Jacksonville Used Cars – Understanding Lights & Gauges

Jacksonville Used Cars – Understanding Lights & Gauges

By Steve & Beth Kicklighter

For the next ten weeks we would like to talk about the top ten things we look for and recommend you look for when purchasing your next pre-owned vehicle.  These ten items are not in a particular order of importance, but they are all things we feel will help insure value when shopping for a car and could prevent you from making a horrible mistake

Week One: Instrument Lights and Gauges:

Many people assume when purchasing a vehicle that all Instrument lights and gauges are working properly.  Many times they are not. In some cases we have seen lights that have been deliberately and intentionally tampered with.  An unscrupulous seller will do this so that an obvious problem with the vehicle is not readily apparent.  You as a buyer would find out about this problem once the deal was done and you drove away with your purchase.  Most manufacturers engineer their vehicles so that when you turn the ignition on all the vehicles instrument lights come on. As the car’s ignition is started those lights will turn off if no problem exists. 

Recently while inspecting a vehicle we were considering for purchase we preformed this test and discovered that the air bag light was not seen.  Having to put on glasses to investigate closer we were quite shocked to find that someone had placed black electrical tape over the airbag light.  Upon removing the tape we discovered someone had punched a small hole in the instrument cluster to destroy the light and keep it from glowing under the tape, which made it impossible to replace the light in the instrument cluster.  The reason they had done this was because the air bag on the passenger side was totally missing.

 

Surprisingly, the cost to replace and reprogram the damaged instrument cluster is about twice as much as simply replacing the air bag!  In another case someone had simply taken a black magic marker and colored over a glowing check engine light.  We have seen this deliberate tampering many times in our inspections of vehicles. As your trusted automotive professionals we take these inspections seriously in order to uncover these problems and deliver quality vehicles to our customers.

The last place you want to find out about this kind of tampering is when the vehicle stops running and you are stuck on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck pondering how much of a bite the repair is going to take.  So take care and be aware of this tactic when purchasing a vehicle. 

Beth & Steve Kicklighter own and operate Kicklighter Auto Sales in Jacksonville, Florida.  Visit their website at http://jacksonville-used-cars.com

Jacksonville Used Cars: Do I Need A Warranty?

By Steve Kicklighter

Do you really need a warranty on a used car?  Absolutely!

Anytime you purchase a car as is, you are risking the entire investment in that car.

     If the value of that car is $300 it’s not a huge risk as car values go, but $300 might be all the money YOU have in the world. You may not have a job or the ability to come up with another $300. Even so, we consistently have people reject our offers of extended warranties. 

     Recently we had a customer who was in the automotive repair business purchase a vehicle worth approximately $15,000 and chose to reject extending the basic 90 day limited drivetrain warranty we gave the customer.   We explained that we had the vehicle thoroughly inspected and informed them of one minor problem we were able to find,  but recommended extending the warranty further.  The customer’s response was, they felt these warranties were not worth the investment.  Several months later, the customer experienced a devastating repair cost on that vehicle that would have been covered in full had they purchased an extended warranty.  

     Who among us in their right mind would purchase a $15,000 vehicle without full comprehensive insurance?  The same should apply to warranty coverage.  Contrary to popular belief, warranties are not very expensive and usually pay for themselves in the first two years.  They are also often financeable. It is our professional opinion that you should never purchase a used vehicle without an extended warranty.  The price of the vehicle should help you determine the type of warranty you should purchase.

     

     When it comes to protecting your used car investment, you should always weigh the cost of a warranty against the risk of being without one should the need arise.  Then you will come to the right conclusion. 

Steve Kicklighter is owner of Kicklighter Auto Sales, a family owned and operated used car dealership in Jacksonville, Florida.  Visit his website at http://jacksonville-used-cars.com

Jacksonville Used Cars - Understanding CARFAX

Jacksonville Used Cars – Understanding CARFAX 

                In august I wrote a blog explaining the importance of buying a used car only if you have a CARFAX in hand (http://kicklighterautosales.blogspot.com/2012/08/jacksonville-usedcars-how-to-value-my.html). I want to go into more detail and show you exactly how to read and view a CARFAX on any car that you desire. 

