The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-03-23
More Care Should
Be Taken of Cars
Declares Dealer
By HOWARD NJ. SMITH.

The secondhand car market Is
always the bete-noir to the dealer and
to the owner alike. To the dealer &
is the constant problem Of how TO
dispose Of the cars that he must Of
necessity take in the selling OF his
new product and to the owner the
always present feeling that the
dealer lie not giving him anywhere
the real value of his machine
When all is said and done Il e the
owner who can get the real value y
he will observe few simple rules in
taking care of his car. Who would
buy horse and then never curry il
from one years end 70 another and
yet this is what many an automo-
bile owner will do why should q
man put 1900 70 So 600 IN a car and
then let his investment deteri0rate on
account Of lack Of care How many
oyvners will you find that ever gave q
thought 10 the keeping clean Of the
ynotor7 And yet there ts no piece OF
machinery that will stand q constant
admixture Of dirt and Crime without
depreclating in value. If the average
motor car owner would see 10. Il that
his machine Is washed regularly. that
tho motor Is cleaned off with kerosene
occasionally, that the upholstery is
W4ES0 y AAASI AUet t4SAr Hll0WeG TO set
tie in the cracks, that same owner
would be surprised at how much more
he would be allowed for his machine
when the time came TO turn II in for
n newer and later model. II a dealer
must spend anywhere from $50 to
1900 to put a secondhand car in
suitable condition to be sold, that sum
10 coming out OF the owner in the
form OF q smaller allowance, In
~ de nc 4
$50 less for his car than he ought TO
get simply because he has been too
lazy or too economical 70 keep his ma
chine ciean-som ething you would do
for very prtdes sake. letting alone the
financial depreciation caused by neg
lect
A first-class example Of what I
mean came TO my notice this week
=. ts4ree- SeaF-OId Mitchell was brought
10 my place. the owner of which
wanted a new Mitchell machine with
the electric starter and so on. When
] went out 10 see the old car ] was
more than surprised. Though If had
been tn continuous service for more
than three seasons, the paint and up
holstery work showed but little. II
any, signs Of wear The car had been
taken care Of washed regularly, the
meteor kept free from dirt and CRIME.
and az a result not only had the car
run faultlessly for years, but 1t was
worth lot more to its owner when
II came time To dispose Of il. a deal
or wants TO keep the value Of his used
cars up. in spite of the very general
surposition To the contrary. but he
can't do this without the cooperation
of the owners themselves. ard they
are the ones that are most vitality af-
fected after all. ! cannot understand
the reason why some Of them az least
allow their property to run down as
they do. A little time, a very little
money expended. will put dollars in
their pockets and at the same time
give them big dividends in satisfaction
while they are using the machine, for
who does not Ike to be In 8 car that
looks well-kept and up-to-date2
And It is not necessarily garage ser
vice that keeps a car up either Any
owner who keeps his car at home
can do the same and obtain the same
results II he will devote little time
and attention 10 the matter.
Let owners keep their cars in shape
and at least half OF the used car prob
lem Will be solved.