Thanks to modern technology, it has never been easier to sell your car. Gone are the days when you have to place an ad in the newspaper (remember those?) and compress your description into a few lines (makinis, gas and go, tinted, stereo). Now, you can write paeans to how pampered and well-maintained your car was, and post all the photos you want on social media and popular online markets like Carousell.
But there are still drawbacks to posting your own ad. You have to deal with shameless lowballers, senseless questions, and potential buyers messaging at ungodly hours. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just drive up to an establishment, have your car assessed, and then trade it in directly?
This is what AC Motors, the vehicle distribution arm of Ayala Corporation, wants to do with its newly launched trade-in service, Trade+. This new enterprise builds on the strengths of AC Motors, which has Honda, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Kia and Maxus in its stable, and combines it with a relatively new kind of automotive service.
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The basic premise is customers will bring in their used vehicle, have it assessed by trained personnel, and then it will be auctioned. The turnaround time from inspection to sale is five days, says AC Motors, compared to existing trade-in programs that take up to three months to complete a transaction.
After the sale is made, the customer can use the amount for a down payment among AC Motors’ stable of brands. So owning your own brand-new Volkswagen T-Cross, Kia Seltos or Honda HR-V just became more convenient. Want to hold on to the cash and not buy a new car first? You can also just opt to cash in and take home the money from the sale of your car.
Until our government gives us better public transport (don’t hold your breath), cars will still be the main mode of going around. It’s good to see new services and options that make the car-buying experience more convenient.
