The Forester the dog rode in, appraised, not judged.
If a Forester has been in a family for a few years there is a fair chance something with four legs has ridden in the back of it, and the car remembers.
Hair in the boot carpet, a scratched load lip, a smell that will not quite leave. None of it is a verdict. We appraise the car at your home or work, make a firm offer at it and pay by bank transfer the same day.
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Four legs in the back
A car that carried the dog is a car that got used, which is the point of it
Sellers apologise for the boot before we have opened it. The boot is the least surprising part of a Forester.
Owners of these cars tend to warn us before the visit. The dog rode in the back every weekend for years. The kids ate in it. The camping gear went in wet and came out wetter. There is a particular embarrassment about a car that was used the way it was built to be used, and it is misplaced. A Forester with a spotless boot is the rarer car.
What that life leaves behind is ordinary and visible. Hair in the carpet, claw marks on the load lip and the rear bumper, a cargo liner that has earned its keep, a smell that a detail will mostly lift. We look at it, we price what we find, and we add no penalty for the story. The difference between a car that carried a dog and one that did not is a few things that can be seen, and those few things are what the figure reflects.
What we look at harder on a car like this is what we look at on any Forester: the service record, the tyres, the body for the odd supermarket scrape, and the hybrid system checked properly at the car along with everything else. Then the offer is made standing next to it and you are paid by bank transfer the same day. Do not pay for a detail first. Tell us what is in the boot and let us look.
On the call
Five things we ask about a Forester that worked for its family
None of these is a trap. They tell the person who comes out where to look first.
- What rode in the back?
- The dog, the kids, the bikes, the camping gear, a load of mulch once. Say it plainly. It tells us what the boot and the back seats have been through, and it is the least surprising answer we hear about a Forester.
- Has the interior been detailed, or is it as it lived?
- Either is fine, and as it lived is often better for us because we can see what is there. Please do not spend money on a detail before we come. It rarely comes back in the figure.
- Where has it been driven?
- Suburb, country, the snow road, a gravel track to a campsite. It points the inspector at the underside and the glass as well as the boot, and it does not change whether there is an offer.
- Who serviced it, and is the book in the car?
- A dealer, a local workshop, or a mix. If the book is stamped, leave it in the car for the visit. On a car like this the service record does more for the figure than the vacuuming does.
- Is there finance on it?
- If there is a loan or a lease, tell us who holds it and we deal with them for the payout figure. Any gap between that figure and what the car is worth comes to you in writing before a signature goes anywhere.
Whatever rode in the back
Three things that hold on a well used Forester
- A used car is not a damaged car. Hair, scuffs and a smell are things we see and price. They are not a story we price on top.
- The hybrid system is checked at the car. Along with the body, the tyres and the service record, in one visit, by the person who makes the offer. Nothing about it is assumed from the kilometres.
- Paid by bank transfer the same day. The offer at the car, the contract on your phone, the transfer that afternoon, and any lease or loan paid out directly along the way.
Before the call
Three questions from people whose Forester worked hard
The boot smells of dog. Should I get it detailed before you come?
No. Leave it as it is and let us look. Money spent on a detail before a sale rarely comes back in the figure, and a boot that has been cleaned tells us less than one that has not.
There are claw marks on the back bumper. Does that cost me?
It is a thing we see and price like any mark on the body. It is not a penalty on top. Point it out when we speak and it is counted once rather than discussed twice.
Do you treat the hybrid differently from a petrol Forester?
Only in that the hybrid system is checked properly at the car along with everything else. Otherwise it is the sale every car gets from us: we come to you, the offer is made standing next to the car, and the transfer lands the same day.
Tell us what rode in the back of the Forester. We come to you, appraise it and pay the same day.
Or call us on 03 9000 0075 and talk it through first.