Stories from the Sales Frontlines

driver100

something like 80%, as I recall) are sold privately. When did you last read about a used car sale that turned nasty in your local paper?

The big problem for me is letting some idiot test drive the car...and how do you sell a car and not let them drive it?

What about being sued if the idiot gets into an accident.

I know you will get more for the car selling it privately, but is it worth the risk?

tjc78

Low taxes? Hahahahahahahahahahaha....

yeah and low car insurance too....

The closest CarMax to us Jersey guys is White Marsh MD

We do have "auto lenders" though. Similar in that they have all low mileage lease turn ins at fixed pricing.

murphydog

I like the C350 a bunch, solid and fast, especially compared to the 3

I happened to be reading the long term wrap up of the C300 here on edmunds and liked the look of the car. MB was having their typical end of model year discounts - that made it worth my while to look at. Local dealer here in Seattle is pretty low key (at least that was my experience).

Drove the car and really liked it, wife gave it a thumbs up and the rest is history.

Looked a bit at the Lexus, but could not get any straight answers from the local dealer and the back seat looked pretty tight.

verdugo

The best thing Toyota has going for them is they can afford to buy there way out of this mess and not be hurt to bad.

Well, they certainly are punishing those companies that haven't been kind to them.

Headline from multiple news sources:

Toyota dealers pull ads from ABC over 'excessive' news coverage
Franchises take business to rival networks after ABC reporter helped break story of 'runaway Toyotas'

This makes me want to buy a Toyota even less. :lemon:

driver100

I happened to be reading the long term wrap up of the C300 here on edmunds and liked the look of the car. MB was having their typical end of model year discounts - that made it worth my while to look at. Local dealer here in Seattle is pretty low key

Good move and nice car. I think the luxury brands do have low key salesmen, and the better dealers of other makes. Most people know what they want when they walk into a Mercedes dealer, and customers don't have to be persuaded what to buy....and payments per month probably isn't as much of a factor.

I saw a new C300 today, go by me on Hwy 75, and I was very jealous as I bounced around with sloppy steering in the RAV4 rental unit.

tifighter

Well, they certainly are punishing those companies that haven't been kind to them.

They/Toyota is not doing this. They/the dealers are.

jimbres

What about being sued if the idiot gets into an accident.

I know you will get more for the car selling it privately, but is it worth the risk?

What risk? Your auto insurance policy should cover any licensed adult who drives the car with your permission. (You should verify this with your agent, of course.)

driver100

(You should verify this with your agent, of course.)

But, who's rates are going to go up if someone drives my car? What if they hit something? What if I don't like the way they are driving?

Who needs the problems?

isellhondas

" What if I don't like the way they are driving"

Make them pull over and you drive it back. I've done that two or three times.

If they don't have a U. S. Driver's License, I wouldn't let them drive at all.

I keep people on a pretty tight leash I've had few problems. Some people sure want to do some strange things sometimes.

jimbres

But, who's [sic] rates are going to go up if someone drives my car? What if they hit something? What if I don't like the way they are driving?

Who needs the problems?

Well, then, don't do it. You've made it pretty clear that you're uncomfortable with the idea, so I won't even begin to try to talk you into it.

(But do ask Richard for some after-class instruction on the "who's" / "whose" distinction.)

stickguy

almost spit my drink on the laptop with that low taxes comment.

we do have car sense, which is basically the same deal as carmax, with the buy on the spot offers, etc.

I have an auto lenders in my town. Tons of cars there. They claim to be a lease return clearance center for a bunch of banks. Not sure how good they are, and I never found the (non-negotiable) prices to be particularly good, and not always cheaper than a CPO might be.

murphydog

Too bad the rental is sloppy!

Rented a new 4runner last weekend to head up to Leavenworth - usually there is snow and such this time of the year and while fun the C350 is no snow car.

Was pretty please with the 4runner for what it is. Plenty of room, comfortable on the highway and in the end more 4WD ability than needed as there was no snow on any of the passes we covered. Wife is wanting a new SUV this year, who knows we may get one - perhaps there will be a fire sale at toyota later in the year... :shades:

isellhondas

Your advise is spot on.

