Filthy Cars For Sale

[roberts]

I have noticed this to be a sales tactic by people who have something to hide. you will get a buyer who thinks, i cant wait to get this home and clean it all up they buy it give it a go over, then you notice of the things wrong with it. dirt hides alot of scratches, faded paint, oil leaks you get my drift.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Lot of people pay $150 or so to a detailer to come around and wash and polish thier crapbucket.

I spent about $100 on cleaning products and managed to get my car back to a mirror finish (albiet with a few noticable scratches that were deep) and it was great!

Then after washing it every weekend, cleaning the inside every second weekend, getting annoyed that after 3 days it looks the same as it was before I washed it, spending 3 hours having to wash it, dry it and polish it again after a bird pooped right in the door sill, all over the handle etc.... you just sort of give up!

[Geez Louise]

There is a big difference though between a car not being washed, and someone being too lazy to take the rubbish out of their car.

If I viewed a car and it wasn't washed, to me that is not what is important. As others have said, service history, good tyres, milage etc is more important.

You can look past the dirt, especially if it was a car I was looking for and the price was right.

[kinksta]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

I know what you mean about water spots. The engine was covered in them and the alloy parts of the engine and the cover of the computer on the passenger side were all covered in white corrosion spots. Don't know what they used to wash it with...some people just don't take a little care...

Yea. The most annoying part was they delayed it a whole day to detail it, yet I couldn't find where they spent a day detailing. Maybe the car next to it...

[RiTz]

At work we have a 1hr quota time on Internet usage so I spend most of my day looking at the carsales website cuz that doesn't eat into the usage... It never ceases to amaze me the condition of a lot of the cars.. And if your selling something in the range of $30K + a decent pic would help your cause too!! 

[myxr6]

A lot of cars on Carsales are the same.I don't get that if you are taking pics to sell it , why not at least vacuum it and not show it full of rubbish.

[DJR-351]

Just pay someone else to detail it then tack the cost onto the asking price....

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by Geez Louise

There is a big difference though between a car not being washed, and someone being too lazy to take the rubbish out of their car.

If I viewed a car and it wasn't washed, to me that is not what is important. As others have said, service history, good tyres, milage etc is more important.

You can look past the dirt, especially if it was a car I was looking for and the price was right.

Good point Colleen. Still it doesn't take much to throw a hose over it prior to a potential buyer coming. That's the way I look at it.

[MAD]

One good thing about dirty cars, is you can buy a decent one (if you look beyond the dirt), make it shiny then sell it for profit.
People like to buy shiny things.

[Mitch_]

i purchased a car privatly about 4 weeks ago and i don't think he'd cleaned it for quite some time... took a mate a day to bring all the water stains off the car! and he wondered why noone was willing to pay his asking price!
i low balled him hardcore and took him about a week and a half to accept my offer...

[Giant Cranium]

Originally Posted by Jim Goose

There seems to be some obcession with cleaning engine bays when a car is for sale... you only need to clean it to pass roadworthy! (not to mention rusty looking engines then put some people off)

Seriously though, id rather the car was maintained well, with a clean interior and washed. If the engine a dirty engine bay it wouldnt bother me.

it bothers me. means they only care about what you see. what else are they cutting corners on?

and to clean it it will take 5 mins, do it once do it right

[Link]

I bought my last car (TX5 Ghia) from a guy who was selling on behalf of his brother. Not being his car is was pretty dirty when i got there, interior was clean and tidy tho. I used it as a bargaining tool and got it for a great price back when i bought it 5 years ago

Took her home and gave her a wash, clay bar (clay bar was black by the end of it all :S), polish and it looked brand new!!! I always got comments on how new it looked, some people didnt believe me that it was made in 1993 as it was so shiny and nice lol

I have always washed and polished my cars regularly, so there isnt much to do pre sale. I am happy to show off how well i have kept the car and always got comments from the new owners about it being in excellent condition. A bit of pride goes a long way in getting the price you want too

[Till_Lind]

Doesn't surprise me, my housemate is a dirty white trash bastard, I'm guessing these folks were too.

