Pittsburgh Used Car Values & Blue Book (Uniontown, Blawnox: how much, buying)

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by greg42

Yes, sometimes it's easier to get a deal on a new one vs a 2-3 year old one. Of course, deal is relative, but that's what I did 13 years ago. I was going to look at newish used, and ended up buying new instead.

I had my last car for 10 years, bought it new because I couldn't find a used one with less than 100k on it. This time couldn't find many newer-used ones for much less than new. I figured that because I tend to keep my cars for at least 10 years, the cost per year plus being able to get the exact features I wanted made buying new the right option for me.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by juliegt

I had my last car for 10 years, bought it new because I couldn't find a used one with less than 100k on it. This time couldn't find many newer-used ones for much less than new. I figured that because I tend to keep my cars for at least 10 years, the cost per year plus being able to get the exact features I wanted made buying new the right option for me.

13 years and counting! And 216k miles. I need another timing belt right now, but I'm going to get it. Shooting for 300k or thereabouts....

[Hopes]

Thanks for the great responses.

We're looking for a 4WD 6 Cylinder SUV that is strong enough to tow. Jeep, Blazer, Derango, stuff like that. A Honda won't be strong enough to tow. Toyota holds its value too well. Trucks hold their value too well too, but we'd consider Dekota, Colorado, Ranger, etc.

We're not buying a slightly used vehicle since this is a third vehicle that is only used for camp and towing. Even though we don't use the vehicle often, it will take a beating. Our target was year 2000 or newer. Most of what we're looking at seems to be 2002 and 2004. I'd like to stay near 5k since this is a third vehicle used for recreational use only.

Rob, thanks for the tip on the place in Blawnox. I looked at the website. It's a great place. They don't have the types of vehicles we need now, but I'll definitely check them out when I'm replacing one of our regular vehicles.

Coach, I forgot about that Blue Knob. My neighbor buys from there. I plan to look there when I am replacing my car. I think they carry newer models than our my desired price.

Greg, blue book only provides one price for dealer values and it's the exellent condition dealer value. Yes, they are selling significantly higher than dealer retail value. One example, we were looking at a vechicle that was 7.5k. We really liked it and were ready to buy it, but we went home and checked blue book and it is only valued at 3.3k.

I'm good at negotiating. I've always been able to get dealers down. Even now, I can get them down ($600 and $1,200) but not near blue book. If I can get them anywhere near blue book, I would ask them to toss something in to compensate for the difference.

It's a good idea to look for a vehicle in the snow belt up north. There are probably lots of these 4WDs in the rural areas of PA.

I wish I had thought to buy a car while we were on vacation out West.

I'm sorry if I missed anyone's point.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

I believe that you and I are saying much the same thing. Where we differ, however, is in our premises of profit. The dealer is looking to maximize his profit on any given vehicle- he will sell at the highest percentage above cost that his market will bear. Cars projected to sit on his/her lot the longest periods of time (either due to lack of demand/condition/miles) cost money and will most likely be discounted first. Vehicles that potential buyers seek most will likely be listed (and sold) at a significantly higher percentage above the dealer's costs. There isn't a dealer out there not seeking to buy at the absolute lowest price/cost and sell at the absolute highest price.

Not every dealer tries to sell at the highest price. If they try and screw every buyer they won't be in business very long. Each dealer tries to make a certain amount of profit on each car.

I would imagine the mark up is greater on specialty cars and/or luxury cars. These are cars that have fewer buyers and accordingly sit on the lot longer. Other cars that a dealer feels that he can't move are sent to auction quickly.

[Tinare]

I had my last car for 11 years. When I bought my new car the salesman told me that I was "not normal."

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Hopes

We're looking for a 4WD 6 Cylinder SUV that is strong enough to tow. Jeep, Blazer, Derango, stuff like that ....

Our target was year 2000 or newer. Most of what we're looking at seems to be 2002 and 2004. I'd like to stay near 5k since this is a third vehicle used for recreational use only.

I'd think that is going to be tricky. I have 1995 Jeep that 4WD with the 4L 6 cylinder engine that I wouldn't sell for anything close to the blue book value (about $2,500) because there's nothing new with similar features and gas mileage.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

I'd think that is going to be tricky. I have 1995 Jeep that 4WD with the 4L 6 cylinder engine that I wouldn't sell for anything close to the blue book value (about $2,500) because there's nothing new with similar features and gas mileage.

We're replacing an 89! Since you own one of these monters, you can totally relate to what we want. The reason we've had it so long is every year we kept saying, "We'll do the repairs to get it inspected and keep it one more year." What's hillarious is it still runs STRONG! We didn't bother seeing what it would cost to get it inspected again because I put my foot down this year and insisted he get something that's not so pathetic looking. LOL

For a while, hubby wanted a truck. That's what we started off looking at. Our budget crept up to 13k looking at trucks because Hubby refused to spend over 12k for something that had any rust, not even a speck of it. That's when buying new makes sense. He could have gotten a basic new small truck for just a few thousand more. We're trying to stay with the original budget becuase I'm starting my business. Plus, it's downright silly to spend too much on a vehicle that is rarely used and will be beat to death.

I realize it is going to be tough. It has been tough. There are properly priced ones on Craig's List through private sellers. It's just so time consuming to look at them. We may have to go that route.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Hopes

We didn't bother seeing what it would cost to get it inspected again because I put my foot down this year and insisted he get something that's not so pathetic looking. LOL

We're just getting the first rust, which isn't bad considering 17 years and Chrysler.

[Scott2187]

Originally Posted by greg42

Yes, sometimes it's easier to get a deal on a new one vs a 2-3 year old one. Of course, deal is relative, but that's what I did 13 years ago. I was going to look at newish used, and ended up buying new instead.

I just did that with my truck. I was looking for used ones 1-2 years old on Autotrader when I came across a dealer's year-end sale prices. I ended up getting a brand new truck for less than the 1 year old used trucks with the same options. Needless to say, I was happy

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

We're just getting the first rust, which isn't bad considering 17 years and Chrysler.

Take it to the bodyshop and keep up with it. When I posted the last post, I immediately thought we should just do that, but it's too far gone. If we had an almost classic in perfect condition, we wouldn't want to use it at camp. Our camp driveway is a mile long off of a dirt road. There are bolders in the driveway. We have bulldozers go through to level it off on occassion, but erosion unearths new bolders. Maybe we should stick with the super old vehicles. They're the only ones that we know can take this beating. The newer ones probably won't be around 20 and 30 years from now. I'm just tired of looking at it. It's that pathetic.