In case you haven’t heard, the used car market is red hot, with the average price paid for a used car increasing nearly $6,000 between February 2020 and June 2021, according to research by Edmunds.
Whether you’re buying or selling a preowned vehicle, here are some tips from the sales team at Grainger Nissan of Anderson.
“The biggest thing is to look at the vehicle’s history, getting a Carfax on that vehicle is the number one, most important thing,” said Grainger Sales Consultant Clay Posey.
A Carfax report gives you a full report on the vehicle, including where it was made, when it was first sold and all maintenance and repair records.
“Even when buying from an individual, you can still get that Carfax,” Posey said. “All you need is a VIN number and a lot of dealers, including us, will give you a Carfax on any vehicle you find.”
The next step is to take the used car to a trusted, local mechanic, Posey recommends, and always take the vehicle for a test drive.
What about high-mileage cars?
The industry standard is 12,000 to 15,000 miles per year, but high mileage on a vehicle isn’t necessarily a disqualifier, Posey said. For example, Interstate miles traveled cause less wear-and-tear on a vehicle than the stop-and-go of city driving.
“I don’t necessarily think high mileage is something to be afraid of, as long as you know the vehicle’s history,” Posey said. “Even if it is higher miles but it’s in terrific condition and it has been serviced regularly, it’s still a good buy.”
Selling a preowned vehicle
When selling a used car, you should present it in the same way as if you were buying a new car, advises Grainger Nissan of Anderson’s Brandon Paquette.
“When you come to a car lot to purchase a vehicle, usually that car is clean, it has good tires, good (windshield) wipers,” Paquette said. “Just make sure that the car you’re trying to sell looks nice and presents nice to try to get the most for the car.”
Paquette recommends getting the car detailed and making sure the tires have good tread on them. Before heading to the dealership, Paquette recommends checking the ballpark value of the vehicle online at Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com).
With the auto market presently on its head, consumers can be less worried about their cars depreciating in value, Paquette said.
“Everyone’s always worried that when you buy a car, it depreciates as soon as you leave the lot,” Paquette said. “The people who have bought a car within the last two years, it didn’t necessarily depreciate. A lot of my customers are coming in with equity in the car. The car is worth more than what they bought it for two years ago. That’s a first in the car business.”
What’s the hottest seller in the used car market?
“Trucks are definitely the hardest to come by and definitely the most popular, as well,” said Grainger Nissan of Anderson’s Devaughn Walsh. “Overall, we carry a pretty good selection of vehicles. We’ve been fortunate.”
Grainger Nissan of Anderson benefits from being a Kelly Blue Book Buying Center, Walsh explained. Through the buying center, consumers can go online to enter all the information about their vehicle and receive an instant cash offer. Then, they are directed to a Kelly Blue Book partner dealership such as Grainger Nissan of Anderson to complete the transaction.
“They bring it in to us, we do the final inspection and make sure everything checks out,” Walsh said. “In some cases, we’ll actually offer more than what Kelly Blue Book offers. If we don’t, you can take Kelly Blue Book’s offer and you get paid.
You don’t even have to trade your vehicle. You can just come up here and say you want an offer. It takes us about 20 minutes, typically.”
For more information, visit GraingrNissanofAnderson.com.
