glerma

I have always wondered why the number of owners matters when selling a car. A recent case-in-point: I saw a 1997 Bonneville with over 100k miles for sale and it was advertised as "Carfax 1-Owner"... Like it was a plus. On the other hand, I recently picked up my '10 GS Convertible and I am the car's 3rd owner.... It has 9k miles and it is still in new-car condition. The desirability of single-owner cars has always made me curious. Any thoughts?

EVRose

Two owners within 9k miles might make some people think there are problems with the car that neither could live with. That doesnt mean its true though. Also more than one owner means more of a chance the car may have been abused by at least one of them.

level6

Ding, Ding, winning answer.

5knives

It's easier to "assume" the history of the vehicle with 1 owner. With multiple owners, an accurate account of the vehicle's history could be lost in translation. We've all played the telephone game. A car that was broadsided at 35mph with the original owner could turn into a minor door ding from a shopping cart by the 4th owner. I don't put too much faith in Carfax either, although it's better than nothing.

smackdownC6

As been said, more documented history. Much more likely to be taken care of. I bought my Vette from the original owner as well. Just had more appeal than a 3rd owner, then I'd be the 4th owner, and come resale, they'd be the 5th owner. Not many people want to be the 5th owner and then sell to a would be 6th owner.

sjohnson2615

I think it is just that you can get the full history of the car and it is likely to be more accurate. You may be surprised at how many "it was just bumped in the front in a parking lot" you will hear from second, third or more owners vs the actual " I hit a tree head on at 50 mph" . The original owner can't hide behind " as far as I know" or "it was like that when I bought it".

dvilin

jrc50

Or of course it could mean that the car was owned by two people who found in short order they could not afford it, which often means the car was abused or not maintained the right way, as well of course the one earlier response about the car being a lemon passed on quickly to minimize financial loss to the owner.
In any event, approach with caution

y2krtaf

In the case of a little Dodge Dakota pick up I bought a while back,It had 147,000 miles on it,but the original owner, had every receipt for everything ever done to it,including oil changes.
At 217,000 now the little 318 5spd daily,is still going very strong.

phileaglesfan

One owner cars should be worth more. The seller doesn't have an excuse for not knowing about something and is required to tell you about any serious problem/accident. Chances are if they had it for a lot of miles that they took great care of it also. The cars with 3-4 owners at say 20k miles give me a concern and I personally wouldn't buy one. Too many electrical gremlins running around.

Mike's LS3

Simple put: You can get a sense of how well a car was taken care of by the last owner, but not necessarily the case with multiple owners.

1rusty1

I have been the first and second owner but have also purchased cars with multiple owners. I've been fortunate and have never ended up with a lemon. I imagine you could run into problems on cars that owners try and do their own work. My Vette had an aftermarket radio that was obviously installed by the owner. Needless to say, he had no clue what he was doing. That caused issues with the FOB but once I had it replaced professionally, no issues.

s'noJob

The higher the mileage, the more important "1 owner" becomes. The lower the mileage, the more important multiple owners becomes.

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Steve_R

One owner cars are worth more to the owner at sales time but not much to buyers. That's the reality. No different than advertising that a car has "always been garaged" or "never driven in the rain."

And no, you are not required to tell a potential buyer about any serious problem or accident, at least in most states. There are laws like that about houses, not cars. For example, here in CO you have to certify whether odometer is correct or not. There is no other disclosure required about a car.

Torchsport

It gives me a feeling that the original owner loved the car too much to part with it, until now.

Of course...I have a bad habit of always buying new.

Stavesacre21

Couldnt have said it better!

su8pack1

Mad*Max

mickey5

I recently sold 2 performance vehicles I bought new; an '05 SSR in '11 with 3600 miles and a '90 Vette roadster with 44k miles in '13. I noticed early on that the folks that came to look were equally interested in my home, the condition of the garage and who did the work on my 25 foot SEA RAY at the dock than giving me the 3rd degree on the vehicles. Maybe it was that I'm a nicely dressed senior that spent the time to tell them all I remembered about the cars and how I maintained them in a forthright manner. Interestingly, the senior chap that bought the SSR sat in it, took a few pics and bought it on the spot without starting it up or driving it!

I don't think buying from multiple owners or a dealer would instill the sense of confidence my buyers felt after an hour or two of pleasant conversation. Just my opinion.

stp357

From my experience, two owners is not necessarily a red flag. My reasoning is, the first guy bought his dream car, and after the newness wore off, decided to sell it. In comes the second guy, who may not have wanted to take the hit in depreciation, or could not afford to buy it brand new, and it's now his dream car. In this type of situation, I thoroughly inspect the car to see if what they are telling me, is backed up by what my eyes are telling me. Haven't been wrong yet!