More on car prices

Car prices can be regional. In some areas of the country 4 wheel drive cars are more popular than others, so they command a higher price than in areas where you really don't need the 4X4 to get around in the winter. Convertibles are more popular in the Southern parts of the country, because people don't particularly want a convertible where it snows. Older cars are cheaper in the rust belt areas because of snow, salt and rust problems. A car can be rusted out in 3 or 4 years, where in the sun belt the same car could be in great condition 25 years form now.

I know of some people who have made a good living buying unpopular cars in one area of the country and moving them to an area where they were popular and selling them at a profit.
Since the introduction of the internet the price differences between different areas have tended to level out. I can find out what a given car is selling for in various parts of the country in just a few clicks of a computer mouse. So I am going to try to buy in line with the lowest selling prices I see in order to make a profit.

The real story on car prices

I have been buying and selling cars for over 30 years. The pricing of cars still amazes me. Most of the used cars on new and used car dealerships are either taken in trade or purchased. Most of the ones that are purchased come from auctions. I am sure most people know what an auction is. the high bidder gets the item on the block. As the car comes into the auction arena there is a line of 5 to 6 cars waiting to be sold. You will get to walk around the car look at the exterior and interior, listen for funny noises. Look at the instrument panel to see the mileage and if any warning lights are on. Check under the hood for oil leaks, smoke, etc. In other words you have just a few minutes to judge the car and its value. If the car is nice there will be many bidders on the car. When I end up buying a car, I know that I have paid more than anyone else in order to have the car on my lot for resale. The value of two 03 Chevy Impalas with 60,000 miles can be $1500 or more different depending on condition and mileage.

We use the Kelly Blue Book as a guide to what the car is worth. This gives a wholesale and retail value, adds for different equipment additions and deductions depending on mileage. This is an online service that is subscription based. There are other books and guides. Kelly also offers guides designed for the retail buyer. NADA is one of the more popular ones. Each region of the country has one that is more popular than the others. Then there are sites like Edmunds .com that also give values. I wonder where these places get the values they use. One of my customers e-mailed me a quote on a truck I have available for sale. The dealer retail figure listed there is less than the wholesale value in the Kelley book. I know each of these guides get there numbers from different places.

All I know from experience is that a car is worth what a buyer is willing to and a seller is willing to accept without force. I also know that you cannot sell from an empty shelf. In order to have nice cars you have to be willing to pay the cost to get them.

Repairs

I long for the good old days when you didn't have to be a computer technician to fix a car. The engineers combine two or three parts that were very inexpensive into into one electrical component, that fails more often and is more expensive to replace. Repairing a car is very time intensive. You are given a list, check this part, then depending on the result, check this or that part next. Testing and checking. After doing this they say replace this part, If that doesn't fix the problem, then you move to the next one in line.

Many times an electrical problem can be caused by loose or corroded connections. If current doesn't go to the right place at the right time something isn't going to work right. More than once we have cleaned and tightened connections and avoided buying an expensive part.

I still remember a customer coming in and complaining about his air conditioning. He had gone to a shop who told him he had to spend $800 to replace the a/c compressor. I looked under the hood and determined that the a/c compressor was turning. I also noticed that the fan on the radiator wasn't turning. This fan moves air over the condenser coil located in front of the radiator. This removes the heat from the freon so cool air can blow into the car. I looked at the fan motor. I reached down and touched the wires. The plug wasn't in properly. I pushed the plug in, the fan started blowing, cool air came into the car. 5 minutes repaired a problem that someone wanted to charge him $800 for.

Sometimes repairs can be expensive, but we try to get the job done as economically as possible.

Happy Holidays

I believe in Christmas, but I believe that everyone should celebrate as they see fit. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwaanza, Festivus and any other celebration I have left out. I do want to be politically correct also So I wish everyone a

"Merry Christmahannukwanzamas!"

This is a wonderful time of year. Everybody is in a festive mood. Getting the gifts and sending greetings to the families and friends. This is a time when we want to be a little more caring about our friends and neighbors. I had a conversation with one of my customers last week. He had purchased a car a couple of years ago with a balance of about $10,000 with payments around $400 per month. The balance is now around 4000. His job and income have changed drastically for the worse. He was struggling to keep the payments up. We had a talk and decided that he could easily afford $250 per month. We redid the loan and lowered the payments. He thanked me profusely. I think the $150 difference could make the difference as to whether they have food on the table or not.

It just seemed to be a right thing to do.

Scholarship

We have been in business for over 65 years. I wanted to give something back to the community. I thought a college scholarship would be a good way to go. My wife and two of my three sisters are teachers. I support education, the more you learn, the better your chances of getting a good job are. We are offering 2 - $500 scholarships to seniors graduating from high school and going on to college. One will be awarded to a male, the other to a female. They have to be solid students, with reasonable grades. The main qualification will be that one of their relatives purchased a car from us. Over the years we have sold thousands of cars. I know there are still customers around Phoenix who purchased cars over 50 years ago. this would be a father or mother, aunt, uncle, or even grandparent. I have contacted Phoenix Union and Tempe high school districts. I will be reaching some of the other school districts in the metro area in the next few days.

If you think you qualify, e-mail me at frank@consolidatedauto.com for an application.

choices

In the Phoenix metro area there are over 1,000 licensed used car dealerships. There are several hundred more new car dealerships. There are also many many private party cars for sale also. the number of choices can make your head spin. Where you buy the car can be more important than what car you buy. If you buy from a private party, you will get a lower price than buying from a dealer, but you won't have anywhere to turn if something goes wrong with the car. Some dealers will sell you a car and don't care what happens after you buy it. In most cases the bank or credit union is doing the financing. The bank doesn't really care if the car is running or not. They just want their payments. The dealership doesn't really care, because the car you bought was paid for by the bank.

Wouldn't you like to buy a car from a business that really cared if the car was getting you from point "a" to point "b" in a reliable manner. At Consolidated we do understand that a car is necessary in Phoenix to get to work, school, shopping , doctors etc. If you are one of our customers and something happens we will work with you to get the problem taken care of in a timely manner.

introduction

My name is Frank Sarwark. I have been in the used car business all my life. My father started this business 65 years ago. When I was big enough to see over the dash board and work the pedals I was on the lot on Saturdays helping out washing cars etc. As I got older I started buying and selling. There are many things I have learned about the car business, business in general and about life.

I will be passing on all kinds of information. All will be interesting, some will be more helpful to some people than to others. My aim is to help you do a little better in your life if at all possible.

One thing I always keep in mind when dealing with one of my customers is I am helping them make one of the largest investments they ever make. I want to give them enough information so that the transaction goes smoothly and they understand every part of it. We also finance just about everything we sell. So we are building a relationship that should last a couple of years, hopefully it could last a lifetime.

Test First Post

Watch this space for some good stories and great advice about the used car business.