[munkky]

Originally Posted by kinksta

Well my G6ET was held up a day because it needed "detailing". When I got home, I detailed it properly. The engine was covered in water marks, especially under the bonnet lid (duh how did water get up there?). Dusted the interior, etc.

I wanted to go back and ask, who did it so I could show them...but at the same time I had just met BOOST.

haha same lol my dads fg gt 30,000ks and the bonnet never got opened. First thing i did was i drew some male apendigas on the rocker covers then spent about 2h cleening it

[matttyley]

Personally, I look for cars which are dirty, but always have an eye for seeing through the dirt. Generally I find these owners don't value their cars quite so highly, or can more easily be beaten down on price.

I've been lucky and always managed to sell the cars a couple of years down the track for around $1000 more than I paid for them (not including general wear and tear costs), just because they were clean and took decent pics for the online ads.

[xxx000]

Originally Posted by flappist

Some people actually drive their cars very regularly rather than just on weekends and don't just wander about the inner suburbs.
As they tend to be dirty about 30 seconds after they are washed, mine are cleaned about once or twice a month except in wet season when they are never washed except by rain almost every day.

Never judge a book by its cover.

Realistically which car do you want?

a) Immaculate, shiny, perfect interior, never serviced, never fluid checked and old cheapest tyres possible (but elegantly blacked), always driven from dead cold on short runs of only 2 or 3 km at a time?

b) Dirty, stone chipped, crap on the floors but mechanically maintained by professionals on a regular basis, best fluids, best tyres & suspension components and warmed before mostly long runs?

I suppose it comes down to whether your main reason for acquiring it is to drive it or be seen standing next to it.........

I agree with most of what you suggest but warming a modern car up is unnecessary and achieves nothing other than wasting fuel

[Ryan]

IMO it should be common courtesy to keep a car reasonably clean. I come from a family of clean freaks. All of our cars are typically spotless inside and out, but I wouldn't expect every car I buy to be like that.

Honestly I would be kind of turned off if the car hadn't at least been cleaned inside. I hate being in cars with rubbish and crap on the floor. It would be like looking for a new house. I would be turned off if the lawn hadn't been mowed, washing lying around everywhere, dirty dishes etc.

With a car I don't care so much if it's not squeaky clean, but it should be presentable to a potential buyer. It might run like a dream, but just like if someone turns to a job interview unshaved, wearing thongs, a singlet and stubbies it's the first impressions that count.

[glavas]

just spend a bit more and buy new. ive bought 4 new cars from my dealer and he has them looking mint when i come to pick them up.

[Ford_The_Win]

Originally Posted by glavas

just spend a bit more and buy new. ive bought 4 new cars from my dealer and he has them looking mint when i come to pick them up.

But not everyone has the luxury of being able to buy new... there's a big difference between buying an AU Falcon for 8k and a new one for 34k...

[Ford Falcon XR6]

I had the same issue when i was looking for my Au Xr6 i couldn't belive that some people expected a car in the condition that some of them were in finding a good one takes some time and patience

[Brute 33]

Well after much looking around at some complete piles of crap in AU's I found a really well maintained EF sedan 2nd owner regularly serviced and clean ....wow ....and with books and rego till end on Nov...so all good in the end . Just still amazed at how some people think that what they own is "MINT"....and the inflated prices they expect to get..... ...

So the young bloke now has a decent set of wheels to get around in and now the customising to his tastes begin ...

[V8 6I]

Some years ago I was trading a 93 EB Fairmont in black,I was talking to the Jr of the yard whom ask the Senior for a valuation on my car,at a distance he said 3 K,I said no way,so he had a closer look and noticed how clean it was,He took it for a drive and to make this short I got 6K.Next day as I was picking the new ride up Jr noticed it was even cleaner and ask if I had washed it? I did, they put it straight in their yard and put $8990 on it.I was told people only traded junk but because mine was so clean and nice I got double.