If a person feels this way (and a lot do) they shouldn't be selling their own cars. They should trade them in.

In states with a sales tax credit they can come out ahead.

Private party buyers will grind too and they will often bring your car to a shop that will trash it during an inspection.

verdugo

They/Toyota is not doing this. They/the dealers are.

Even more to my point. I would not buy from those dealers. You'd think Toyota corporate would step in and put a stop to that, but they haven't so far.

mako1a

Driver100: If you're not happy with the rental, take it back and get a replacement. I traveled for the Govt for 24 years and traded a lot of rentals in.
We used to go to Corpus Christi in the late 90s. Got Dodge Intrepids every time. I would go into the lot and see 1 exhaust pipe and go right back in and exchange for the one with 2 exhaust pipes and 30 more HP. No problems. Also got an upgrade to a Malibu once and immediately exchanged for the non-upgrade [non-permissible content removed] car which I liked better.
Further back in the early 80s in Houston I got a Mustang with a 302 engine in Yellow. I drove that car all over Galveston for 2 weeks. Tried to buy it at turn in. I was going to cancel my plane tickets and drive it to Va Bch after paying for it with my Govt CC. Rental counter told me the date/mileage at which it would be sold. I said I didn't want it after a hundred other people ran the dog crap out of it. They said, we're sorry, It's not for sale at this time, but we're glad you liked renting with XYZ rental. Grrr.

Selling yourself is not for everyone. I will NOT do it. Don't like others driving my car (not even the dealer I'm trading in to, but you have to make exceptions).

isellhondas

I used to rent a lot of cars on business too but in most cases I didn't care what they gave me as long as it wasn't a sub-compact.

I never ran the crap out of one either.

oldcem

Actually wife and I felt pretty lucky that day. The Plymouth was only 2 years old, and, appearancewise, was in beautiful shape. It was a Barracuda done in bronze with a black vinyl top, and, was one of the most attactive cars I've ever owned, but, its 273 CID V8 was a grenade.

Regards:
OldCEM

nyccarguy

Amen to that isellhondas. Trying to sell your car privately requires a great deal of time, patience, & a thick skin. Trying to sell my wife's 2000 Mazda Protege about 3 years ago was well... let's just call it a learning experience.

They grind you on the phone. "Is the price negotiable?" "What's your best price?" "Will you take $X for the car?" "I'm paying cash, can you do any better?" ...

They ask you 50 questions about the car. "Do you have records?" "Has the car ever been in an accident?" "What's the VIN?" "Why are you selling it?" "What's wrong with it?" ...

Then there are the test drives. I'm generally a calm guy, but those were hard to handle. Especially the Asian girl who only had her license for a short time and came very close to rear ending the car in front of her that was stopped at a red light. I literally had to yell from the back seat for her to HIT THE BRAKES! She finally stopped when her boyfriend screamed something in chinese at her.

If the time comes when I have to sell my beloved Prelude, I'd be very wary about letting someone else test drive my car (it is a stick) with a clutch that is VERY ex$pensive to replace.

I know tons of people have no problems with private party sales, but there's too much financial risk involved. If you are selling a car cheap (< $10K), you can insist on ca$h. But over that it is customary to get a certified bank check. How do you know if the check is for real or not. You could deposit it, it goes in, you get credit for it, & a month later your bank discovers the check is fraudulent. Now you're out your car and the dough.

nyccarguy

to trying to sell our condominium - the past year and eight months or so have been horrible between the no shows, the grinders, the be backs, & the low ballers...

nyccarguy

I was talking to a guy at the superbowl party who works for Hertz Corporate - that guy has some good stories. They recently added a fleet of Corvettes. He was telling me that people crash them within minutes of leaving the dealership. They flip em, ram them into telephone poles, one guy lost control (probably never had it) and drove the car off an overpass. He said a large percentage of the Corvettes don't make it back.

verdugo

They recently added a fleet of Corvettes.

That's probably one of the ones I got. But mine was a 2008 with 26k, so hardly "recently" added.

From wikipedia's article on Hertz: " In 2008, Hertz announced the Chevrolet Corvette ZHZ would be the new centerpiece of its Fun Collection."

