The Washington herald., 1922-04-23
HOW AUTOMOBILE
DEPRECIATES TOLD
Better Known Makes Have
More Chance for Resale,
Claimed.

Every owner OF an automobile
who has felt the desire to own a new
car knows that the depreciation on
his used car has been far greater
than he ever expected 1t to be. The
reason the car you are now driving
has deprecated so much Is because
you have had to "liquidate" just as
the manufacturer of new cars has
had to do. You had to take a loss
automatically and the value OF your
car has dropped just about as the
prices of new cars have dropped. But
some cars have deprecated consid-
erably more than others and there
are sound reasons for this.
The better known makes having a
wide sale depreciate less than the
lesser known makes because the
dealer who buys the former can eff
feet a quick turnover. He can sell
the car in a short time and thereby
does not have to consider overhead
charges, etc, over a long period. II
you own a car that Is not known
very we'll by the general public, but
that car happens to be made of units
made by specialists. you stand a
chance OF getting a higher value, be-
cause the units makers continue to
offer service and advertise the units.
In some Of the larger cities the
dealers have returned to prewar
methods of basing used cars values.
This gives a car one year old a de-
probation OF 40 per cent II it is in
good condition and an additional 10
per cent II IT needs much repair
work. II the car happens to have a
bad name the depreciation may run
| til,
Some makes depreciate only about 80
per cent the first year. When the
motorist hears these figures he
should see the advantage of running
his car over a reasonable period be-
fore trading. or better still. avoiding
the trade altogether and selling the
used car to another individual and
| working with all cash.
The used car market right now is
In pretty bad shape. for the dealers
have about all the cars they are able
! to handle and do not want any more.
This means that there is an excess of
used cars and whenever there is an
excess of anything values go down.
The demand for used cars will be
fairly high during the spring months.
but II the dealer Is required to do
the used car selling he must ma
| turally figure on a profit This
profit can be made by the owner as
well IL he will only take the trouble
to make the sale himself
New car prices have just about
reached bottom. so the man who
holds out for still lower prices is go
ing to be disappointed. There NAV
be one or two cuts further. but they
will not amount to very much and
they will come from unimportant
concerns
The only way to get the most value
for used car is to sell it in good
condition. This advice goes for the
dealer as well as the owner The
used car has received a black eve
because so many "doped" cars have
been sold. 1t is because Of this that
many OF the important dealers sell
their used cars only after they have
been thoroughly overhauled.
For the man who is in the market
for a used car this is an opportune
time. because 1921 and 1920 models
can be bought as very low prices.
The purchaser first should consider
these two things in buying a used
car: It's age in years and miles
and its possible resale value. The real
worth OF used car can be judged
by the mileage 1t has run, but there
are SO many ways of covering this
that one must take the sellers
word for It. A car that is FIVE years
old becomes a risky proposition ex-
cept II 1t is a large car Of expensive
make. When you go to six and
seven-year cars in the low and
medium priced fields you are deal
Ing with values close to junk unless
FOUR mechanical knowledge tells you
otherwise.