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Due to a recent accident we found ourselves suddenly in the market for a new car. After a lot of going back and forth on what to buy and whether or not to lease, we narrowed it down to buying a less expensive new vehicle that we were not crazy about but that met our needs and price point or a more upscale Certified Pre-Owned (CPO).
I did an internet search of all dealers for the new car within 50 miles (there were a lot) and a 150 mile search of dealers with low mileage CPOs. I got internet quotes on the new vehicle and found several CPO's of varying ages (2007, 2008, 2009) with less than 25,000 miles. The new vehicles were comparably priced to the upscale CPO vehicle. We were kind of leaning towards the CPO because we liked the vehicle best so I pursued find a low mileage CPO in our price range.
What I found interesting was that the prices of the CPO were all over the place. The nearest dealer had a CPO I liked but it was well over the others in price. I tried negoiating a lower price but they refused to budge even after I pointed out other vehicles that were newer, had lower mileage and were less money. I struggled with the fact that I could buy a new vehicle less than this local CPO and could not justify this in my mind. I also pointed out to them the car had been on their lot since May (Carfax is great). They still refused.
I found another low mileage CPO in Manhattan that was the lowest price and then used it as the base when I went to two other dealers with similar vehicles. I talked to the Manhattan dealer to be sure the car was available and then went shopping at a few other local places. When I showed the price to one dealer, they refused to meet that price on their CPO which was older with higher mileage. We walked. The other dealer said they would get back to me on their even older vehicle but I did not get a call back all day Friday like they said they would.
I then found a 2009 model in a color we liked on Long Island with half the mileage of the Manhattan CPO. I called them to confirm the car was still available and the price advertised was negoiable (I did not tell them I knew they were the second lowest price vehicle I had found). Saturday DW and I then took the 2 hour plus drive to Long Island, viewed and test drove the car and made an offer. With a little haggling I got another $1,500 off the price which brought it close to the Manahttan car even though it was newer and had less than half the mileage. They will meet me in Fairfield County on Tuesday with the fully serviced vehicle.
I am writing this thread to find out if anyone else here has gone to such lengths to buy a car. We previously had bought a car in New York to save thousands and I know we saved thousands off any of the Connecticut cars we looked at by buying this one. Is it just me or are Connecticut dealers just too fat and happy for their own good? Would you drive two hours to save a few thousand? I know I would and did and feel it really paid off. Jay
A dirty little secret in the auto dealer business is that many are owned by the same ownership group. You may very well have been going to Acura dealerships that were owned by one entity. How did non-CPO prices compare on the vehicles in question?
Jay - first off, hope everyone was OK in the accident.
I've been through great lengths to buy a car just recently. Two years ago I raced to buy a hybrid Altima when prices were sky high for unleaded, and this spring we found ourselves needing another larger vehicle and visited Car Max. They wanted to give me 30% of what KBB.com said my car was worth - it was really insulting how they claimed that since it's summer, people want SUVs for winter therefore sedans are going for less. Sorry, but car buying isn't like seasonal clothing shopping. I know KBB is often high, but 30% of that? We walked out of Car Max and won't ever go back.
That brings me to the next thing - that CPO's were not much cheaper than buying new. I got an uneasy feeling at Car Max when we went through their "slide show" explaining why their prices were higher than normal. It's a scam - they buy low, sell high. I also found out they often buy former rental cars. No thanks! I suppose it works both ways though - I want a good deal for a trade in, but don't want to pay a lot for a CPO. Even with a carfax, you don't know how the former owner drove it.
We ended up finding a new Honda Pilot at Brewster Honda just over the border in NY state. We got a better deal there than we would have if we went to any of the places in CT. Buying new is better anyway. A lot of people say the value drops as soon as you sign the papers, which is true to an extent, but why does it matter unless you're getting a new car every two years? And the price that CPOs are being marked at, I am not finding that "value drop" to be as drastic as people claim.
Last edited by kidyankee764; 08-29-2010 at 08:46 PM..
What I found interesting was that the prices of the CPO were all over the place.
My BIL is a vehicle wholesaler, I had my dealer license with my old business (sold on the side but got the dealer instead of repair license for that.) and used to run cars for a small dealer back in the 80's.
Here is what I know to be true. The saying is "you make your money on the purchase, not the sale". The reason prices are all over the place is because there are many variables. Some dealers get way below wholesale for a car, don't want to deal with it, pass it along to someone like my BIL who puts $50 on it, runs it through the line and someone purchases the car with little competition and it ends up on a lot for $2K under market value. I know I've had those buys. I purchased a Saab 93 convertible for $2200 that had a market value of almost $6K. I advertised it for $4500 OBO and sold it for $4200 still making $2K and giving the buyer a deal. Sometimes it just happens that way.
I've also purchased and had $500 of room to move and lost money. It's all in what's "into" the car by the time it ends up on the lot. Dealers can't always lose money on a car and stay in business. Sometimes there is $2K room in a car, and sometimes there is $500 and they just did the deal to get a new car moved or whatever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kidyankee764
visited Car Max. They wanted to give me 30% of what KBB.com said my car was worth - it was really insulting how they claimed that since it's summer, people want SUVs for winter therefore sedans are going for less. Sorry, but car buying isn't like seasonal clothing shopping. I know KBB is often high, but 30% of that? We walked out of Car Max and won't ever go back.