From what I've found on the internet, Hertz ordered 500 of them. No idea how many are left.


Here's one that crashed in Salt Lake City (as per jalopnik.com)>

sterlingdog

As a matter of fact, I do have a folder of complete service records, along with the original window sticker, key code replacement tumblers, black leather service manual, road side assistance documents, satellite radio manual, extended warranty papers, etc. Will there be anything else? :P

Richard

sterlingdog

You have stated all of the reasons why I won't be selling the Explorer privately. Been there, done that. I'm not opposed to others doing it. It's just not for me. It drove me crazy when I did it years ago.

Richard

sterlingdog

We have nine Carmax stores in North Carolina. Two of them are within an hour of where I live. When the time comes, I'll compare them with my selected dealer. I don't imagine that there will be a big difference between the two. It won't hurt to ask.

Richard

bolivar

Richard, you've worked with students and teachers for years and years.

How can a few car buyers cause any grief compared to what you have seen?

graphicguy

verdugo....funny you should mention Hertz's lux collection. I've been renting a couple of cars/week while I've been traveling. Hertz, at least in the locations I've gone to (Atlanta and Florida) always has a nice clean 'vette sitting near the Hertz #1 counter (along with Jags, Volvos, etc).

Personally, I prefer Malibus and Fusions. Pretty amazing how far GM and Ford have come with their "volume" vehicles. Still would like to rent a Taurus SHO, but I haven't seen any of those available.

As a side note, I usually see Camrys and Corollas available at the rental kiosk, but none recently. I wonder if Hertz pulled them from their fleet?

PS.....isell....I've never, ever seen a Civic or an Accord, at any of the rental places. Which, as you say, reinforces the fact that Honda doesn't sell fleet vehicles to rental agencies.

tjc78

I never found the (non-negotiable) prices to be particularly good

My off lease 06 Avalon went to Auto Lenders in Toms River (I searched it out and wasn't too hard to find because I had changed the OEM tires). They had it priced about 2500 above what my residual was. I know that to sell it they had to put front pads and resurface the rotors otherwise a quick clean up and it would have been good to go. So maybe they aim to make 2k or so off each car?

deltheking

Toyota sells quite a few Camrys,Corollas,Siennas,Yarises to rental car agencies..I think about 15% of them.But must say though I have Toyotas and Lexus-the Yaris was the worst rental car I have ever driven I could not believe that there would be such a gap between the Camry and Yaris..So damn noisy--I though my ears would burst from that noise on the highway and I was driving about 100 miles on the highway--boy, never again a Yaris.Can`t believe -so much difference between a entry level Yaris and a midsize sedan Camry. Infact the Cobalt and the Hyundai Accent were much much better to the Yaris.. I got an upgrade to Fusion once and it was pretty good. :shades:

I haven`t seen any Hondas in rentals ever--maybe one Accord in so many years. :P
I dont know why Toyota needs to sell to fleets and rentals as they have pretty good sales numbers. Rentals invariably diminish trade value-and it shows-Hondas relatively have better trade in values than Toyotas.

jimbres

If you like to buy a new car every 3 or 4 years, the value of your old car is probably too high for a fast private sale. You're better off taking your chances with a dealer. But we keep our cars for at least 8 to 10 years (long enough to accumulate the funds for the next car - I don't do car loans), so the value of what we're selling is comfortably under $10K. (Few used car buyers can swing a purchase price north of that without financing.)

My ideal customer is a student or a recent immigrant with poor to non-existent credit who needs a car now to get to classes or a new job that starts next week. (Public transportation around here is skimpy.) I won't negotiate over the phone & I don't take checks.

A few years ago, I was taping a "For Sale" sign in the side window of our 13-year-old Ford Taurus when Hector, one of the men who mows our lawn, pulled up.

"Ever since I came to your great country, Mr. Jim, I have dreamed of owning a big beautiful car such as this one", said Hector. (Ah, the dance begins!)

"Hector, my friend, today is your lucky day. For just $850 I can make your dream come true." (By now, I was wishing that I still had my Nixon-era double-knit plaid sport jacket & the gold chains to go with it.)

