Hold On to Your Car's Sticker

What's the first thing you do when you drive your shiny new car home? Grab a razor blaze to get rid of that ugly sticker the dealer left on the side window — you know, the one that's creating a terrible blind spot when you pass?

Wrong.

If the window sticker — or Monroney label, as it’s called — hasn't already been removed by the dealer and placed in the glove box, you should carefully remove it, make a few extra copies in case one gets lost, and put them away for safe keeping in your bank safety deposit box or vault. Don't leave it in the glove box, where age and misplaced fries are going to ruin it.

The Monroney label is loaded with valuable information, from the serial number of your vehicle to where it was assembled. It also includes all items that came standard and all items that were extra-cost options on your new vehicle. That’s information that will be valuable later; the Monroney label is a printed DNA of your vehicle.

When someone, like your insurance agent, asks if the car has antilock brakes, stability control and side curtain airbags — safety features that may qualify for a premium discount — you’ll have written proof to show him. And two years down the road when the car is in an accident, vandalized or stolen and you have to make a claim with the insurance company, you have proof the car came with that top-of-the-line audio system, navigation system and higher-output engine, rather than just the base V-6. Those are features that entitle you to a larger settlement.

Then, five years down the road when you hear or read that cars like yours, produced in a specific plant with specific equipment, have been recalled, you can pull out the Monroney label and see the serial number of your car, where it was built and all the equipment it has to find out if the recall impacts you. If you’ve moved and the recall notice didn't get to your new address, you can use the information on the Monroney to set up a recall inspection and fix with a dealer.

When it comes time to trade the car in or sell it to a private party, your copy of the Monroney label answers all the "Does it have a ..." questions that the buyer will ask about systems and components he can't see, such as stability control.

Having the label at hand will also help justify asking more for it; you’ll be able to show potential buyers all the standard and optional equipment that came with the car. Once a deal’s been struck, you can then give the label to the new buyer so he or she has all that info, too.

When buying a new vehicle, don’t forget this important piece of car DNA. Ask the dealer to remove the label and hand it to you with all the other paperwork. Don't leave and tell him to mail it, or you may never see it again.

Comments

[tor]

can you find all this by contacted the manufacturer or some registery using the VIn? the VIn is below the front windshield.

[CarDealer]

Ummm,all this information should also be on the bill of sale for your vehicle when you purchase it, with all the extra added options your vehicle has, above and beyond all the standard equipment. Also, by running the Vin#, you can pull out the entire vehicle build of your car through the dealer, along with any open recall or bulletins that may be associated with your vehicle.

Most vehicles don't even have window stickers on them due to the vehicle not being shipped with one on it, or the salesperson tearing it off the vehicle for a test drive.

This article was quite pointless.

[DL]

i've seen some people drive around with it ... that could be an option, althought seems it might get a bit tacky after a couple of years ...

[Jordan]

I often have received close to retail prices on my cars I have sold privately over the years due to two reasons: 1. All service paper work, 2. Original window sticker.

This article offers good advice.

[Jordan]

I often have received close to retail prices on my cars I have sold privately over the years due to two reasons: 1. All service paper work, 2. Original window sticker.

This article offers good advice.

[KJ]

Any idea how one can get a sticker for a used car?

[Lee Rushlow]

When selling a car, I re-glue the car's sticker onto the car window, just as if it were a new car. Adjacent to that, I affix my "for sale" information, including price and phone number. Potential buyers can quickly see exactly what is being offered and what it cost new, and I have inevitably sold my vehicles at a slight premium to KBB within a week of offering them for sale. A valuable marketing tool indeed.

[Infosaur]

Although I've never been to a dealer that DIDN'T take it off upon delivery, I've always held on to my window sticker.

It's all those years of hearing how a vintage 1960's Monroney can add a thousand dollars to the car at a clasics auction.

And "CarDealer" is COMPLETELY wrong. It's a CRIME not to have the sticker in the window. (at least in PA) Used cars might not have the factory Monroney but they need another form in the window (usually with two boxes, one for warrantee and the other for As-Is) or it's a fine. (when I sold cars I had to make sure the trades had one in the minute the plates came off)

So I don't know what his story is, but I wouldn't buy a car from someone who claims "Oh we got it without a window sticker"

[A]

Hey Cardealer,

I don't know what make of cars you sell but I work for a auto manufacturer and EVERY vehicle we ship has a window sticker in it.

[CarDealer]

I Sell GM Vehicles in Canada. On MULTIPLE occasions, GM will ship vehicles to us without a window sticker on the vehicle detailing all the options the vehicle has. Depending on the time of year the vehicle is shipped to us as well, if pricing is not released for the new model year at time of build of the vehicle, the window sticker will arrive blank without any options listed or the price of the vehicle.

It is NOT illegal to sell & deliver a vehicle without a window sticker, because the window sticker is not a legal piece of paper. Price increases occur during the course of the model year, and depending on how long the vehicle sits on a dealers lot, the price at time of sale maybe be more than at the time the vehicle was built.

Your LEGAL pieces of paper, are your bill of sale, which MUST list all options the vehicle has, the cost of those options, and the MSRP of the vehicle prior to discounts/rebates and so forth. The window sticker is a piece of paper for you to familiarize yourself with the vehicle and that is all, but if you think you can go to court and say my window sticker says this, when your bill of sale says something else, you're not going to win anything.

So, yes, I know what i'm talking about, and this article is still quite pointless. Every car GM builds not has a sticker on the drivers door indicating.. "Proudly built in .... " and the comment of.. 5 years down the road when you hear your vehicle has a recall, produced in a specific plant with specific options.. well, first off, that's what the vehicle Vin # is for, and recalls aren't based on vehicles with specific options, but it's run off of a Vin # list. You can have 500 cars built the same day, but only 250 are affected by the recall.

[Wain C]

Right on the money. I've gotten new cars on which the dealership kept it. but on my last purchase i did get one, it sits in my glove box i'll take it out and make a few copies of it. makes all the sense in the world, my car has a number of options that will make a difference on the day i sell the car. I live in California here it's illegal for a dealership not to display the sticker on a new car. even the 3 over grown free loaders the Feds support are required to display one.