Used Car Site. Website coming soon.

A bit of information about used cars.

A used car, a pre-owned vehicle, or a second-hand car, is a vehicle that has previously had one or more retail owners. Used cars are sold through a variety of outlets, including franchise and independent car dealers, rental car companies, leasing offices, auctions, and private party sales. The growth of the Internet has fueled the availability of information on the prices of used cars. This information was once only available in trade publications that dealers had access to. There are now numerous sources for used car pricing. Multiple sources of used car pricing means that listed values from different sources may differ. Each pricing guide receives data from different sources and makes different judgments about that data. Pricing of used cars can be affected by geography. For example, convertibles have a higher demand in warmer climates than in cooler areas. Similarly, pickup trucks may be more in demand in rural than urban settings. The overall condition of the vehicle has a major impact on pricing. Condition is based on appearance, vehicle history, mechanical condition, and mileage. There is much subjectivity in how the condition of a car is evaluated. There are various theories as to how the market determines the prices of used cars sold by private parties, especially relative to new cars. One theory suggests that new car dealers are able to put more effort into selling a car, and can therefore stimulate stronger demand. Another theory suggests that owners of problematic cars ("lemons") are more likely to want to sell their cars than owners of perfectly functioning vehicles. Therefore, someone buying a used car bears a higher risk of buying a lemon, and the market price tends to adjust downwards to reflect that. Controlling used car depreciation Car companies have a vested interest in ensuring that cars do not depreciate too heavily for two main reasons: Brand reputation: If a car becomes known for losing a lot of money as a used car, it scares consumers away from buying them new. Fleet sales: Car companies survive because of fleet sales, which give manufacturers crucial guaranteed sales that allow them to plan production volumes and achieve economies of scale that make selling cars to consumers more viable. The manufacturers sell cars in large blocks as company cars, or to leasing businesses and these deals are all worked out on the likely value of the cars when they are sold off again (for example in 24 months). Car manufacturers, lease companies and anyone with large stocks (of cars) has a vested interest in ensuring that cars do not lose value too quickly. They often attempt to manage the depreciation through securing positive media coverage of the cars and managing supply into different sales channels (such as auction, supermarkets and dealers) so that there is no over-supply of any particular model in any geographic area. This ensures that demand per car stays high and prices do not drop too quickly.