Buying Tips - How Do I Get the Best Deal?

snakeweasel

Can a tire gauge be a weapon?

Almost everything can become a weapon.

snakeweasel

It's plastic, made in China. No more "dangerous" than a ball-point pen, right?

You can do some major damage to a body with a ball point pen.

oldfarmer50

"...You can do some major damage...with a ball point pen..."

Liddy, once said he could walk into your bathroom and find 30 different things he could use to kill you.

I bet it would be a hoot to watch him buy a car.

210delray

I guess if you beat someone hard enough and long enough with the average woman's purse, that would do it. :P

jmonroe

I guess if you beat someone hard enough and long enough with the average woman's purse, that would do it.

With the average woman's purse that would be true.

I guarantee you if Mrs. jmonroe hit you once with her purse (the way that thing is filled) you're a goner. No wonder she complains of a shoulder problem every now and then. :surprise:

jmonroe

joel0622

So, a question. Do they make boxers fly with there hands in there pockets? What about kick boxers? I would say make them wear cement boots, but they have to take them off to go through security :confuse:

Its all in jest, I don't envy the job of the FAA or HLS, they all have a very tough job and the folks are only working under the guide lines given.

geffen

I've been shopping around for used cars and i'm unsure as to how to approach the negotiation part, I know what payment i want be at however how do I get the best deal? usually the cars i've seen are sale priced stickered, can these prices be reduced even further? If i feel a fair price should be 2 thousand less do i just state that to my salesperson? Any advice would be helpful.

plekto

The easy way to do this is negotiate a price 300-400 over invoice, which is fair to the dealer on most cars(Mini and cars selling for MSRP aside).

But before you do that, get the loan set up via a bank or credit union. There will be no frontloading of the loan's interest, no gimmicks, and if you end up paying $318.43 a month, that's what you will pay.

Go in, negotiate, talk to your bank, and you're pretty much done.(banks usually make you pay for the registration and tax and such, but that's a fair downpayment, in effect)

Also, some cars are better to lease. These usually are the ones running silly low numbers(Accord for $199/Mini for $99 a month/CTS for $299 a month, etc). So keep an eye out.

mikefm58

The easy way to do this is negotiate a price 300-400 over invoice

He's shopping for a used car. How does he determine invoice of a used vehicle?

madmanmoo

You don't.

-Moo

plekto

My bad. He should be looking abt about $1000 over low trade-in, since the dealers give auction prices at best these days, unless it's a very desireable car - then they might give low blue book. This might require a lot of haggling, though.

geffen

I would think there would be room for me to submit a price that I feel i should pay, for example if the car i'm looking at is priced at used $15,995 if i offer $13,995 that shouldn't be to far off base depending on how much they purchased it at the auction.

blufz1

Offer whatever you want. You can always come up. Assume the dealer's "cost' in the used car is 70% of ask and start there subsequent to consulting the used car books for trade in value and making your own determination of the FMV of the car. Don't over pay. You are looking for a dealer who just needs to turn a unit. Go in from about the 25/26th of the month on to the month end. Hope this helps.

thenebean

you need to understand that if the car has been there a while, that $15,995 may BE the reduced price, and $13995 is just not doable for them. again, do some research online based on the car you are looking at. see what others are listing for (both private party and dealer). also check out the real world trade in value forum and see if you can get some information there. take all those numbers that you gather, and make an educated offer from that. its hard to just say "yeah, take $2000 off what the dealer is asking and offer that" because every car and every situation is different.

-thene

plekto

What specific car is this? This would help a lot, because there are people here who have access to auction data/pricing. If the car is only a couple of years old, is automatic with not many options - it's 99% likely to be an ex-rental. And in any case, it's still likely to be bought at auction. IME, maybe 15-20% of 1-3 year old cars are first owner trade-ins, if that, so there's a huge hit in some cases.

That 15,995 may be the already lowered price or they might have bought it at auction for $10K and are asking silly prices(and as a result not getting it sold)

graphicguy

plekto's right. Knowing what the brand, model, options, condition, mileage of the car will help us focus in on what a good offer might be for a used car.

Used cars are tough to put a number on, though. We'll never know what the dealer has in the car. We also don't know how long it's been sitting on the dealer's lot.

geffen

I've been looking at a different model, a 2006 Toyota Camry priced at $17,995 it has 28,000 miles on it and it was an ex rental when i checed the carfax, this seems a bit high especially with the amount of miles that are on the car, the carfax shows its been in the dealers inventory for a month.

blufz1

Better off to buy a new one.

plekto

Ah - that's a 4 cylinder I take it.

