Should You Purchase A Car At A Car Show? If you go to a car show, expect to become impressed. After all, that is the whole point of putting on the show in the first place. Having said that, you will also see fantastic, if not the best, examples of four-wheeled vehicles. However, the question is: should you buy a car at a car show? Well, that is not an easy question to answer, because it depends on you and the circumstances. It is never a good idea to buy on a whim, but if you see something that you have really been searching for for some time, then you might have to purchase it there and then or wait a long time to have another chance. What do they say? Never go shopping whilst you are hungry? The same maxim could be applied to this situation and the expenditure will definitely be hundreds if not thousands of times more than a cart full of shopping. Basically, the criterion is: do you really know what the car is worth? The owner of the car will know what the car is worth and he or she will also know that you are seeing the car in the best light. The owner will also have paid to enter the show, the cost of which will also be added to the price of the car. Therefore, if you are purchasing something special like a custom car, then you will probably be paying a premium at a car show, but if you are buying a stock car, you may be more likely to be offered a discount. So in general, a car show is likely to be more expensive, the more customized the car. This means that you need more information, the more specialized the car is that you want to buy. Anyone with enough money can buy a Ford Prius straight off the production line, you just have to look in the Ford catalogue and look up the list price, but who knows the price or value of a customized, hand-made 1968 Morgan 2-Plus-2? There will be other problems at a car show too. The owner of the car might be actually busy talking to people about the car. Enthusiasts will have lots of questions about the car's engine capacity, coachwork and age et cetera, so you may find it hard to get any attention. The other thing is that you will not be able to take the car for a test drive whilst it is at the exhibition. You might find that the owner does not really take you seriously. This is probably because he or she meets dozens of 'tyre kickers' every month. Everyone wants to know the answers to questions such as: how long did it take to do that? How much did it cost to do that? How much is the car worth? Is the car for sale? You will certainly not be the first to ask these questions. The owner has heard it all before. If you are serious, ask for some contact details, take some photos and promise to get in touch after the show. Use the time you have left to do some study and find out whether you have a good deal on your hands or whether you just had a narrow escape.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on numerous subjects, but is currently involved with car detailing prices. If you want some tips on detailing cars come over to our website now at Detailing Car Interiors.