10 Questions You Shouldn't Ask When Buying a Car

[@the_frankc]

Old people are definitely not always better on cars. My uncle has an early 2000s Camry he'd "hand wash" multiple times a week. One time I noticed he washed it with JUST water and a sponge, no soap. He said the soap was bad for the paint. When he was rinsing it I say the water flowing off of it was tinted white, the same color as the paint. He was legitimately washing the paint clean off the car 😂

[@Doug_Boyer]

Agreed, I don’t think my dad has ever washed a car except for one time he used a pressure washer on my mom’s van and took the paint clean off the hood. Also I am pretty sure one of his trucks never got an oil change its entire life 😂

[@paulcarmi8130]

That's wild, my dad and uncles all knew cars and motorcycles, at least to the point of washing and changing oil. Where did you guys grow up, new York city? Lmao

[@AndrewJaws]

THANK YOU for covering the consignment question. I work for a high-end small boutique place that caters to car collectors. We don’t have a ton of inventory and it’s very specific. I understand the consignment question because of those tax perks but I hate the question to speak to the seller directly. And to me it just means, “hey, will you just step aside and give up commission so I can bother the seller to get a better deal?” No, why would I cut myself out of the deal, and the seller has chosen to hire us specifically to avoid the runaround from people who want to play games. Lots of good information in here and probably a lot of it is frustrations with being in the industry, but hopefully some people will understand our frustration with some of these questions.

[@sliqwille]

Personally (and I really hate to admit this) the longer I own a car, the more “deferred maintenance” seems to accrue.

[@iOSAT]

There was a 30-year-owned G body 911 that had to be withdrawn by BaT because the owner didn’t know it would need an engine rebuild given the age - it was relisted not long after after $40k in service. Then there’s the original owner 993 C2 my friend bought from Maine that had 5k miles on it - it sat for 20 years and needed an insane amount of work before they even dared to start the engine - pretty much all the oil had clearly leaked out at some point. Then there’s the 1-owner 993 Turbo my friend has had, and drives every single day to work (older anesthesiologist in Northern California) and he has every document related to the car including the original brochure with notes from him and the salesman when he ordered it. It’s the one and only “nice” car he ever bought himself after paying off his student loans, great choice…

[@Ankeneering]

“How many owners” is a good question for the sorts of cars you don’t sell. It’s a quasi-meaningless question for “fun” cars. How many owners on this Hyundai Tucson is quite different than How many owners on this manual Porsche 993.

[@switchcars]

I can agree with this logic.

[@CalebsCars]

Agree with most, but when I’m buying cheap cars on marketplace I’m usually looking for specific vehicles so if I ask why they’re selling it’s usually “needs a motor, transmission, etc” which is what I’m looking for. The rest is good info

[@switchcars]

They are being honest though. Most people aren’t.

[@CalebsCars]

@@switchcars agreed

[@M7552-s2n]

Great take-aways from this fun video. 1. Dealers are annoyed by sellers. 2. Never trust any dealer to give straight answers. 3. Never, ever fall in love with a car. Things I really loath hearing from dealers. 1. "I'm your buddy and I really want to put you in this car." 2. "Let me run that price by my manager." 3. My only asks are to see the title for branding and confirm who actually owns the car. I expect all BS answers from any question I might ask or service documents they may throw at me.

[@kuebby]

Exactly. After buying my last 2 cars, my future cars will be private party sales if possible and I'll get a PPI no matter where I buy it from.

[@TheUnlistedOne]

This sounds like "I am dealer, trust me bro and don't ask me any questions" list lol

[@switchcars]

I love good questions. When people ask certain questions that make no sense, I just say "why" - and make them explain their rational. Then we can get to the root of what they REALLY want answered, vs the assumption they are making based on a certain answer - for instance "Was the car from Ohio" really means "does it have any rust".

[@patrickwhite6201]

I had someone on CL offer me $1K for my running & driving car one time & asked if I'd give him a full 30 day warranty too.

[@DSC800]

I think you're missing an important part - you ask questions to get the seller to talk, to make conversation, see their mannerisms, voice inflection, honesty, etc. It would be stupid to show up to look at a car and converse about the sellers rose bushes, so small talk questions about the car is appropriate. Are you buying the car or the seller? Both really.

[@switchcars]

Nah you're buying the car. I disagree with "you're buying the seller" because that logic immediately breaks down for every dealer/flipper scenario. The seller could be a complete moron, but if they just bought the car to flip it, and the previous owner(s) were awesome and took amazing care of the car, the car itself could be amazing. Questions and due diligence should focus on determining the quality of the car regardless of the background or the seller.

[@Doug_Boyer]

When someone asks me what my bottom line is or what is the least that I will take for the vehicle I always just tell them the listing price.