Pass. Get a brand new Accord 4 with manual. You'll love it to death - super easy clutch and sewing machine smoothness. Same cost, almost exactly. If ever there was a car that was dead-simple to learn manual on, this is it.(and it's very quick and agile)

IME:
4 cylinder - Accord is better. Honda makes a much nicer basic car than Toyota.
6 Cylinder - Camry is better. Toyota makes a better fully loaded car than Honda.

geffen

Yes it's a used 2006 Camry with the 4 Cylinder engine, it must be the market area that i'm that used Camry's sell for higher prices used than other places. I never buy new and I only drive automatics.

210delray

But the price of that used 2006 model (an LE with few options presumably) is within striking distance of a new one.

Why take the risk on a former rental car that may have been abused? I'd pass.

blufz1

Well your life theory is wrong! You buy high resale cars new and low resale cars used.

geffen

Well some of us have budgets, I myself would not spend $24,000 to $26,000 for a brand new Camry when I can find a used one with decent miles for several thousand less.

blufz1

I understand that. Check out the cost of a new Camry on Edmunds + they may have rebates or low rate financing if you time your purchase right.

plekto

Still, I do really REALLY recommend the Accord with the manual transmission. 85-90% of the *world* knows how to or drives stick. It's really not hard to learn and it's about the easiest transmission to learn on short of a BMW 3 series.(but at half the price, a total steal for what you get)

Me, though, I'd rather get a 2 year old Lucerne CXS for $18-20K this fall. This is a seriously good value for the money and blows something like a 4 cylinder Camry away.

I never buy new myself - there's just no incentive unless it's a special car or one that depreciates too little in the first year(manual Accord/RX-8/Mini/etc).

boomchek

I'd stay away from rentals as well. Go to YouTube and punch in rental car abuse, and look at the video clips. Granted many rentals may have been driven by seniors and what not but why take a chance?

I don't know if it's a good deal though because I'm not familair with US used car market.

If you really want it though, present an offer to the dealer (maybe $1-2k lower than your limit) and see if they'd accept it. If they bump you up a grtand or two you will be well within your limit or target.

jmonroe

Still, I do really REALLY recommend the Accord with the manual transmission.

Why are you so insistent that ‘geffen ‘ buys a manual when he/she has already said, “I only drive automatics”? If you were in the biz and I was at your lot, I would be gone if you suggested it a second time.

You’ve been around here long enough to know the customer is always right.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

"... buy a manual..."

Stop and go commuting will take the fun out of a manual in no time. Besides, what if you have to be driven to the hospital and the guy who is going to do it doesn't know how to shift?

geffen

I have to agree, as i stated I only drive automatics, even though manual transmission cars are less I have no desire to drive them, these do appeal to some people, just not me. I am a guy by the way

biancar

Glad you clarified that!! ;-)

Boomchek, how did your first few days of selling Nissans go?

jmonroe

…as i stated I only drive automatics, even though manual transmission cars are less I have no desire to drive them, these do appeal to some people, just not me. . I am a guy by the way

I don’t want a stick either, never have. Although I know how to drive them I’m too lazy to be bothered with the shifting. Be prepared to hear “real men drive sticks”. You’ll probably get a post or two to this effect, me too now that I mentioned it. I’ve heard this line before and it never bothered me. Hey…I like quiche too, especially the way Mrs. jmonroe makes it. :surprise:

jmonroe

plekto

Oh well, I just recommend it because about 80% of people who drive automatics have the wrong ideas about them or just never bothered to learn. The Accord's manual transmission is beautiful, actually, and to the REST of you reading this(I assume a 10 to 1 lurker/posting ratio here) - the thing is super easy to learn and not a chore in traffic.

kiawah

Real men who drive sticks, learn to drive in Pgh starting on a hill (with a car on your back bumper)!

jlawrence01

Oh well, I just recommend it because about 80% of people who drive automatics have the wrong ideas about them or just never bothered to learn

I guess that I could also hook up a buggy to my horse and ride it into work ...

bpizzuti

That depends on one's definition of "chore." Personally, while I'd like to have a stick, it'd have to be a second car...I have to have 1 car that I can drive with 1 foot, just in case.

plekto

I guess that I could also hook up a buggy to my horse and ride it into work ..

***
Heh. I drive home every night in Los Angeles and get stuck in 2-3 miles of slow traffic jam. Not insane, mind you, but not terrible, either. I do just fine with a manual transmission. The trick is to just get into 2nd gear and leave it there. 2nd gear on most cars is good for 5-30mph, but really as long as you're not at a dead stop, you can get it going in 2nd.

