just attracting trolls on a moralistic soap box...
Soldato
That's a bit harsh I think. My house is extremely clean, my daily driver is dented on almost every panel and permanently dirty (on the outside at least). I don't see the point in spending money repairing it when it's mechanically perfect and does everything I ask of it: it's just a tool to get me to and from work.
Plenty of people who drive battered cars are often like me and have another, much nicer car which they drive at weekends.
I thought the point was this was impacting the long term reliability of your car for the next owner .. so, arguably, not looking after your car ?
Precisely. Looking after a car goes beyond not damaging the paint and kerbing the wheels.
I have noticed the same without actively looking to replace one of our cars. It is one of the reasons we said we'd take first refusal on the in laws car when they want to shift it. They don't cherish their cars but they don't abuse them either.
If I didn't have that option I think I'd look private, pre-reg and even consider buying new before going down the dealership route where the majority of cars are going to be ex demo, courtesy, PCP or hire cars.
There are really good dealers out there who will have a lot full of pristine cars, normally with a premium price tag. I can think of one such dealer in Norwich but having snooped around there once and seeing a couple of cars that were awaiting prep... well... they certainly don't come in as premium examples!
If I didn't have that option I think I'd look private, pre-reg and even consider buying new before going down the dealership route where the majority of cars are going to be ex demo, courtesy, PCP or hire cars.
There are really good dealers out there who will have a lot full of pristine cars, normally with a premium price tag. I can think of one such dealer in Norwich but having snooped around there once and seeing a couple of cars that were awaiting prep... well... they certainly don't come in as premium examples!
Soldato
I've always tried to take a bit of pride in my cars, even the £500 ****boxes, when I bought my current one at just over 10k I haggled the price as I would have to get the alloys refurbed, their answer was 'oh it's fine we'll paint the wheels for you'
Me: they're diamond cut, I don't want them painted
Them: yeah but you get to choose the colour!
Me: is the original polished metal an option?
Them: ERM....no?
£500 off then please! That was a 'prestige' dealer as well..
Me: they're diamond cut, I don't want them painted
Them: yeah but you get to choose the colour!
Me: is the original polished metal an option?
Them: ERM....no?
£500 off then please! That was a 'prestige' dealer as well..
Permabanned
Well, that's fine but, don't you care what people think when they get into your car ?
I always dreaded when a mate offered to take his car for a trip to the football, jeez what a manky tip
his car was, smelly, full of rubbish, and the seats caked in dog hair.
It's not that difficult to clean the inside and the outside every week, it's pure fecklessness and sloth.
Soldato
You clearly don't have a demanding full time job, wife, 2 kids and a dog. I'd rather spend that time on the weekend with my family than cleaning a car that is just going to get dirty again.
Cars (and my bike) are tools.
Yes some people enjoy taking care of them but those who don't aren't doing it because they're "dirty".
Soldato
Anyone who gets in my car knows me, and therefore knows that I'm not like that. Obviously the interior is relatively tidy, doesn't smell, etc etc but equally if the dash is dusty and the floor mats are a bit muddy, I seriously doubt anybody would notice or care.
I have far better things to do on the weekend than clean it, or indeed take it to be cleaned as that takes ages as well.
Soldato
The amount of hours that I'd have to put in to keep the car pristine just doesn't make sense for zero financial benefit. It get's a very quick wash every 4-6 weeks, and a vacuum and dust every 3 months - if someone paid me an hourly rate to do it more often then I would. Guy next door to me washes his car(s) 2-3 times a week, and vacuums them etc. I could literally afford to buy another car for the amount of time he spends keeping them looking nice, 1-2 hours minimum, call it 5 hours a week that's over half a day, if I was charging it out it would be £200-300, over a year (lets call it 48 weeks), that is £9600 of potential income for cleaning a couple of cars.
Interesting man maths there. I keep my car clean and it's time I'd spend just doing other leisure activities, like sleeping or eating. Unfortunately I cannot invoice myself out for such activities. I wouldn't and don't turn down work to clean my car.