[@CoolHand273]

Consignment question is valid because there have been a lot of robbing peter to pay paul shady dealerships out there. You could end up with an unregistrable car because you do not have the title.

[@switchcars]

You could have the same scenario with “owned” inventory. They have the car but not the title.

[@pmkstudios]

I feel like Hoovie needs some of these:)

[@EmmyJune212008]

The “Why are you selling?” question to me is the absolute dumbest. If the car is a good car, you’ll get an honest answer, and if it’s a bad car, you’re going to get a lie. Either way, you probably won’t know until it’s too late.

[@switchcars]

Bingo! The funniest is when we get asked that as a dealer. "To make a profit, duh!"

[@bradspeakman231]

The why selling questions often ax’ed’d’ because some think that’s their sly way of fingering out how negotiable the price is but almost always everything is negotiable

[@CarGuy1]

Heh, I always ask that last question and I do agree with your point. I do think that it's a valid question because private sellers pretty much always list cars at higher prices because they expect some level of negotiations. I know Ed made a video on this very topic a while back, but I would be curious to get his thoughts on this.

[@alextwenty8726]

This may have been better titled as "Doug's personal gripes with selling cars"

[@machitocars5247]

Yea apparently just buy his car no questions asked lol

[@iOSAT]

@@alextwenty8726 It’s more a matter of what’s the right question; I swear sites like BaT have ruined car buying because everyone thinks they’re smarter than they are. You have people asking for DME reports on PDK Porsches, asking for proof of maintenance items that aren’t even relevant on specific generations/models, pointing out things as flaws that are objectively not, etc. There’s a whole sect of commenters on auction sites who just go around and forever shop talking about all the reasons why they wouldn’t buy this specific model. It’s perfectly fine to ask anything, just understand what you’re asking for and why.

[@Anon-th9je]

I ask how many owners because if one person owns it they know exactly how it's been cared for, not necessarily because one person cares better, but they actually know. This relies on talking to the seller and not a used car dealer.

[@justintaylor9458]

I don't think asking about where a vehicle came from is a bad question. Sometimes vehicles had certain options or got said option earlier, depending on where they're from. For instance, 4th gen Camaros sold in Canada came with factory block warmers and California foxbody Mustangs got mass air a year early. It isn't the most important thing to know, but it doesn't make the question egregious either. To clarify, I'm referring to where the vehicle was originally sold from, not where it spent most of it's life.

[@switchcars]

So why not just ask what you actually want to know - "does the car have a block warmer?"

[@justintaylor9458]

@@switchcars and then I could ask questions about every other regional option, or I could simply ask 1 question... Where is the car from? In the case of the mass air switch, it's possible the owner may not know. I'm just giving you a reason why asking where a car is from could be a valid question. I even said it only applies to where the car is originally from, not where it came from last. It may not matter to most, but I live in Japan, and legalizing a car from America is difficult. You have to get the car inspected every 2 years, and the government Land Transport Office is strict about modifying vehicles now. Even something as simple as converting an automatic car to a manual is illegal, and requires lots of paperwork and a new 2 year inspection, as well as paying hundreds of dollars to modify and reissue a new title that notes the car has been converted to manual.

[@switchcars]

@@justintaylor9458 This makes sense, although that is a super specific scenario and you're asking for a valid reason, not based on an assumption tied to a question. We were talking primarily about why it's dumb for people to ask where a car lives, because of the inherent assumption about the condition based on that factor alone.

[@justintaylor9458]

@@switchcars that's fair. I was just giving an example of why it COULD be pertinent, and realize that most of the time it isn't. This is more relevant now in the Japanese car market. Recently, there was a Supra for sale. The car was left hand drive and the seller intentionally left out vital info because USDM Supras sell for more than Japanese ones. The car was LHD swapped, but the rather than lie, the flipper opted to simply omit the fact that he bought the car and swapped it and relisted it at USDM prices, hoping people would assume it was a US Supra when seeing the pic of the steering wheel on the left side. Besides value, the JDM Supra has 40 less hp, nonturbo brakes, smaller injectors and ceramic turbos and can only get to 320hp with bolt ons, compared to the 450ish hp of its American counterpart. This is becoming more commonplace with JDM Supras and RX-7's.

[@johnhufnagel]

On the # of owners, I think the class of vehicle has a lot to do with correlation with abuse. "special" cars can have lots of owners because as you said it's a toy, and they're generally well cared for. Whereas your commodity ford taurus on its 8th owner, it's probably not as well cared for as the value of the car drops. The valuation of cars... I HATE people who say "but it only has X miles on it!" Yea, it's also Y years old, and lots of bits expire on time, especially rubbers. Now if the rest of the car is in great or immaculate shape, than yea it has more value. But I'd rather a 200k mile car than a 20k mile car in comparable cosmetic condition, as the 200k one will be cheaper and need the same damn parts as the 20k car because they're both 20 years old.

