[Cyborgt800]

I too have worked for dealerships....I cannot stand them...they rip you off.

I was in a bind, I had zero cash, my car had broken down for the final time and I needed something fast!
I called Carmax, the salesman picked me up, took me to the dealership, did the deal and away I went....zero cash down, no pay stubs...nothing!

I am just about to make my first payment.

I realize that I could have paid less with an individual purchase but I was in no position to take a week to find financing and then the car. I didn't even have a bank account at the time.

The price was high book...but the car did have pretty low mileage for having been a fleet rental... it's a 2010 with 41k and I paid $13.9k I did buy their 100k warranty which added to the cost but also my piece of mind.

If I had had the cash and a second vehicle and a week to go around test driving cars, I would have made a private purchase.
As it stands.....I'm very pleased with my Carmax experience.

[modhatter]

I was looking for a used car for a neighbor recently, and as she has a limited amount of money to work with. I was trying to find her the best deal I could, so I stuck to looking at ads
"by owners" (which was a joke, by the way) Most everything I looked at "by owner" had extremely high mileage. After a while, I concluded the only way to get a used car with lower mileage was through a dealer.

It seems that people don't even try to sell their vehicle anymore. Just hand it over to the dealer for a trade and take the low offer they give for it. I know it's easier, but the seller could improve that offer by selling it themselves, and also afford the buyer a break. I guess they think it too much a hassle.

I have seen ads on Craigslist looking to buy a particular item such as a car. You might want to try that, and see if you get any responses. Worth a try.

[Danknee]

This "How to Buy a Car" Video is a legitimate tactic. >> How to buy a car. [VIDEO] The guy speaking overplays it though.

The gist of it is decide what kind of car you want, Make, Model, Etc. Then start playing the dealers against each other price wise, watch the video for good speaking points to ensure you don't get taken with fees and only pay what was agreed upon.

The price of used cars is astronomical right now. If you are shopping for a car less than 3 years old, you can likely get the same vehicle new for less by negotiating (like in the video) with dealers. Brother in law just bought a brand new Honda Odyssey with this tactic and this held true. He was not flexible in the model of the van, but very flexible about where he got it from; he even included dealers in California, Arizona, and Utah, but included the cost of a plane ticket and gas in the comparison cost. In the end he got the best price locally (several thousand less than the price posted on the lot).

[orca17]

Another Carmax customer. I bought from the West Sahara location, although I'm sure they're equally good in Henderson. Great service, no hassles, and their sales people are paid the same regardless of what you buy, so they aren't going to try to push you into a car you don't need because there is more in it for them.

[Robinson81]

I went to Chapman and that was the worst experience ever. They held my keys hostage and the GM literally ran after me as I was about to get in my car.

[NoMoreRJ]

Originally Posted by Robinson81

I went to Chapman and that was the worst experience ever. They held my keys hostage and the GM literally ran after me as I was about to get in my car.

Don't ever give them your keys at the dealership unless you agree to buy the car and want to trade in your car. Also, do not let them run your credit report unless you decide to buy the car. Shady dealers will do this without your realizing it.

[KiwiKate]

CarMax Henderson for me. I'll go back there when I'm ready to trade-in and buy again.

[airics]

Originally Posted by WildWestDude

Best thing to do is:

Get to know a small car dealer. Have the financing in place. Have him take you to a preinspection of vehicles at an auction. Pick what you want. You should both know what to look for as far as trouble areas. Look for reliable brands like many Japanese brands are. Pay him a small commission of say $300 and maybe some small auction fees and you save lots of cold hard CASH! Get the asking prices from his yellow NADA price book for the region. You will be amazed how low dealers buy at the auction. You can save thousand$ this way. I know, I used to be a car dealer.

think about what you are saying... the op gives a used car guy $300 to risk his license and business to go to the auction.. not going to happen...

even the preinspection times are off limits to non dealers.....

how low dealers buy at the auction?? you obviously haven't been to Manheim or Adesa lately... prices are out of the books...

[Robinson81]

Originally Posted by NoMoreRJ

Don't ever give them your keys at the dealership unless you agree to buy the car and want to trade in your car. Also, do not let them run your credit report unless you decide to buy the car. Shady dealers will do this without your realizing it.

I did want to trade in and buy - well, with some uncertainty (do I give up the Acura for the Jeep??). I gave them my keys to do a trade-in inspection and it was a pain to get them back until I stood up and simply said, "I'm leaving! Where are my keys?" Either way, this process has never been a problem before but at Chapman ... that's another story.

[airics]

for used, Carmax is good but expect to overpay greatly and then pay for the warranty on top.... there is no negotiations at carmax and they finance literally everybody...

not all the cars are great at carmax... look in the back, that is where the cars are that they auction to the dealers... lots of bad apples..