Whenever we get a vehicle – whether from an auction or a trade-in – we first have one of our technicians inspect the car with a 79-point inspection.
They go through the car to check for any leaks, pull the tires, check brakes. They also check things that will be covered by our warranty: the engine, transmission, alternator, water pump, starter, and alternator.
So we look at all those major parts and make sure that the transmission shifts correctly. They plug the vehicle into our diagnostic machine to make sure there's no code or previous codes on the transmission or engine that somebody cleared and will come back to haunt the buyer down the road.
The technicians make a list of what they see, then they test drive it. And they take it on a good long drive, not just around a couple of blocks. Then we order whatever parts are needed and make repairs to meet our warranty standards.
And after the vehicle is repaired, it goes to the detail shop and gets a complete recondition there as far as steam cleaning the engine, shampooing the carpets, buffing the paint and then putting wax on top of that so the car is protected. Then is get puts on the inventory lot.
Why is reconditioning a vehicle important?
Reconditioning a used vehicle gives customers a way better car. You know, it's amazing. I've had this business for 23 years and bought and sold over just about 9,000 cars now. So I'm a pretty good buyer cause I've done it a lot, but I still make mistakes all the time.
I mean, anybody who tells you that they can go buy a used car and never get a bad car is basically lying. You never know until you get in, put it on a rack, pull parts, look for things, you know -- stuff you can't tell just on a test drive. So if I can't do it buying 9,000 cars, then the customer who buys one, two, or three in their lifetime surely can't do it.
So reconditioning protects them. The car gets professionalized. When it's put up in the air, technicians are able to see things. This process really protects our customers.
We don't want to have to fix a car after it's sold. If we recondition a car before we sell it, we can add that into the cost of the car and price the car accordingly. But if repairs need to happen after the sale, it's just full out of our pockets. So of course, our goal is to make the best cars so we don't have that happen.
Our goal is 100% approval.
12-month, 12,000-mile warranty on most vehicles.
2400 South Lincoln
Jerome, ID 83338
(208) 324-1457