CarMax is a machine...a very smart machine designed to control things from the time you walk in to the time you sign the paper.
When they purchase wholesale, they avoid a ton of fees, markups etc and make a killing on the next sale. Again, smart business plan for them and would be if they passed along the "deal" to the consumer, but they never do.
Insulting is a good word, but they get enough people who need "out" to make pissing people like you off worth it.
For *ME* there are way way way to many variables in used vehicles to have a consistent price. New is new, you only have to deal with option packages colors etc, but you know it's a new vehicle. Used? Soooo many things vary and I'm absolutely nuts about going over ever piece of the car looking for turned bolts etc things there that were not on the vehicle option list (The vin will reveal how it came from the dealer) etc etc. Then there are "wear" items that can be acceptable or not on and on.
Oh and Carfax is good for some general info, but I've seen many many cars hit HARD that had a clean Carfax so don't trust it blind.
Sadly, I would say take the used car to a trust mechanic and body shop but these days, guys who are passionate about it like myself are rare. Most will just give it the "once over" and say "good" without checking for things like turned bolts on various parts - I.E. I once came upon a car model that was supposed to have rear disc brakes, I walked by and it caught my eye so I checked and sure enough the entire rear sub assembly was replaced. Probably just hit a curb or whatever hard enough to wreck it but not cause significant body damage. Problem is, they replaced it with the base model drum brake system.
Or as I recently found when looking for a "new" Ford Superduty diesel pickup...found a super low mile "leftover" with 11K miles and only titled for 3 months. Hmmm. Everything, and I mean everything lined up. I thought I had a possible great deal. Nothing showed signs of an accident. I finally found inside the gas door, the rubber stops had been painted. Something the factory does NOT do. AHAA! Yep, it was hit, hit hard and everything was replaced new, but it was still hit. It would probably be fine but for me no thanks.
I've had very good luck with my two recent Ford purchases. In each case, I search dealer inventory on-line first. In the case of my Milan, I had no intention of purchasing it in Acton, Massachusetts, so I went to Gengras in East Hartford with the print-out. They didn't even bother to get me to buy one off their lot. In the case of my F-150, I had to call the dealership in Mahopac, New York, to make sure that they could handle the registration in Connecticut. Since they could, I was able to skip a step and simply dealt with them.
For the record, there are wild swings with prices depending on trim level and options.
Forgot to mention, the accident was minor enough that on one was hurt but bad enough to make repairing the vehicle not worth it.
Thanks, I picked up the new car today. They met me half way. I signed the papers and off I went. since I don't buy cars that often, I guess I won't be doing this for a while but if I do I will do the same thing again. Jay
I've had very good luck with my two recent Ford purchases. In each case, I search dealer inventory on-line first. In the case of my Milan, I had no intention of purchasing it in Acton, Massachusetts, so I went to Gengras in East Hartford with the print-out. They didn't even bother to get me to buy one off their lot. In the case of my F-150, I had to call the dealership in Mahopac, New York, to make sure that they could handle the registration in Connecticut. Since they could, I was able to skip a step and simply dealt with them.
For the record, there are wild swings with prices depending on trim level and options.
First off, I never realized that cars cost different in different states (I'm thinking the initial purchase, I realize taxes, etc. will be different), and given that I'd never think NY is cheaper than neighboring states, so I learned something.
That said, usually dealers who are located somewhat near state borders are quite familiar with registration procedures in their bordering state since they expect to get a lot of cross-state customers. A reverse case is we bought a car at a dealership in Stamford and they just as versed in NY registration as any dealer in Westchester. Actually dealers in Westchester and NYC are usually familiar with both NJ and CT registration given the relative closeness to both states (also given the amount of people in both states who work there who may happen to stop at the dealership after work, etc.).
The price differences oculd be because there is more competition in New York. connecticut has less dealers competing for your $$ so they do not have to cut the price if they do not want to. Jay
Jay,Since i got my license,i am in search of a used car. While seraching,i came across this thread,very useful. What are the things i have to look for or do if buying out of state?
How did u collect the emails address of these CPO car dealers?
Actualy i am pretty clear abt what car i am going to buy,Honda Fit.I am seeing very less number of fit in the market.Any suggestions are welcome.
Jay,Since i got my license,i am in search of a used car. While seraching,i came across this thread,very useful. What are the things i have to look for or do if buying out of state?
How did u collect the emails address of these CPO car dealers?
Actualy i am pretty clear abt what car i am going to buy,Honda Fit.I am seeing very less number of fit in the market.Any suggestions are welcome.
thanks.
Have a look at the new Ford Fiesta! Priced new like a used Fit and IMHO as good if not better of a car.
Plus you're supporting an American company - one that didn't take a dime of bailout money either.
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We walked out of Car Max and won't ever go back.
so I checked and sure enough the entire rear sub assembly was replaced. Probably just hit a curb or whatever hard enough to wreck it but not cause significant body damage. Problem is, they replaced it with the base model drum brake system.
