Franklin Sussex Auto Mall Blog

In today’s world, there is a warranty for everything … including your vehicle. Because the warranty is an essential part of buying a new or used car, the small print and countless terms can often be overwhelming and frustrating. To make it a bit easier, I’ve outlined a couple of the universal regulations and basics you can look for before signing on the dotted line.

Emission Controls
This refers to the parts of the car relating to the exhaust and the amount of carbon emissions your vehicle puts into the air when you drive. With new cars, federal government standards regulate the warranty (think about the new standards Congress is pushing through). This means the regulations in every state must account for repairing emissions equipment. The rules in California are different, but that’s because they are stricter.

“As Is” Warranty
With this type of warranty, the dealer and manufacturer have no liability for repairs. The owner has no recourse if the car breaks down or other problems occur. If the dealer promises to fix the vehicle, the buyer must have that in writing before trying to enforce it under an “as is” warranty.

Representation Of Warranty
According to federal law, dealerships cannot say a vehicle has a warranty if it doesn’t. This law also states that the owner or dealer cannot misrepresent the vehicle’s condition or other facts about the vehicle. Laws legally and ethically require sellers to inform potential buyers of any known problems with vehicles.

Overall, the easiest way to avoid having to worry about all of this is to check out our extensive line of pre-owned vehicles at Franklin Sussex Auto Mall. Before any of these vehicles arrive on our lot, they go through a rigorous 125+ point inspection that checks everything from the brakes to the radio inside. If there is something that needs to be fixed or replaced, we’ll take care of it before you have to!

When the time comes for you to upgrade to a newer and safer vehicle, what are you to do with all of the money that you still owe on your current car loan?

Ideally, you want to be at or near the point of having equity in your vehicle. This is defined as the point where the value of your vehicle is higher than the amount you still owe on it.

So how do you find out where this magical point of equity is?
If you review your current invoice from your auto loan bank, it should display the payoff amount somwhere on the bill. This amount needs to be equal to or less than your current vehicle value for you to have equity.

So what is the current value of my vehicle?
There are many tools available online, like Kelly Blue Book, that help you determine an approximate value of your vehicle. However, it should be noted that these figures can often be a bit too generous as they cannot fully account for everything that a much more thorough visual inspection would cover.

Many dealers on the East Coast, including Franklin Sussex Auto Mall, obtain estimate used car values using a service called Galves. This service provides average values for vehicles sold at used car auctions around the country, which is a more accurate representation of what your trade-in is worth.

Overall, the most accurate value you can get from your trade-in comes from visiting the dealership and having the Used Car Manager appraise the car. When the Used Car Manager can see and touch your vehicle, he or she can tell you exactly what you can expect to get for your trade.

So don’t be afraid to come down to the dealership to see what your current vehicle can be appraised for!