Get a load of this.
I currently own a 2004 Mercedes-Benz SL500. Nicely equipped with all extras, AMG sports package, premium 20s, the works.
Two biggest hamperers: Huge miles (92k), and a really nasty curb rash on the front right rim. Nasty because I got magnesium alloys and it'll easily be about 1,600 bucks to replace the one wheel alone.
As for the history of the car, impeccable service record verifiable through Carfax, all done at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in California. As good as it gets. Then, jus got recently over five Grand in preventive maintenance, valve gaskets, seatbelts replaced, fuel injector service, couple of worn solenoids, and finally, motor mounts replaced. The car went back and forth between coastal and extremely hot desert climates. Murder for rubber parts.
The KBB value of the car as trade-in in only "Good" condition is 32 Grand. At wholesale auction they go for about 25k.
Now, considering all this, I drop the car for the inspection. Have a nice chat with the sales rep and what not. Computer jiggles, okay lets get over the vehicle.
Interior, great, exterior, great, rims great.
Err, ehem, wait, I got one of the nastiest curb rashes??? What's that there saying rims are great? Sheepish look, stoddering answer that it might say that because rims don't influence auction price. Huh??? Whatever, my gain, right?
And then it comes:
Body: Both front fenders and hood painted. Err, ehem, this thing mixed up cars, right? I leased it new, and the car never saw a bodyshop or paint or anything like that. Sales rep, even more sheepish.
Then based on the alleged "painted" parts, offer 19 Grand. Mind you KBB trade-in is 34k. Of course you can't expect that kind of money when using a joint like Carmax, but that is just flat out insult.
So, now I want to see this genius and be told where the alleged "paint jobs" are.
Guy comes out, scrapes over a crevice and proclaims there were "rough ridges" that are indicative of paint.
Hum, err, ehem, all good boss but we're in a very hot sandy desert, ever heard of, ehem, sand? No no that's paint. Okay, I pop the hood, scrape my thumb nail over a "rough paint ridge" that of course immediately pulverizes into good ol' brown desert sand to reveal a surface as smooth as a baby butt in sparkly titanium silver.
Hum... Errr... Ehem but there, there, there!!! A wrench has been there at the nuts holding the hood. That must be a paint job, AHA!
Errm, uhum, nope, as I told you and documented to you the motor mounts have been replaced, now in order to have the motor unmounted, what to we have to do? Aaaah, yes, get the hood out of the way. Now he starts elaborating to me that I don't know what I'm talking about and that I have probably purchased the car this way. Here is what he didn't know. I leased a lot of cars through a commercial leasing company from the same rep. When the lease for this SL was up, he offered me to return it and snatch it at their auction as this would save me roughly 5 Grand over the contractual purchase option. So I did. The result is that the Carfax report shows it as auctioned commercial vehicle, and that genius appraiser probably thought I was some jerkwad with a car he can't hold when in fact I had this thing since it ran of the mill.
After starting to point the discussion this direction the "mechanical genius" selected to discretely disappear and the rep had my keys faster than you can say blueberry-pie.
So according to the appraisal a completely wrecked 1,600$ rim is in perfect shape, but a perfectly good front end is body-shopped. Ridiculous.
Carmax is a typical feed-of-the-bottom at huge profit joint. These typical corporate predatory practices usually last until the first class-action lawsuit, but their nifty risk evaluation consultancy has already given them a set percentage they need to make to cover the settlement.
There's plenty of ways to sell a car, and since this is a big corporation, I doubt that this guy was really a moron (but then, come to think of the "perfect shape" curb rash rim). Nothing dumps the price of a vehicle more than a nice body-shop visit. So if you can make some idiot believe that he got ripped and has bought a car with body work without knowing it, some compassionate comment how evil all the others are maybe?
Have it your way. Either it's corporate governance nothing short of predatory, or having moron appraisers, either way it ain't good. Just another large corporate joint creating a "bubble business model" that'll eventually burst because all their nice "growth calculations" will put them ever more in the need to pull stunts like that. Babbling about wholesale when in fact you heard them around the corner discussing how fast it can be on the lot. That's sleazy car salesman cliche a la 80s at its best.
Do yourself a favor, go to auction or sell online, there's plenty of venues. Don't feed another corporate troll feeding of a generally depressed economical situation by jerking off people that are in need. I own two businesses, I love profit, complete capitalist.
But trying to jerk someone of like this is just tasteless.
By the way, I'll gladly provide a photo of the wrecked rim and "All rims super" - appraisal to anyone interested.
Pauli
Henderson, Nevada
U.S.A.
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