If we could make a list of professions and careers that are best suited for people with little to none morals – lawyers, politicians and drug dealers/mafiosos come to mind first. However, a profession that sometimes flies under the radar but is of equal caliber in ‘Stretching the truth’ is car salespeople.
They know how important of a commodity a car is and they are willing to bend every piece of resistance you have and manipulate you into buying a car which is too expensive, too brash or too useless for you. However, even though we all know this, people who sell cars still fool us a lot. Here are some things that they wish to never answer honestly.
Average fuel consumption
Probably 90% of buyers care about the car’s economy. Of course, if you live somewhere where gasoline and/or diesel is cheap and you drive on empty rural roads, this might not be a major concern. But in countries and cities where you have congestions, long travel times as well as taxation on pollution – economy is important.
This is why every car that the seller sells does no less than 23 mpg or 10l/100km. Even if it’s a 8 litre Viper, the seller will claim that once you get used to the car – you’ll do a 20mpg drive on a highway which is more realistic in a Tesla rather than a Viper…
The true cost of repairing something
It’s just not in their interest to discuss actual repair and maintenance costs because they’re expensive all the time. Besides, they do not want you to know what needs repairing before they actually see that you’re almost 100% ready to buy.
Only after you’ve informally agree on buying will they tell you something between the lines of ‘Oh, and by the way, the tyres will need changing soon’ or ‘I almost forgot to mention that shock absorbers at the front should be looked at’.
Sellers could deliberately tell you a lower repair cost. For example – a steering wheel can be worn which is unpleasant to hold and look at. It’s much cheaper to refurbish it instead of buying a new one, but the seller might tell a price at a small, unlicensed local repair shop whilst a premium service provider might charge higher. How much exactly, you can find out at professional sites like at Woodensteeringwheels.com.
They are required, by law, to tell you every inherent defect there is, but they are professional sellers which means that they will deliver that info when and only when they are certain that that info won’t harm their chances of selling.
How did the previous owner drove it
It’s common for car salespeople to say that the previous owner was a careful senior who only drove it to church and back.
However, even if it was a maniac who lived at the redline of the tachometer, there’s almost no chance that they will ever tell you. Because as statistics show, people tend to buy more when they know that the previous owner of a car was one of the following:
· A mother of young children
· A father of young children (in both instances sellers conveniently place baby seats in the back just to add to the mood, even if the owners weren’t young parents)
· Senior citizen
Is the car reliable overall?
A car like the Tesla Model X or the Chrysler Pacifica as well as 1.2 litre engine VAG group cars are all known to be tremendously unreliable or have tremendously unreliable parts. However, a person who is trying to sell will never tell you an honest overview of what to expect. They will claim that it depends on who was the owner and how it was maintained (which has a lot of truth to it), but they can also falsify about who was the owner before.
That another car might be better suited for you (if they don’t have it in stock)
If you want a two-door coupe, but you’re 7 feet tall – there are better options for you out there. Furthermore, if you are 5’1, you probably have a better choice than a large pickup truck or a full-sized luxury SUV. Of course, we are not trying to say that a short or tall person shouldn’t be driving specific set of cars. We are trying to shine the light to the fact that depending on your physical characteristics – some cars might be better than others, but if the car seller hasn’t got anything better to offer – you won’t know it.
For example, a senior is looking for a truck to use on his farm. Larger trucks might be difficult to get in and out of, but the seller won’t tell you this. Or if you have 3 kids, it could be nice to have an option for a 7-seater SUV for family trips, but the seller could insist on a smaller Minivan instead.
That it’s too expensive for you
It costs 40,000$ and you earn 4,000$ per month and the monthly instalment is 500$ per month? Of course it’s right for you! According to the salesperson, at least.
There is an unwritten rule of car buying called the 10% rule (sometimes it can be the 15% rule). It advises against buying a car that will cost more than 10% of your annual income. So, in our example it shouldn’t be more than 4000$ per year (on instalments). Adjust your expectations according to this.