                This service is not free so I suggest you get the carfax from a dealership website or physically from a salesman on a car lot. Many dealerships have a CARFAX account on their inventory that you can request free of charge. I’m going to walk you through a detailed CARFAX on the Kicklighter Auto Sales website. Here is the link for you to follow along (http://kicklighterautosales.com/view/1028/Black-2010-Ford-Fusion-in-Jacksonville-FL). You’re going to scroll down until you see the “show me the CARFAX” icon located under the price of the vehicle. 

                Once you have the CARFAX open on your browser you can see the complete vehicle history of everything that has been done to the vehicle. The first box is going to be a summary of the vehicle’s history explaining how many owners and whether or not the car has a clean title. As you can see this vehicle is a CARFAX one owner and has had no previous accidents. This section also lists the mileage and how many service records are on file for this automobile. 

                The next section is a price calculator that determines whether you need to add or subtract from the retail value of the car. Based on the history CARFAX suggests this car is worth $260 over retail value.  This is the price you can expect to pay from a dealer for a similar vehicle. 

                Below that is ownership history. This section will tell you the estimated length of ownership and the last reported odometer reading. It will also tell you the states it was purchased in and the year the car was purchased.  An obvious red flag would be if the car has been resold multiple times in a few years.

                This section is vital because you want to have the title history of the vehicle you are purchasing. This explains if the car has any flood or hail damage. If you want a car with a clean title then reference this section when talking with a salesman. It explains if there were any reported odometer discrepancies as well.

                The last box before the detailed history is additional information. If you decide to buy a salvage or rebuilt title then this section will give you details on airbag deployment, odometer, structural damage, and warranty. 

                The last section that we are going to discuss is the detailed history.  Here you can see what has been done to the automobile. Every dealership that offers service is required to report to CARFAX. This list reports something as severe as accidents to as minor as an oil change. I would never purchase a used vehicle without seeing the CARFAX first.

By: Jeremy Kicklighter

Kicklighter Auto Sales Manager

Links:

Website- http://kicklighterautosales.com/

http://jacksonville-used-cars.com/

CARFAX example- http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?vin=3FAHP0HA2AR231016&partner=dvw_1

Jacksonville Used Cars: Consigment Deals

Jacksonville Used Cars: Consigment Deals

              

                Most people don’t think about selling their car through a dealership, but you can! Here at Kicklighter Auto Sales we will buy, sell, trade, and consign your car. The benefits of selling your car through a dealership are limitless. There are a few questions that you need to ask yourself before you decide to consign your vehicle.

                Can you afford to go without your car for a month or two? To get the most out of your car the dealer is going to want you to drop your car off so they can display your vehicle on the lot. This will help you receive the most traffic from willing customers. Consumers want to see what they are buying before they make their purchase.  Most people don’t have the luxury of dropping their car off for a month, but if your vehicle is on the lot then it will sell faster. 

                How much do you want to spend on advertising? Marketing your vehicle to the public can be expensive. There are a few options that are free such as craigslist and cars.com, but in order to get maximum exposure to the market you need to consign your car.  You will also have to deal with all the inquiries and test drives that these types of ads produce.

                On the other hand, consigning your vehicle to a dealership is like free advertising. Car dealerships will use several different resources such as Autotrader, print, television, and radio to push their inventory to the consumer.  If you consign your car instead of selling buy owner you receive all of this advertising for free.  

                I recently wrote a blog entitled “Best to Buy or Trade-In,” which was all about selling or trading in your vehicle, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each option.  By consigning your vehicle with a dealership you are receiving more traffic than you could produce on your own, which will generate more leads. Plus you can sit back and let the salesmen sell your car, while you go about your daily routine. Consignment isn’t for everyone, but if you want top dollar for your vehicle without the hassle of dealing with customers and advertising costs then maybe it’s for you.

Jeremy Kicklighter is Manager at  Kicklighter Auto Sales, a family owned and operated dealership in Jacksonville, Florida.

http:/jacksonville-used-cars.com

               

             

Link to the "Best to Buy or Trade" blog http://kicklighterautosales.blogspot.com/2012/07/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html

Jacksonville Used Cars - How to value my trade-in?

Jacksonville Used Cars - How to value my trade-in?

 By Jeremy Kicklighter

 When considering the purchase of either a new or used vehicle, many consumers need to either trade or sell the vehicle privately. Before they can do so however, they need to know how much their used car is worth. There are several sources that dealers will use to value your car including Kelly Blue Book, NADA, and CARFAX. 

