Advice Requested: used car buying in the age of Coronavirus

mikepokercat

Hi, after having lived in New York City and Chicago, I haven't owned a car in 20 years(!), but am now in the market. (My wife and I will be feeling less confident that we can staying virus-free on trains and buses for at least the next twelve months.) Given the decades since I've bought a car and the new Coronavirus factor, I'm not feeling confident about how to go about buying a car.

My wife insists on a sedan and we live in a snowy climate so would like 4WD so we think we've narrowed it down to the 2016 Subaru Legacy (it also gets nice reviews from Consumer Reports and we like the EyeSight safety features).

The following is our plan. Please poke holes in it as we're amateurs.

1. Test drive a 2016 Subaru Legacy at the nearest dealership that has one in stock to be sure we like it.

Q: How do test drives work in the age of Corona?

2. Send an email to the 10 closest used car dealerships saying we want a 2016 Legacy with under 55k miles, never involved in an accident, and has the EyeSight features.

Q: Are there other constraints I should put in the emails?

Q: We can pay cash for it, do we mention that yet, or do we save it for the end of the transaction? If someone offers <2% financing (we have good credit scores), we'd happily take that.

3. We wait for responses from the dealerships.

4. OK, I haven't thought this far ahead, I'm not sure how to weigh the responses, or what steps to take after that.

I'd appreciate any advice you can offer!

oldfarmer50

Blast emails to dealers sometimes result in “come on down” generic responses. You might want to check those individual dealers online inventory first to see if they have what you’re looking for. Then email to discuss that particular car. Ask them how they handle test drives. It varies. Some hand you the keys, others might still want to go with you.

You can also use some of the many car inventory sites like Autotrader, CarTempest or Edmunds to see what dealer has your preferred car in stock.

Research pricing through Edmunds or NADA to see what the market is in your area. I’d consider that in these times of panic you might be able to get away with a real low ball offer. You can always ask. Usually they would like you to finance through them as they make money brokering the loan.

kyfdx

I agree.. no point in emailing dealers, until you see the car listed on their website.

stickguy

some dealers are offering to deliver the car to you for the test drive. or you can show up at dealer with an appointment, and they will have it ready for you. then you talk from a distance.

blast emails don't work that well on a new car, and even less likely on a conceptual used car. try some sites like cars.com and do a search, find some likely candidates, then reach out about them. Can also just look at the most convenient Subaru dealers websites and see if they have any stock you are interested in.

pricing is going to be hard to pin down now. So look at the listing sites and at least get a baseline of what asking prices are now.

no need to mention how you want to pay for it until you settle on a car and have a deal in place. when they ask, just tell them you haven't decided if you will pay for it on your own, or use their financing.

on that vintage, eyesight was an option. Not sure how easy it is to tell from a listing. Easier if you are shopping at a Sube dealer of course.

not a huge number of them out there it seems, but you will find some.

mikepokercat

Thank you all. So consolidating all your advice:

1. Research general pricing through Edmunds or NADA to know the range of fair prices for our area.

2. Search inventory using Autotrader, CarTempest, Edmunds, Cars.com, or the closest dealers own websites.

3. Send emails about specific cars we find that meet our criteria.

4. Arrange a test-drive (first to be sure we actually like driving a 2016 Legacy, and to consider that specific Legacy), asking first if they are willing to bring the car to our home for the test drive.

5. Make an offer, don't be afraid of making a low offer considering the weak current market. And don't mention how we'll likely pay (cash or financing) for the car at this early point.

Thank you!

Michaell

mikepokercat said:

Thank you all. So consolidating all your advice:

1. Research general pricing through Edmunds or NADA to know the range of fair prices for our area.

2. Search inventory using Autotrader, CarTempest, Edmunds, Cars.com, or the closest dealers own websites.

3. Send emails about specific cars we find that meet our criteria.

4. Arrange a test-drive (first to be sure we actually like driving a 2016 Legacy, and to consider that specific Legacy), asking first if they are willing to bring the car to our home for the test drive.

5. Make an offer, don't be afraid of making a low offer considering the weak current market. And don't mention how we'll likely pay (cash or financing) for the car at this early point.

Thank you!

Looks like you've summed it up well.

Keep us posted on how the shopping and negotiating goes.

stickguy

one thing. Make #4 the first thing you do. No point in wasting a lot of time shopping prices if you don't know you even like the car.