[@kuebby]

19:45 that's not really how the precious metals market works. There's a publicly set value, bullion dealers don't have a huge investment in whether it goes up or down (outside of their current inventory). They're making a similar profit whatever the price is.

[@AmitPatel_.]

What do you think when people ask “Has the car been tracked?” This is more for online auctions when the seller is representing the car online.

[@guysteel]

Location? After a Texas hurricane, I don't want a Texas car. Water damage can be hidden well. They'll scatter all over the country.

[@danastudley9582]

NV charges sales tax at DMV when you transfer title on private party sales.

[@aphromew4502]

Doug: Asking where the car is from is dumb Also Doug: Buying cars from Florida is scary 😂😂

[@Hitman9305]

Don't ask where it's from, but if it has salt in it once it's gonna rust? Is asking for the bottom line different then asking for the best price?

[@mikemc330]

Coors banquet beer rocks!

[@stevend922]

Ok, what's wrong with armor all? Used it on my truck for almost 30 years...

[@seagie382]

"How often has the PTU fluid been changed??"

[@mtnmann72]

I’d rather have 1 owner on an old NSX than 5. I feel each owner has a chance to “Ferris Bueller” thrash drive it knowing they will be selling it once they get it out of their system.

[@switchcars]

What you feel and what the data says are in disagreement

[@CHMichael]

Go pay for an oil change at the ( private) buyers mechanic .... and ask that guy. Do fairly modern cars still rust? I thought they are all aluminum or dipped in something protective.

[@machitocars5247]

Private sale is better for negotiating and no extra dealer fess..so yea thats why people ask if its Private .

[@switchcars]

Realtors would disagree with you there - the joke is you know a house is overpriced if it's FSBO

[@johnwight6041]

These are all really good points Doug

[@85priesty]

People think car salespeople are bad and have gripes...well going from Pharmacy, to Car Sales...the biggest problem is the customers. That's why I quit. Because for every nice customer, (because I wouldn't lie or sell a bad car unless they were a pain) it wasn't worth it...then I music became my job, it helped knowing the demographic of cars driven, rentals, and everyone gets sick, so the Pharmacy stuff helped too... But it's customers that are the worst. These days in the internet...and where I am you can't lie to people unless they're idiots and a pain, and wasting your time and it shouldn't take a genius that when you're paid on commission...that the less time you take, the better deal you'll get. Games are a pain, and there's nothing better than dealing with a potential customer who's an absolute pain, than underselling them and basically making more money than those that think they're awesome...(not talking supercars here) but I got out of car sales because I hated most of the customers. 😊

[@85priesty]

I'd use far more expletives s than "pain" for a lot of people...and customers lie more than the salesperson. FACT.

[@machitocars5247]

Asking if a car is from up north living in Florida is not a bad question.

[@switchcars]

Nah. I see more rusty sports cars from Florida than I do from up north. We store them in the winter here - down there they get parked by the beach all the time and soak in that salt air. Just ask if it was driven on salty roads, or ask for photos of the undercarriage. Doesn't matter where it lives.

[@machitocars5247]

@switchcars I live here and thankfully I don't have that problem.

[@thomasm5263]

Excellent point on the location..

[@Vampirebear13]

Doug I hope you post some kind of Rob Pitts tribute or talk at length about him on the next live video. I hope you attended the funeral today.

[@stotheh]

You'd buy cars from Florida?

[@switchcars]

I buy great cars all the time from Florida. And also don't buy cars from Florida. It's ironic, as most people from up north think that Florida is a GREAT place from which to buy cars. And in general, it's the opposite. But that's in general. I don't make my decision either way based on the region, I base it on condition. Some of the greatest car collectors and the greatest cars are in South Florida. And also some of the worst. Same as any region.

[@MrS7ON]

facts

[@jonatannilsson171]

Are there any good questions?

[@switchcars]

Yes! Video coming soon

[@mariodesmo]

You should have become a psychiatrist, or psycologist... That's the best understanding of different types of car people I've ever heard. lol

[@davidvasta]

Why are you selling it? ....I will not answer that question and will just flat out ignore you or bust your balls for asking it. I don't want it anymore... I had a Porsche once and there were some guys that kept asking that and I was like f**k off with that shit.

[@thomasm5263]

Okay David

[@AmitPatel_.]

I tell them I’ve bought the rarest most low mileage pristine version of the same car so this one has to go.

[@DarkClosetOfTheMind]

Boomer street takeover 😂