“First to see will buy!”

This hackneyed phrase seems to be a desperate plea to sell a car with needs. How many people actually buy a car thinking they have to before the next person will scoop it up? Well, just that thought negates the phrase. After all, the next person viewing the auto is actually at least the SECOND person to see the car.

But really, this and phrases such as “The best we’re seen (so far)”, “The best in the country”, “Not the usual scruffy example”, etc., harp back to the old image of the used car salesman image. And I didn’t trust them either.

Hyperbole does sell, sometimes. But you can go overboard with it. If almost every listing on your advertisement ends with “The best” it doesn’t imply that this company only carries the top examples, but rather they have very low standards. For example, in the UK, the Old School Garage’s ad make it seem that everything they sell is ‘The Best’. That they need to go back to school to learn how to spell and use grammar correctly (complete ignorance of the use of Upper and Lower case, spelling of upgrade as ‘upgread’, etc.) is a given. But the overuse of hyperbole contrasts with other, more conservative dealers that know how to show their cars to best advantage, yet not over-gush with praise.

I don’t know about you, but I prefer a dealer or private party who is understated and lets the car speak for itself. And not one that says that his car is a good investment compared to money in the bank. Trust me, most cars depreciate. And, God forbid, there’s always the rare accident that completely negates that premise. I don’t know the last time my checking account (with no interest) was totaled. Actually....