"$700, Mr. Jim", countered Hector. "I can be back in 30 minutes with the cash & plates."

I thought briefly about offering to split the difference but decided that I wouldn't let $75 stop me from getting the Taurus out of my driveway. "You are a shark, Hector. I am no match for your ferocious bargaining skills. I'll draw up a bill of sale while you're gone."

So I printed off a bill of sale that contained the words "SOLD AS IS" in bold type, took Hector's cash, helped him put on the new plates & took my wife out to dinner to celebrate.

driver100

Rented a new 4runner last weekend to head up

I have heard only good things about Forerunners and Tacomas.

A few die hard GM fans who switched, and will never go back.

I think the RAV4 is very different, just a minimal SUV.

isellhondas

How some of these immigrants pass their driver's tests is beyond me.

deltheking

No disrespect to anyone, but Isell that is so true... I often see these guys during house construction [even when I was building mine ] --- I dont know how these guys can know the rules and interpret them if they dont even speak or understand even really basic English...Beats me !! And not to mention,they can be dangerous drivers and safety hazards if they can`t even understand the signs and warnings correctly !!!

qbrozen

My off lease 06 Avalon went to Auto Lenders in Toms River (I searched it out and wasn't too hard to find because I had changed the OEM tires). They had it priced about 2500 above what my residual was. I know that to sell it they had to put front pads and resurface the rotors otherwise a quick clean up and it would have been good to go. So maybe they aim to make 2k or so off each car?

Not even close.

They may have it priced 2500 over residual, but that means the residual was too high. The price is more like $4k over wholesale ... and they don't negotiate! It is the last place I would buy a car.

wesleyg

You guys aren't going to believe this for two reasons, one being how can anyone be this stupid and two, why would I tell it on myself. Well anyway, years ago when I was dumb, sold one of my leased Chevys after I bought it out cause it was low mileage, popular color, nice car, got my price too.

Husband and wife drive off, all is well. My wife asks me about an hour later, hey, does your gun fit in your new car console? HUH! Knees turn to jelly, cars gone, gun gone, I'm almost in tears when the guy drives back in my driveway, has the gun in a Burger King bag from when they stopped after leaving me to eat. He's more petrified than me, scared to death of them. I insisted he take fifty bucks, but he refused, just said take the thing and let me out of here. Boy, did my wife rag on me for months.

qbrozen

haha. good story.

I would have done exactly what that buyer did.

lrguy44

and they don't negotiate! It is the last place I would buy a car.

I rest my case on one price stores. :shades:

jayrider

You could always put up for no reserve on feebay. All inspections at buyers option. Paypal deposit at auction end -- the rest same way. Since it is an oldy under 5k should be easy. Still have to take some pics but people will pay more sometimes in an auction. Only accept bids from folks with a minimum history of good trades. Not suggesting this to anyone who would rather not sell privately but it is an option.

driver100

If you're not happy with the rental, take it back and get a replacement.

I don't like driving the RAV4 but I don't feel like driving back to Tampa airport to trade it in. I am choosing the path of least resistance.

If I really thought it was unsafe or didn't feel right driving it, I would trade it in a flash.
I think it is what it is....it's just behaving the way a car with minimal engineering would act. They last so long because they are simple machines, made with 20 year old technology...just have improved on it to the point where it is reliable.....except when they try to make them too quickly.

tjc78

The price is more like $4k over wholesale

Well, without knowing what they paid from the leasing company one would never know. I guess they buy it for less than I could of? Seems logical, and if the case they are making some nice profits.

FWIW I don't think I would buy a car from them either, however they do have some really nice and clean used cars. For an uneducated buyer, I could see how they would like their style. My cousin bought an ES330 from them and just couldn't be happier.

driver100

I think the Toyota recall is a bigger story on the news than it normally would be because there isn't a whole lot of other stuff going on. Most newscasts begin with a dramatic headline about how Toyotas troubles just keep mounting. And then they talk about the brake problem like it is another huge crisis. Last I heard it was just a programming adjustment that would take a few minutes to fix. The car accelerating is a major problem, and it did go on for too long without being addressed, but it is still a recall, which happens all the time...the cars will be fixed.