I hardly ever use my brakes, either - it's just a nice slow crawl in 2nd gear. I think I shift maybe 4-5 times a night coming home. Plus, the fun in non-freeway traffic more than makes up for it.

psorter

2006 rental camry's sticker for around 17K where I live, but their internet price is 15K (see example below), they probably get them at auction for 12-13K, especially if them buy them bulk sight unseen. Does the dealer have 10 on the lot?

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=22&paId=221- 503832&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=10&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=desc- ending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&recnum=8&leadExists=true&c- riteria=K-%7CE-ANY%7CM-_47_%7CH-%7CD-_424_%7CN-N%7CR-50%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+descendi- ng%7CQ-descending%7CY-_2006_%7CX-popular%7CZ-13732&aff=national

geffen

I wish i could find Camry's at that price in my area, I've only seen 1 so far at that price in my area and it had been in a prior accident according to its carfax, the majority of the 2006 Camry's i've seen are at $17,900 and usually theres only 1 left on the lot.

snakeweasel

I am going to have to agree with others on this forum. While I like to drive a stick its just to much of a hassle in my rush hour drive. Sure I can do the nice slow crawl as you described but the one problem with that is that it leaves a nice big gap between you and the car in front of you that gets filled with other cars merging in front of you from the next lane.

oldfarmer50

Every day I drive a stick at work. It can be fun going though the gears but when you have to stop every two feet it gets boring. Also I hate it when somebody pulls up to your bumper on a hill.

BTW, I drive a large yellow 66 passenger SUV.

jmonroe

Real men who drive sticks, learn to drive in Pgh starting on a hill (with a car on your back bumper)!

Well, that’s where I lived, almost, (suburb of the Burgh) when I learned how to drive a stick. For those not familiar with Southwestern PA you’re either going up a hill or down a hill, rare is the road that’s flat.

Although the family car was an automatic when I learned to drive the first time out, my dear Father decided to take the car in for service and got a loaner with a stick (back then, loaners were common even for the every day family priced sedans). Except for the part about ‘a car on your back bumper’ that described my first time out to a “T”. If it weren’t for the insurance concern, dear Dad would have probably done that too.

He took me to the back of the development where we lived to the part where they had just put in some new roads to continue with new home construction and stopped the car, shut it off, got out, walked around to the passenger side and said, “slide over we’re not going home until you get this car off this hill . Well, if my Mother had left a grocery bag with milk and ice cream in the trunk the family could have had a ready made milk shake when we got home :surprise:.

I got much better with it after a while but never liked it, even to this day. Some might say I was traumatized and they might be right.

jmonroe

boomchek

Boomchek, how did your first few days of selling Nissans go?

Thanks for asking, it went quite well. Sold a used car already, and still learning my products (way more models and packages than Honda, plus a whole Infiniti section).

I'll keep you guys posted in the Stories From Sales Frontlines section.

biancar

Well done. Do keep us posted.

psorter

have you considered a rental 2006 Hyundai Sonata? same ride/size as a camry and a very nice looking car in and out, you can get them for a few thousand less with V6 engine, stability control, curtain air bags,100K warrenty (a standard rental setup), all of which the standard rental camry doesn't have

But if you have your heart set on a Camry offer them 15K

boomchek

Grazie bianca, non ce problema :P

mikefm58

Grazie bianca, non ce problema :P

Hey, I pressed "1" for English......:)

joel0622

I like 5 speeds. A long as I have a 5 speed truck it cuts way down on the "Hey can I borrow your truck to move a bed/dryer/fridge/etc."

Speaking of trucks. I have had one all my life with the exception of the last few months. I hate it. Ya never know how much you use one till ya don't have it

jmonroe

Hey, I pressed "1" for English......

He's just trying to impress us with what he has learned at his new job. Maybe he's been assigned to international sales

jmonroe

jmonroe

"Hey can I borrow your truck to move a bed/dryer/fridge/etc."

I've had friends who have told me many tales like this. One even said one of his friends was upset when he said he was going to use that weekend himself and he'd let him have it after he was finished with his own work.

Ya never know how much you use one till ya don't have it

No excuse for a guy in the biz.

jmonroe

joel0622

No excuse for a guy in the biz

I am cherry picking right now. There are still a few cream puff old body styles we trade for occasionaly. As soon as one comes through my office I will have a check wrote for it before it hits the detail shop You gotta be quick on stuff like that.