Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 12-29-2015, 04:01 PM
 
52 posts, read 98,590 times
Reputation: 40

Advertisements

I'm in the market for a car just to commute in and don't want to be stupid with my money and can even buy one outright if possible. I would like to avoid the monthly payment.

So I just assumed people go by bluebook value? Is there another way to find out going rates for cars???

What I am seeing all over the bay area is inflated prices over bluebook rather than deals. I'm sure the private party quick sale deal comes up once in a while, I haven't caught one yet.

I have tried contacting enough this last week to see these aren't prices set high so it would appear they can lower it and make people deals. Not sure if the auto dealers game is to always try and get things financed over a cash buy?

I try and be honest and nice about my intentions but seem to be offending these people left and right.

The crazy thing is the salvage title vehicles. I figured if one is already titled and its cheap enough I could get something like a fiesta knowing I can swap out and engine or tranny myself if need be down the road based on lower resale value and wreckers have these parts all the time for cheaper.

So a salvaged car has NO warranty. Bluebook says you can't have a top condition car in this case regardless if it was repaired and the price takes a hit 20-40%.

Both private parties and some dealers are guilty of this one to. Everybody is telling me how these cars with less than 20,000 miles are fixed by an accredited shop, drive great, etc. And I'm nuts for offering these people maybe half of what their asking price was.


Then you have another group of cars where people are just outside warranty and have things broken like ac and a tranny and love to quote what their dealership wants to fix, and not factoring this hassle and cost into the car sale. If you are so sure its worth that then fix the car then sell it based on bluebook and the market. These types seem to get offended as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 12-29-2015, 05:32 PM
 
18,172 posts, read 16,292,763 times
Reputation: 9325
Quote:
Originally Posted by damac2004 View Post
I'm in the market for a car just to commute in and don't want to be stupid with my money and can even buy one outright if possible. I would like to avoid the monthly payment.

So I just assumed people go by bluebook value? Is there another way to find out going rates for cars???

What I am seeing all over the bay area is inflated prices over bluebook rather than deals. I'm sure the private party quick sale deal comes up once in a while, I haven't caught one yet.

I have tried contacting enough this last week to see these aren't prices set high so it would appear they can lower it and make people deals. Not sure if the auto dealers game is to always try and get things financed over a cash buy?

I try and be honest and nice about my intentions but seem to be offending these people left and right.

The crazy thing is the salvage title vehicles. I figured if one is already titled and its cheap enough I could get something like a fiesta knowing I can swap out and engine or tranny myself if need be down the road based on lower resale value and wreckers have these parts all the time for cheaper.

So a salvaged car has NO warranty. Bluebook says you can't have a top condition car in this case regardless if it was repaired and the price takes a hit 20-40%.

Both private parties and some dealers are guilty of this one to. Everybody is telling me how these cars with less than 20,000 miles are fixed by an accredited shop, drive great, etc. And I'm nuts for offering these people maybe half of what their asking price was.


Then you have another group of cars where people are just outside warranty and have things broken like ac and a tranny and love to quote what their dealership wants to fix, and not factoring this hassle and cost into the car sale. If you are so sure its worth that then fix the car then sell it based on bluebook and the market. These types seem to get offended as well.
First supply and demand will impact price. next greed or a belief their car is worth more, and it isn't. Be sure to check with an insurance agency about a salvage title, unless you only want liability.It is hard to see what cars are actually selling for,though the KBB site is helpful. Make and offer you think is good and see what happens. If they reject it it is up to you to raise the offer or leave. On a car lot you will usually get some negotiation if your offer is reasonable. they want to sell them and pay far less than what they ask.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-29-2015, 08:33 PM
 
Location: TOVCCA
8,452 posts, read 14,978,093 times
Reputation: 12529
In the LA Craigslist, there's currently 799 vehicles under $9,000. with mileage less than 20,000. Sample:2014 Mitsubishi lancer ES SPORT
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-29-2015, 08:53 PM
 
2,156 posts, read 3,321,652 times
Reputation: 2837
For years now, used car prices have been crazy, especially in California. Hell, some private sellers are selling cars higher than dealers.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-30-2015, 01:31 PM
 
18,172 posts, read 16,292,763 times
Reputation: 9325
Quote:
Originally Posted by calnbs View Post
For years now, used car prices have been crazy, especially in California. Hell, some private sellers are selling cars higher than dealers.
But are they selling or just listing them high?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-30-2015, 07:59 PM
 
1,185 posts, read 1,493,714 times
Reputation: 2296
Here's a novel idea:

Shop elsewhere.

If you're shopping for a used car at an auto dealer, I have some bad news for you.

They're in the business of making money. This is why I always buy private party. They're just trying to get rid of the thing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-30-2015, 08:24 PM
 
Location: On the water.
21,625 posts, read 16,148,729 times
Reputation: 19703
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lockdev View Post
Here's a novel idea:

Shop elsewhere.

If you're shopping for a used car at an auto dealer, I have some bad news for you.

They're in the business of making money. This is why I always buy private party. They're just trying to get rid of the thing.
Um, so are private parties. But yeah, small used car lots aren't a safe bet. They get most of their inventory from auctions where the dealerships bring the cars they've taken in on trade that they don't want to resell. Often because they don't trust the vehicle condition.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-30-2015, 11:19 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
12,287 posts, read 9,782,865 times
Reputation: 6509
Cash for clunkers is the reason. Government sucked up the supply of older cars and gave money mostly to the affluent who had an extra car laying around and could afford a new car during a depression to buy new cars to bail out gm. Of course to do this they took money from the rich and middle class to pay for it. The rich, unions and gm benefit. Middle class and lower class get bent over. Par for the corse.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-30-2015, 11:26 PM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,470,995 times
Reputation: 23225
Depends on what brands/models you are looking at... some have very high resale even 15 years out... like many Toyota and Honda vehicles.

I know someone that recently sold a like new garaged one owner Corolla with 69,000 miles for $7,000 the car is 15 years old.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-31-2015, 09:52 AM
 
18,172 posts, read 16,292,763 times
Reputation: 9325
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tulemutt View Post
Um, so are private parties. But yeah, small used car lots aren't a safe bet. They get most of their inventory from auctions where the dealerships bring the cars they've taken in on trade that they don't want to resell. Often because they don't trust the vehicle condition.
New car dealers only keep used cars that are 3 to 5 years old, with rare exception and simply auction the erst regardless of their condition. The age is the reason for the auctioning of them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top