                One of the hardest things for used car owners to understand is trade-in value. This Value is several thousand dollars less than the retail value that you could receive if you sold the vehicle on your own. When searching the various sources on the internet you need to determine the criteria that best describes your vehicle. Most people will rate their car a grade higher than the dealer will.  If there are dings, dents, scratches, rips, or tears, automatically give your car an average rating. If there is something mechanically wrong or if the car has been in an accident then give the car a poor rating. I am going to walk you through the three different websites on which to value your car. 

                Kelly Blue Book is a popular customer website that provides you with valuable information on your car’s value before stepping into the dealership. Open your internet browser and type in http://www.kbb.com/ into your search engine. At the top of the page click on “car values,” then “What is my car worth?” Proceed to type in your vehicle details (year, make, model, mileage). Next choose your cars style and options. Finally, hit the “get trade-in value,” which will generate four different prices depending on the condition of your vehicle. The conditions that Kelly Blue Book lists are excellent, very good, good, and fair. They do an excellent job of helping you determine a fair value for your used vehicle. 

                NADA is another website that is devoted to helping the dealer and customer value their vehicles. After typing http://www.nada.com/ into the search engine click on the consumer tab. Under the top header there will be an option that says “autos.”  Hover your mouse over that option, then click “car prices” in the drop down menu. From this you can select your make, year, and model of your vehicle. Proceed to check the style, mileage, and options of your car. NADA gives you four different prices to base your estimate on: clean, average, rough, and retail. If you hover over the four different categories, an information box will appear and describe each of the options.  I personally like how NADA offers the retail value on the car so you can determine the price that the dealer will try to sell your car for. 

                If you bring your car into a dealership they are going to run the VIN number to check the CARFAX on your vehicle. Most dealers will pay a monthly fee to CARFAX to receive unlimited amounts of vehicle history reports. Consumers have to pay per report anywhere from $34.99 for one CARFAX report to unlimited reports for only $49.99. The CARFAX will tell you everything you need to know about your car. Every time your car has been serviced at a dealership or a reputable auto shop the details of the service are reported to CARFAX. This helps the consumer know what has been done to the vehicle. Accidents are also reported detailing how much damage the car received. By Checking the CARFAX you can save yourself the time and energy of searching for vehicles that don’t have a clean title. 

                By doing your research before you go shopping for vehicles helps you know what to expect when speaking with a salesman. Make sure you know the value of your car before they give you their trade-in value. Spend the extra money on the CARFAX to see the history report on your vehicle. When it comes to buying a used car, knowledge is power.

Jeremy Kicklighter is Manager at  Kicklighter Auto Sales

http:/jacksonville-used-cars.com

Jacksonville Used Cars – Best to Sell or Trade-in?

Jacksonville Used Cars – Best to Sell or Trade-in?

By Jeremy Kicklighter

Most customers who are considering purchasing a new or used vehicle also need to consider their options before setting foot inside a dealership.  Ok, so you’ve done your research and you know exactly the type of car or truck you want to purchase.   You’re halfway home.  But there are still a few questions you have left unanswered:

       1.        How much is my down payment?

       2.       Should I trade or sell my car privately?

       3.       Do I need financing?

If you’re serious about buying a used vehicle, a number of questions have probably been going through your mind.   The first question is a bit more complicated to answer because it depends on the dealer. Some dealerships will offer customers zero money down on a used car because they have an excellent credit score. Every dealership has different opinions on this subject. Some dealerships will require a down payment, but only charge a minimal dealer fee. By putting down a substantial down payment you are significantly decreasing the interest and life of your loan.

Should I trade in my old car, or should I try Craigslist?  If it is simply a matter of cold hard cash, the answer is almost always to try to sell your vehicle privately, because you can get more cash out of it.  The reason a number of people opt to trade is simply due to the fact that most people don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling their car by owner.  So they opt to trade the car in at a dealership.  One thing you can know for certain is that a car dealer isn’t going to pay you full retail value on your used car. This answer to this question is ultimately decided by dollars and cents.  If you don’t have the time, then trade your car in.  If you have all the time in the world, sell your car on your own to maximize the return on your vehicle.

These subjects are only a few of the dilemmas you may face when deciding to purchase an automobile. As always, we are here to help you with any problems you come across.  If you have any questions that you would like me to answer for you leave a comment at the end of this blog. I would be happy to help you reduce the stress of buying a used car.

Jeremy Kicklighter specializes in creating a stress-free used car buying experience.  Check out his website at  http://jacksonville-used-cars.com/