Most drivers have heard about the drawbacks of buying used vehicles from auto dealerships. Yet, a car dealership is often where they go to purchase pre-owned vehicles. If you are thinking about heading to an auto dealership to look for a used automobile, searching for one at a junkyard that has used vehicles for sale could be a better option for the following reasons.
Lower Price
According to Edmunds.com, used vehicle sales account for roughly 25 percent of the average auto dealership’s gross revenue. One of the main reasons why the percentage is so high is that most dealerships markup the sale price of a used vehicle well above its fair market value.
Junkyards, on the other hand, tend not to engage in such egregious price gouging. Whereas a dealership is likely to set the price of a used vehicle in the neighborhood of 30 percent more than the car is actually worth, a junkyard’s markup tends to be just slightly above fair market value.
No Salvage Titles
Unscrupulous car dealerships are known to list used vehicles for sale when they have salvage titles. Because a salvage title indicates that a car has been seriously damaged in some way or declared a “total loss” by an auto insurance company, it is best to steer clear of cars that are saddled with salvage titles, especially if you plan to use them regularly for transportation.
Professionally operated junkyards that care about their customers don’t sell pre-owned vehicles that have salvage titles. They may buy cars that have salvage titles and place them in the junkyard, so people can remove the auto parts from that are still useful, but they will only sell you a used automobile that is fully functional and has no serious operational problems.
No Mechanical Problems
Some pre-owned vehicles are so unreliable that they break down shortly after the buyer drives them away from the lot, but these aren’t the types of cars you find at a professionally operated junkyard that places a heavy emphasis on providing excellent customer service.
If a vehicle has a mechanical problem that is easily fixable, a reputable junkyard may choose to buy the automobile and perform the repair before listing the car for sale, but it will not sell you a set of wheels that has mechanical problems — or suspected problems — at the time of the sale.
No Price Haggling
Some people seem to enjoy haggling with auto dealers over automobile prices. If you aren’t one of them, purchasing a pre-owned vehicle from a reputable junkyard may be the best option. Junkyards tend not to price haggle, because their pre-owned cars are priced near what they would fetch if they were sold at fair market value and included no price markup.
Auto dealers don’t like to price haggle for two reasons: it wastes time that could be spent selling other vehicles, and it often ends up reducing the sale price of a vehicle by a considerable margin. Even so, most dealerships have grown accustomed to haggling with customers over car prices, because they know that consumers are aware of the steep price markup.
If its cars were truly “priced to sell”, as they would be if a reputable junkyard was to sell them, most auto dealers wouldn’t have to price haggle over practically every vehicle they sell. If you want a vehicle that is really priced to sell, check out the used car inventory at a junkyard.
Contact Wrench-A-Part
Wrench-A-Part is a professionally operated junkyard in Texas that has three locations: one in Austin, another in Belton, and another in Lubbock. We have a growing inventory of vehicles for sale that only contains automobiles that have no salvage titles or mechanical problems. We are also typically able to beat the used car prices that you find at most auto dealerships.
For more information about our used vehicle inventory, call or visit one of our locations today!
