I am small independent dealer who thinking of using a formal inspection checklist on all of my inventory. In the past I would thoroughly look over the car and make a list of items that need attention. The mechanic would also alert me to any other issues that I may have overlooked. It has worked well so far, but when a customer asks me about the condition of the brakes, tires, etc, I find myself giving vague answers like "oh the tires are about 30-40% tread left". It would be nice to have a detailed answer like "6/32" tread left on the tires, 4/32" left on the brake pads".
I think its time I put together a formal inspection checklist (30 point, 50 point, etc). I figure I can use it in my advertising, print off a copy to keep on file and show the customer, plus it reduces the chances for mistakes or forgetting to check something.
I specialize in the $2,500-$7,500 price range, so a 150 point CPO checklist is overkill, but where is the happy medium? I printed off a sample Honda CPO 150 list and cut it down to about 50 points to check. It seems thorough without going overboard.
I used to take my cars to a local shop to get an oil change and they included a free inspection report that I could show potential customers, but it always included a bunch of preventative maintenance suggestions or up-sells that looked bad to potential customers.
I wanted to get some feedback, suggestions, warnings, etc from dealers with experience.
1. What I noticed is that 90% of people don't bother to get a car checked out and those that do have it already made up in their minds to have the car inspected by their mechanic no matter if you or a third party already did one. Have you noticed the same thing?
2. How many options should I include next to each item? For example, 1. ok / needs attention / n/a 2. recently replaced / ok / needs future attention / needs replaced / n/a 3. or a pass fail system with only 2 options
3. Am I opening myself to potential liabilities by doing this?
I think its time I put together a formal inspection checklist (30 point, 50 point, etc). I figure I can use it in my advertising, print off a copy to keep on file and show the customer, plus it reduces the chances for mistakes or forgetting to check something.
I specialize in the $2,500-$7,500 price range, so a 150 point CPO checklist is overkill, but where is the happy medium? I printed off a sample Honda CPO 150 list and cut it down to about 50 points to check. It seems thorough without going overboard.
I used to take my cars to a local shop to get an oil change and they included a free inspection report that I could show potential customers, but it always included a bunch of preventative maintenance suggestions or up-sells that looked bad to potential customers.
I wanted to get some feedback, suggestions, warnings, etc from dealers with experience.
1. What I noticed is that 90% of people don't bother to get a car checked out and those that do have it already made up in their minds to have the car inspected by their mechanic no matter if you or a third party already did one. Have you noticed the same thing?
2. How many options should I include next to each item? For example, 1. ok / needs attention / n/a 2. recently replaced / ok / needs future attention / needs replaced / n/a 3. or a pass fail system with only 2 options
3. Am I opening myself to potential liabilities by doing this?