Used Cars Key Terms

Be more successful at selling used cars with key term knowledge

By Meredith Fagioli

If you are the owner of a used car lot or looking to increase your sales performance, you need to be familiar with the terminology used when dealing with used cars. Since used cars have been previously owned and driven, customers tend to have many more questions regarding the performance and details of these cars. By knowing a few important key terms, you can improve your customer service and hopefully increase the business to your dealership or lot.

Kelley Blue Book

When dealing with used cars, many customers will reference the blue book value, or car worth according to the Kelley Blue Book.
Try: Go directly to the source, Kelley Blue Book. Here you will find values of various makes and models of used cars.

Actual cash value

When someone wants to know the actual cash value of a vehicle, what they want to know is how much money has been invested by the dealer into both the purchase and repairs of the vehicle.
Try: Head over to AutoSpeak where you can find more information on actual cash value and other used car terms.

Cost of ownership

If someone wants to know the cost of ownership of a used car, they want to know the total of both fixed and running costs of the vehicle. Fixed costs are things like tax and tag fees. Running costs are typically repair bills and gas. Running costs tend to increase as the car ages.
Try: Bikes At Work has a lengthy article on calculating the cost of ownership.

Written warranty

The written warranty is a written document given to a customer by the used car dealership during the sale of a vehicle. It states the condition of the vehicle at the time of sale and also its performance.
Try: At Automotive Consumer Television, you can find more information on written warranty and other used car terminology.

Certified pre-Owned vehicle

A certified pre-owned vehicle is a vehicle that has passed certain tests that a dealership performs. These used vehicles meet higher standards than used cars purchased through classified ads or from auctions.
Try: Go to CARCHEX to read more about certified pre-owned vehicles.

Odometer statement

If a customer requests and odometer statement, what they want is a slip that states how many miles the vehicle has at the time of sale. This type of document can also state that the odometer has not been tampered with.
Try: Head over to BuyandSellCarSecrets.com for more details on odometer statements.