W5 - Used Car Dealers Survey

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Mina

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3 part video:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/annual-survey-of-used-car-market-finds-deceitful-dealers-rebuilt-wrecks-1.1772123

It doesn't matter what field you're in, there will always be some bad apples that ruin it for the bunch. Now, I agree that dealers/curbsiders selling frame damaged wrecks should have the book thrown at them with no exceptions.

My only real beef with the video is the part where the reporter claims that you should not be charged more than $80 for the safety and e. test. This is absolute nonsense, as long as the car is advertised as "as is" and you state the cost of certification in your ad, you are in no way breaking any laws if you charge $295, $495, $695, etc.

Yes, a safety certificate costs $50 if the vehicle requires ZERO work for certification and the e. test is only $35, again, assuming there are no sensors that need to be replaced, etc. But what if the vehicle needs brakes? Tires? Bearings? Balljoints? O2 sensors? Cat converter? Am I supposed to only charge you $80? Lol...
 
The dealer should have an idea what it will cost to certify the vehicle.

If your saying you should charge $295/$395 or even $1000 to certify every vehicle .. ill spend my money elsewhere.
 
infernobuster said:
The dealer should have an idea what it will cost to certify the vehicle.

If your saying you should charge $295/$395 or even $1000 to certify every vehicle .. ill spend my money elsewhere.
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I understand your logic, but what if the price of the car + the cost of certification and e. test is still cheaper than what you can get elsewhere?
What if the dealer inspects the car when it first arrives but it sits for a month or two or three? 9/10 times you can be sure that it will require more work for certification. There is no way of being 100% certain, unless the car is being certified that day.
 
Mina said:
I understand your logic, but what if the price of the car + the cost of certification and e. test is still cheaper than what you can get elsewhere?
What if the dealer inspects the car when it first arrives but it sits for a month or two or three? 9/10 times you can be sure that it will require more work for certification. There is no way of being 100% certain, unless the car is being certified that day.
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Sell it certified, problem solved.
 
Even if the car gets inspected when it first arrives, and sits there for a month or 2 .. nothing changes.

No one is driving it to add kms onto that car. How would it require more work at that point?
 
Mina said:
What if the dealer inspects the car when it first arrives but it sits for a month or two or three? 9/10 times you can be sure that it will require more work for certification. There is no way of being 100% certain, unless the car is being certified that day.
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Could you provide an example of a situation why a car can be inspected / certified when it first comes into the dealership and a month later it needs something done to it to pass safety/cert?
 
GagguP said:
Could you provide an example of a situation why a car can be inspected / certified when it first comes into the dealership and a month later it needs something done to it to pass safety/cert?
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Caliper seized from being parked.

On the flip side, if I certify a car and somebody wants to buy it as is. Am I out the money I spent?
 
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Mina said:
Caliper seized from being parked.

On the flip side, if I certify a car and somebody wants to buy it as is. Am I out the money I spent?
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I guess that could happen but I would hope it doesn't in just one month of sitting there.

If you certified the car the money you put into the cert (new tires/brakes whatever it might be) should be reflected in the sales price, wouldn't it be?..

Not trying to bash you or anything, just want to get a better understanding of how all this works as I'm in the market for a used car.
 
I wonder how it works:

1. The car is good, and it would honestly pass safety, but the dealer charges $300 for the safety to make some extra money. Customer goes for it since he is afraid another garage might charge him way more for the safety.
2. The car is junk, it would need $1000s to safety but the dealer just does the obvious like brakes for $300.
3. The car really just needs $300 of work
 
Personally I will never buy a certified used car. (After my last purchase)

I know enough about cars that with a basic mastercraft jack I can tell if I car is certifiable. And if someone tells me its not ill argue that fact.

Same with emissions. I have an obd2 tester that will tell me if my car can pass the new emissions. So why would I pay extra.

In the same token you NEED to pay your service guys or your salesmen to bring the car to a service place and pick it up.

Another point is I once was interested in a car for 3k.
Upon test drive I easily realized the car had a problem (would pop out of 3rd) the sales guy taking the spin with me swore it was fine and I busted him not releasing the clutch to say I didn't know how to drive stick (HAHAHAHA)

I asked him the price again, $3600. My respons was "f you buddy"

Anyone interested it was sunset auto (or close) at keele and finch

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
With one exception, I've only bought used cars at new-car dealers; they have a bigger reputation at stake and are unlikely to want to have anything to do with vehicles having a shady history. It can mean paying more ... but not always; if you are buying a vehicle that is an off-brand for the dealer, or a niche-market vehicle that is hard to sell (and that includes anything with a manual transmission!), they may just want it off the lot. Did that with the vehicle that I'm driving now. It has been fine.
 
GagguP said:
I guess that could happen but I would hope it doesn't in just one month of sitting there.

If you certified the car the money you put into the cert (new tires/brakes whatever it might be) should be reflected in the sales price, wouldn't it be?..

Not trying to bash you or anything, just want to get a better understanding of how all this works as I'm in the market for a used car.
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PM me if you like, I can answer all your questions to try and help you where I can.

daught said:
I wonder how it works:

1. The car is good, and it would honestly pass safety, but the dealer charges $300 for the safety to make some extra money. Customer goes for it since he is afraid another garage might charge him way more for the safety.
2. The car is junk, it would need $1000s to safety but the dealer just does the obvious like brakes for $300.
3. The car really just needs $300 of work
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You can't BS a safety man, if the car needs $2000 worth of repairs, it has to be done.
The smartest thing you can do is have the car inspected so you know exactly what you're getting yourself into and if it's worth it to pay that $300 or not.

*CAA BY FAR does the best used car inspection that I have ever seen. If you are buying a used car and want to have it inspected, this is where you should take it.

Brian P said:
With one exception, I've only bought used cars at new-car dealers; they have a bigger reputation at stake and are unlikely to want to have anything to do with vehicles having a shady history. It can mean paying more ... but not always; if you are buying a vehicle that is an off-brand for the dealer, or a niche-market vehicle that is hard to sell (and that includes anything with a manual transmission!), they may just want it off the lot. Did that with the vehicle that I'm driving now. It has been fine.
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Have you seen the videos I linked? Two new car dealerships "failed" the W5 test. It's not only limited to used car dealerships. Also, you pay A LOT more at a new car dealership for a used car than a used car lot. I mean it. A LOT more... I'll provide you with a real life example tomorrow.
 
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I don't see the link. IMO I find most used car dealerships shady. The ones I've been too all try to hide something. Then again I usually only look at the cars with lower prices.
 
daisoman said:
I don't see the link. IMO I find most used car dealerships shady. The ones I've been too all try to hide something. Then again I usually only look at the cars with lower prices.
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Same **** with "reputable" large dealerships. They promise the world and then when it comes time to get the car they're singing a different tune.

Only difference is most of the complete garbage cars they put up at the auction where the smaller dealers buy em up.
 
daisoman said:
I don't see the link. IMO I find most used car dealerships shady. The ones I've been too all try to hide something. Then again I usually only look at the cars with lower prices.
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There's nothing wrong with getting a good deal, but you have to be careful of the poorly repaired wrecks such as seen in the video. For that reason alone, I will never buy a branded/rebuilt car.
 
raginduck said:
In that case... "as is" would mean certified, no?
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No, as is still means as is. You still have to take the car to a mechanic to issue a safety certificate. At that point should anything come up, you would be responsible for it, not the dealer. But technically, yes, it was certified and x amount of work was done. Just keep in mind that some things are left to the mechanic's discretion. It's mostly black and white but there is the odd grey area.
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