Chang-Ran Kim and Soyoung Kim

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Tokyo/Detroit &#151; Honda Motor Co. said it would recall another 440,000 cars around the world for faulty airbags as rival Toyota Motor Corp. faced further probes over its largest-ever safety crisis.

Honda, Japan's No. 2 auto maker, has now recalled close to 950,000 vehicles for the airbag problems linked to one fatality and a total of 11 injuries in the United States.

While auto recalls are not uncommon and the size of Honda's is not massive, it comes at a sensitive time for the industry.

Kirstie_H

it'd be super-cool if you'd hop over to the Auto News board and start a discussion about the Honda recall - I don't think one exists yet.

bronsonb

My wife and I got a Hertz Jaguar once when we were in Ft. Lauderdale. We'd just gotten back from a cruise and had 8 hours before our flight home, so we rented a car to drive around. When we were at the rental counter, I saw the Jag out front and asked if they rented them often. The rental agent said, "Yep. For $20 more, I'll let you have it for the day!" So we sprung for it and got to drive that Jag around town. It was quite nice and was my first introduction to a navigation system as that was standard (Magellan, I think) on the premium Hertz cars.

All in all, it was a nice ride. Bummer was we didn't know anyone in Ft. Lauderdale that we could drive by and show off the car with ;-).

When we went to Dallas last year, I saw the Hertz fleet of Corvettes when we picked up our Hyundai. My boys were hoping we'd get a Corvette, and I had to tell them that EVEN if they offered to upgrade,we couldn't fit four people SAFELY into a Corvette. :P

sterlingdog

LOL! That exactly why I don't wish to do a private sale. :P

Richard

isellhondas

No, kirstie, that wouldn't be cool at all.

If one doesn't exist now, it won't be long.

People love bad news and there is blood in the water now!

gogiboy

"Been there, done that. I'm not opposed to others doing it. It's just not for me. It drove me crazy when I did it years ago."

My father continues to sell all his cars private party. By the time he is finished with his cars they are always sub-$10K, maybe even less and are cash deals. He has sold everyone through the local newspaper--although it has gone to a mainly online format.

His only bad experience was the last sale in 2002. It was to a couple of women who attend his church. Both had a number of medical issues and limited funds so he offered it to them for half the asking price--maybe $1250. The car was a 90 Dodge Shadow with about 50K miles. The two women paid the first $500, but have been unable or unwilling to pay the remaining $750. I don't think my father even cares, he might have even given them the car if they had said that they were that destitute. What's the old axiom: never sell to family or friends?

Gogiboy

verdugo

I don't like driving the RAV4 but I don't feel like driving back to Tampa airport to trade it in.

Isn't there a local office closer to you?

fushigi

I don't like driving the RAV4 but I don't feel like driving back to Tampa airport to trade it in.

Typically you can exchange a rental at any location of the rental company. We rented a car at the airport in Maui last October and 2 days later it had a CEL. We called Hertz and they told us where the closest place was - only 2 miles from our resort v. 40+ miles to the airport. Took it there & was back on the road in about 15 minutes. It only took that long as we had to wait while the lady was on the phone helping someone else.

Kirstie_H

Um... that makes no sense. We're a consumer automotive information service. The recall is information for consumers. The board I suggested is Automotive News. This recall qualifies as automotive news.

Better to start a discussion with a statement from a factual article rather than hype.

People come here for news, good or bad. We've seen some people in the Toyota recall discussion who started out hysterical who have since calmed down. The number of people who seem to want an automaker to fail are way, way outnumbered by the people who want to talk and get information.

sterlingdog

Cute story! Now I know why you like a private sale. Yours is done before the sign is put in place. Most experiences don't go that well.

Richard

grandtotal

Better to start a discussion with a statement from a factual article rather than hype.

Maybe, but it will degenerate into hype in no time anyway.

I don't know about other posters but I have stopped subscribing to a number of topics which have just become too awful to bother with any more. I guess it's good for Edmunds - posts means views and views means revenue (not that there's anything wrong with that).