Todd: I’m Todd.
Thad: I’m Thad.
Todd: And we’re the Watters Boys.
Thad: There is a lot of great information out there about buying, selling and
operating a car.
Todd: You’ll find some good advice in books, newspaper articles and
automotive web sites and blogs.
Thad: Like this one – at least that’s the idea of Talkin Cars.
Todd: However you do have to take some of my brother’s ideas with a grain
of salt – like when he thought that stopping a car by sticking your foot out of
the door and sliding it on the ground would prolong the life of the brake
pads.
Thad: I was nine years old – and I still think that idea could work.
Todd: Except you’d lose money with all the emergency room bills.
Thad: But for every good idea, there are others floating around out there…
Todd: Like Thad’s “brake with your foot” concept.
Thad: …that are not so good.
Todd: In this blog we’ll focus on myths about buying a car. Here are the
most common ones that we’ve heard over the years:
Myth #1: I have three days to return the car
Todd: The idea is that whether you’re buying new or used, you have three
days to change your mind and return the car.
Thad: The term is called “rescission,” or “to rescind.”
Todd: The dictionary definition-
Thad: I lent him mine.
Todd: -is: “The right of an individual involved within a contract to return to
the identical state as before they entered into the agreement, due to courts
not recognizing the contract as legally binding.”
Thad: This is one of those myths that’s kind of true but sort of not.
Todd: You can bring the car back only if a dealer has deliveried it to you, or
made the deal at your home.
Thad: If you come to your dealership and buy the car, you own it -
otherwise, the three days is to protect you for when a salesperson
comes to your home and strong-arms you into buying a car.
Todd: Otherwise, Caveat Emptor.
Thad: My brother is going crazy with that dictionary!
Todd: At Watters Autoland that’s exactly why we go over our pre-owned
vehicles with a fine tooth comb, before a customer drives it or buys it.
Thad: We want to make sure that the car you buy from us runs right, and is
right for you.
Myth #2: The best car deals are at the end of the month.
Thad: This myth probably started as a marketing tool.
Todd: Leave it up to those wacky advertising guys!
Thad: Hey, we’re wacky advertising guys.
Todd: Yeah but we’re not that wacky. Remember when some ad guy
suggested we do a “We’re strippin down prices” TV ad campaign,
with all of us walking around without any clothes on?
Thad: I think that would have worked better on radio.
Todd: While it’s true that we do have monthly sales quotas we try
to meet…
Thad: It’s also true that we pay the same price for our vehicles, whether it’s
at the beginning, middle or end of the month. And the same goes for our
customers.
Todd: Our bottom line at Watters Autoland is that we try to charge a fair
price, make a fair profit and pay our employees fair wages.
Thad: So they can all afford to buy clothes.
Myth #3: Extended Warranties Are Just Overpriced Scams
Todd: Wow. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a consumer say this.
Thad: How many nickels would you have?
Todd: Can I borrow your calculator?
Thad: Only if I can have my dictionary back.
Todd: Cars are built incredibly strong, to withstand all the years of driving
abuse we dish out.
Thad: But the more we drive a car, the better the chance for
problems.
Thad: That’s just a fact of life, with anything we buy and use.
Todd: So we always always always recommend customers get
extended warranty insurance, especially on a used car.
Thad: The price is reasonable, especially for what it covers, which is a lot.
Todd: Road Hazard Insurance can also really pay off because it covers
tires and rims.
Thad: Especially with this Iowa weather and the effect it has on our roads.
Todd: All it takes is driving one time into a pothole the size of my brother’s
swimming pool, and the insurance has paid for itself and then some.
Thad: There are a lot more car myths, misconceptions and out and
out horse hooey that we’ll address in future blogs.
Todd: If you’ve got a myth you’d like us to talk about, just post it in a
comment on our blog!
Thad: Meantime, drive safe and remember – only six weeks till spring!
Todd: Yea! Then we can start running around without clothes!
Thad: Remind me to be sick that day.
Todd and Thad Watters own and operate Watters Autoland in Indianola, Iowa. To find out more, visit www.wattersautoland.com.
Next time: Getting the most for your trade-in
