What do the words “as is” mean? I’ve been browsing through some local used car ads and the phrase as is pops up quite often on the cheaper cars. Does this mean they don’t run?
May mean anything. The point is, they’re telling you up front, you buy it, it’s yours. No warranties, not gonna fix something for you as an incentive to sell, what you see
[Geraldine]
is what you get!
[/Geraldine]
“As is” means “what you see is what you get”. If it doesn’t run, then yeah, it’s for sale “as is”–not running.
But usually it means the “car is missing important but not essential parts”, like functioning windshield wipers, or fenders, or hubcaps, or maybe it runs but it sounds like a washing machine full of doorknobs. It means, “Don’t even ask me to give it a tuneup before you’ll buy it, or to fix the broken windshield for you.”
Ever heard the phrase “caveat emptor”? Means “let the buyer beware”. This is what it’s for. 