[fatjoez]

I don't claim to be a saint
But this topic has been on my mind on/off for a while now & I thought I'd voice it & see what everyone thinks.

Are you ethical? Do you conduct yourself ethically? More specifically, when it comes to advertising/selling a car, do you/would you do so ethically??

I understand some here, who do not, maybe inclined to lie, but I would dare you to tell the truth, to whatever extent you wish.

I'm bringing this up is because I have increasingly noticed incidences of people selling cars and claiming they've been "babied" when in fact they've been raped.

One such incidence actually happened to me,
I was looking to buy a Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 30,
& in an ironic twist of fate while searching youtube for videos,
I found the actual guy selling the car had posted videos of himself attending track days and driving the car up to 250km/hour.
Suffice to say I did not purchase that car.

Since visiting these forums I have contacted numerous people in hunt for an oem exhaust midpipe,
to my distaste some people have responded "No sorry not selling, going to put my car back to stock when I sell".
And this is not all just from regular individuals on the forums.
I'm talking individuals AND Exhaust manufacturing companies/other registered sellers on these forums who I will not name,
who have modified their cars to death from complete exhausts to ECU tunes to the works,
who are telling me they are not selling a part because when they sell the car, they will put it back to stock.

Now I accept every person has a right to customize their vehicle to suit.
But in those cases where those persons have visibly (as detailed in their own forum signatures) modified their cars to such a great extent and in many cases are taking them to Track days and such, to put the car back to stock and sell it saying it's a stock car taken care of (not saying everyone will do this, but you can't deny many do & will) I think this is unethical.


So I put the question to you all again,
and to those without a car, answer it hypothetically..

Are you ethical?

[The__J__Factor]

Lots of people take mods off because
1. you make more money by selling the parts individually - a moded car wont attract a premium over a stock car (usually)
2. you get more potential buyers with a stock car - not because they think it hasn't been thrashed - but because lots of people dont like other peoples taste/mods.

[Nikolas]

"when it suits me" and "not really" are the same. You should simply modify to "yes" or "no"

[stickypaws]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

"when it suits me" and "not really" are the same. You should simply modify to "yes" or "no"

+1
There's no "in between." You either are or you aren't.

Unethical poll.

[graider]

human nature. they will continue to scam you whenever they can to get the most out of their sell. nobody would want to sell at a loss or make little money right?

with that said, i think whoever track/mod their car and revert them to stock to sell should inform the buyer. I disclosed everything to the buyer when I sold mine last time.

[Inzane]

Originally Posted by The__J__Factor

Lots of people take mods off because
1. you make more money by selling the parts individually - a moded car wont attract a premium over a stock car (usually)
2. you get more potential buyers with a stock car - not because they think it hasn't been thrashed - but because lots of people dont like other peoples taste/mods.

^ this is the correct answer.

[Silver-Bolt]

I modify every vehicle I have bought. Every time I sell the are returned to stock. #1 selling the mods separately will bring more money. #2 most people prefer to mod a vehicle to their own taste. #3 if I happen to do a trade in, mods are worth $0. Nothing to do with ethics in my case. I have even provided new buyers with time slips. With proper maintinence track days are not going to hurt a vehicle unless you crash it. I would rather buy a well maintained track car than someone's daily driver that has been neglected.

[nmulax]

+1 on everything The__J__Factor said.

Ethics play absolutely no role in other forum members not wanting to sell their stock parts. It's their property and their choice on what they'd like to do with it. I'm actually a bit put off that you're contacting people out of the blue in search of a mid-pipe. What happened to yours?

As for the GTI you were looking at; yes if it was advertised as "babied, never been tracked, etc" then the guy wasn't being truthful. BUT everyone has a different idea of what a babied car is. Also, driving at 250km/hr (155mph) isn't going to damage a car.

[bjbubble]

Originally Posted by nmulax

+1 on everything The__J__Factor said.

+2

Plus, when buying a used car, there's always an assumed risk. Not every accident is reported to insurance, everybody drives differently, etc. There's a reason new cars lose the most value the minute they drive off the lot. The person responsible for the car isn't bound by anything to say what has/has not happened to the car.

[SS e93]

+1 to everybody who says they have a right to modify their car and revert to stock. the main thing is notifying the person how you used the car, and what you did to it. I know there was one guy on here who bought a used 335, and the previous owner tampered with the ECU, and did not tell the buyer. Buyer went for some warranty work, and the ECU was all messed up, even with clipped wires. long story short, he got screwed.

I hate seeing people posting about fender benders and the likes and "how to avoid the accident from showing up on carfax"

but again, disclosure is the key to being ethical. As long as things are not purposefully hidden for the sole purpose of personal gain then everything is ok.

[fatjoez]

yea course suppose it wasn't clear in the original post, I meant people who modify their cars to bits &/or track them and then advertise as if it's been a daily driver to the supermarket lol

@nmulax "put off that you're contacting people out of the blue" lol. good one

[imaphaetonguy]

If she's over 18 - always.