subject: How to safely buy a car by finding the right dealer [print this page] How to safely buy a car by finding the right dealer
There is a new service around for car buyers; http://www.cardealerreviews.org.uk. This service helps car buyers easily sift through car dealers and find the ones that have a track record of running an honest and integral business while avoiding the ones that have a history of selling poor quality cars, lemons, not upholding the standards associated with motor trading or otherwise engage in dodgy dealing.
According to a recent Office of Fair trading (OFT) study, it is estimated that average Britons are cheated out of between 35 and 85 million pounds a year in dealing with used cars:
700,000 used cars are sold annually in the UK with problems that should legally be corrected by the seller but in reality the buyer foots the bill in many cases
The consumer legislation relating to used car sales is vague and non-specific, leaving it up for interpretation not only for consumers and sellers but for the judicial system itself.
The judicial system is slow, cumbersome and costly; to take a dealer to small claims court will take in excess of 6 months and cost in the region of 4-500 in fees
According to this Nobel Prize winning article, this is because the bargaining power is in the hands of dealers with low integrity, as a car is a complex piece of mechanics where the seller holds information superiority over the buyer.
CDR (cardealerreviews.org) changes this balance by allowing would-be used car buyers to search a massive collection of real-life experiences with over 4,000 dealers, through more than 4,300 reviews, rapidly climbing towards 10,000. Thereby, the buyer can get a pre warning that will steer him clear of unreliable dealers, and at the same time point him towards those that are regular, honourable dealers, with whom you would be comfortable doing business, given the quite significant magnitude of investment a car typically represents.
Many car dealers will see this as a treat, but most will quickly realise that the rating they hold on this service can be an extremely valuable marketing tool (which comes for free), and will generate an extraordinary amount of traffic and potential leads at no effort or cost. The unique ranking is based on the review ratings and will favour dealers who are consistently able to deliver a superior buyer experience - which is exactly the security the buyer is looking for. Thus, the service acts both as a help to the buyer and to the dealer.
Check out http://www.cardealerreviews.org.uk now and start helping all used car consumers to become better informed when buying used cars.
