3 On Your Side: Deciphering Confusing Car Buying Jargon
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Are you in the market for a new car? As car dealers continue to clear out the last of the 2014 models, now may be a great time to get a deal. But as 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan finds, the terms used in automotive ads and on the car lot, may be confusing.
New car owner Nihar Suthar is relieved he doesn't have to figure out all the jargon of car ads anymore. He says, "I had to really research what a lot of these terms meant."
Terms like "all-new," "re-designed," and "refreshed" are often used in advertising, but be aware there are no federally regulated and no industry-wide definitions. What they mean may depend on who you ask.
Auto Expert Dave Sullivan says,"The terms, they vary across auto makers. It's really up to the marketing; there's not one uniform classification that everyone can slot into."
Chrysler says "all-new" refers to a model that is pretty much "new" from the ground up. A Cadillac dealer we spoke to says "all-new" means "a car that hasn't been seen before."
With some manufacturers "all-new" can mean taking an older model and making it "pretty much"-- "all -new." According to Sullivan, "Sometimes in order to save money automakers will basically change the sheet metal, the headlights the tail lights and then kinda call that, maybe, an all-new car. Underneath it might have the same engine, the same transmission."
Although everyone pretty much agrees on the term "redesigned." According to Mark Takahashi of Edmunds.com, "It's an existing model that they have significant upgrades to as far as it may actually even look completely different."
Another term you may have heard is "next generation," that's typically when auto makers take a model that's been around for years and give it an overhaul.
Experts say you may not want to get caught up in marketing jargon, instead: make a list of features you need in a car and calculate the price that fits your budget, and shop with that in mind.
