bscar, thanks for the clarification as I didn’t know the c4c rules. This was (is?) to be my first trade in as the other vehicles I’ve had I’ve passed them on to family members so I’m not versed on the behind the scenes goings on at a dealership re: trade-ins.
We’re decided on the CRV as we have a 4 year old and need more space. A guy from Used Cars at the dealership came and inspected the car tonight and offered $1,600 for it. Ideally I’d like to get $2,500 for it and I may check at another dealer or I may sell it as is to someone who could invest the $ in a new transmission, I don’t know. The engine runs, it’s not completely dead, but makes a funky noise when idling. As Joe said earlier, they’re probably doing this to keep the deal on the table.
dealers VERY rarely tell the buyer of a used car its true condition.
Not telling the dealer anything about the car is not the same as being untruthful.
It’s his mechanic’s job to assess the car and find anything and everything that might be wrong…so that the salesman can drive the trade in value down. The mechanic’s expertise in this is his value to the dealership. He won’t need your assistance in this task. It’s then the used car salesman’s job to sell the car to the next person representing it as perfect as possible…to drive the resale price UP!
It’s “let the buyer beware” to both the dealer and to the next owner. And the dealership has the mechanic, so he always has the advantage. It isn’t your problem.