Due to the pandemic and the related economic downturn in the car market, there is a rapid increase in cars that are not really worth buying. “Several such cars have now appeared in our shopping centers. They were in such a condition that we had to refuse to buy them because we could not guarantee them after the next sale. We normally reject about 60 percent of the cars on offer, but in recent months we have been around 75 percent of rejected purchases, “points out Petr Vaněček, AAA Auto’s Chief Operating Officer.
“When someone sells their car for an advertisement, it does not automatically mean that they have to be a fraud. They can be a person who has enough time and patience to complete the whole procedure and believes that he will sell his car better than if he sold it to a professional dealer. However, they drew attention to the fact that in private advertisements we often see cars that we had to inspect, but for technical or legal reasons we were forced to reject them. These cars pose a great risk to buyers, “explains Filip Kučera from Auto ESA.
The most common are legal defects, twisted tachometers or technical condition precluding further operation of the car without financially very demanding repairs. Offers of cars whose owner is in execution are becoming more and more frequent.
“Cars that have a lot of records of a change of owner in a technical certificate in a short period of time are very risky, and the last owner, for example, has a permanent residence in the office. In several cases, we found out that it was an attempt to circumvent execution,” describes Petr Vaněček.
“The debtor sold the car to several white horses in a row and hoped that we would not go far in the past when examining the records of executions. Anyone in execution who is trying to sell such a car is, of course, moving beyond the law. When someone buys such a car without the possibility of a thorough inspection, it may happen that the executor knocks on his door soon, the car is confiscated and he will never see his invested money again, “Vaněček warns.
Because many people lose their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic and often lose a significant part of their income, they try to sell cars whose technical condition is completely unsatisfactory and possible repairs would cost tens of thousands of crowns, but which they do not have in a difficult financial situation.
Adverse situations are also trying to take advantage of mainly smaller car importers from abroad. Once the car crosses the border, it loses virtually all of its history. At that moment, dishonest dealers have the opportunity to rejuvenate the car, turn the tachometers or conceal a more serious accident. “This applies especially to older and cheaper cars, which did not yet have electronic service books. How many times do we buy cars that are quite evident that they were demolished in the past, that the condition of the tachometer does not correspond to the actual state of wear, but according to the service the books were regularly serviced and the raid would also correspond to the records, “describes Vaněček.
Such interventions by a layman without the necessary equipment, diagnostics, paint thickness gauge and access to the system, where it is possible to check the history of the car, is practically impossible to detect. “If you don’t understand cars very well, always take an experienced mechanic with you for inspection and choose a dealer who is able to guarantee the factual as well as the legal condition of the car. In particular, demand a money back guarantee in case the car proves illegal origin.” concludes Vaněček.
“Solid dealers should offer guarantees that if you don’t like anything in the car, they will give you the opportunity to exchange it for another car,” adds Filip Kučera.
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