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I bought my last two cars off Craigslist. For the next one, I am considering a Certified User car. Has anyone had much success negotiating a price via e-mail/text with the local dealers? I contacted a couple and the price they gave was the same as the “Internet price” on their website, plus the bogus “doc fee” and DMV charges.
I'm not saying it can't be done, but understand that with used cars and internet sales the stores usually have the price as low as or close to as low as they're willing to go. This is why: The internet shopper holds more cards. He looks for a used car, for example a 2011 Honda Accord, Under 45,000 miles, under X Price. He then goes online and looks at all the local Honda dealers. Finding the lowest price one, he proceeds from there, until he finds one that matches his parameters of condition/accouterments to price. Dealers price them competitively over the web because you aren't going to call on one that costs $17,000 when the store down the road has a similar certified used car for $16,500. Therefore, internet pricing is a much better reflection of the retail value of the car and what the store is willing to sell it for.
I personally wouldn't buy a certified car. It gives the opportunity for the dealer to give a big markup. I would find the car you want, go to the dealership, ask for a print out of the repairs they made to the vehicle to turn it around on the lot. This lets you know how much they put into it. They low ball trade ins like crazy. They typically use black book auction values for trade in. So... If you know the auction value and what repairs they made, then you know exactly what they prob have in it even though they will TRY to convince you they have X amount of money in it. You can typically offer $3,000 below asking price off used and $5,000 off new. You have to low ball your first offer. 2nd offer only $300 more and then be willing to walk away. If they let you walk away from that offer, then they truly can't do it. Most if the time they will take it once you convince them you are no longer interested cause they didn't take your offer. I just bought a used Sienna with a sticker of 14,999 and got it for 11,500 because I knew the above and was willing to walk. Internet pricing is still way too high! You have to play hardball and they will tell you they can't sell it for that price until you are willing to walk and then you Will get it for the price you want
I personally wouldn't buy a certified car. It gives the opportunity for the dealer to give a big markup. I would find the car you want, go to the dealership, ask for a print out of the repairs they made to the vehicle to turn it around on the lot. This lets you know how much they put into it. They low ball trade ins like crazy. They typically use black book auction values for trade in. So... If you know the auction value and what repairs they made, then you know exactly what they prob have in it even though they will TRY to convince you they have X amount of money in it. You can typically offer $3,000 below asking price off used and $5,000 off new. You have to low ball your first offer. 2nd offer only $300 more and then be willing to walk away. If they let you walk away from that offer, then they truly can't do it. Most if the time they will take it once you convince them you are no longer interested cause they didn't take your offer. I just bought a used Sienna with a sticker of 14,999 and got it for 11,500 because I knew the above and was willing to walk. Internet pricing is still way too high! You have to play hardball and they will tell you they can't sell it for that price until you are willing to walk and then you Will get it for the price you want
The above is a highly misinformed post.
The bulk of certified cars are lease turn-ins that the dealer pays the fixed residual value for. Then the dealer is forced by market demand to make that car as close to new as possible-tires, brakes, other service items, repairs of dents/scratches/windshields, etc. Then the dealer has the cost of providing the certified warranty to the client (it's not free).
I have run dealerships for well over 20 years. Of all the cars we sell, the tightest margins are on the certified cars. You can't advertise them on the internet at anything other than a highly competitive price-nobody goes online to search for vehicles and picks out the one with the highest listed price to go see first.
The bulk of certified cars are lease turn-ins that the dealer pays the fixed residual value for. Then the dealer is forced by market demand to make that car as close to new as possible-tires, brakes, other service items, repairs of dents/scratches/windshields, etc. Then the dealer has the cost of providing the certified warranty to the client (it's not free).
I have run dealerships for well over 20 years. Of all the cars we sell, the tightest margins are on the certified cars. You can't advertise them on the internet at anything other than a highly competitive price-nobody goes online to search for vehicles and picks out the one with the highest listed price to go see first.
Interesting post. Are most personal lease vs corporate lease?
I'm familiar with negotiating for a new car, where you can get a reasonable idea on dealer cost, but with used, that's much tougher. That's why I was interested in how much room there was on the price.
I found a few at CarMax that I was interested in, but the CarFax report showed them to be rental/fleet vehicles and/or from snow regions up north. The closest Costco affiliated dealer is in Highpoint. Not sure I want to drive that far. AAA doesn't currently have what I am looking for. The extended warranty for a certified car does make it a factor for me to consider.
Interesting post. Are most personal lease vs corporate lease?
I'm familiar with negotiating for a new car, where you can get a reasonable idea on dealer cost, but with used, that's much tougher. That's why I was interested in how much room there was on the price.
I found a few at CarMax that I was interested in, but the CarFax report showed them to be rental/fleet vehicles and/or from snow regions up north. The closest Costco affiliated dealer is in Highpoint. Not sure I want to drive that far. AAA doesn't currently have what I am looking for. The extended warranty for a certified car does make it a factor for me to consider.
Why not go look on a site like Edmunds to see what people are typically paying for that year/model/make/configuration of car and then aim for a price around that?
I don't care if a dealer overpaid or got a car for a steal. I just care about what I am paying for the car. If the price is reasonable, I'll pay it.
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Interesting post. Are most personal lease vs corporate lease?
I'm familiar with negotiating for a new car, where you can get a reasonable idea on dealer cost, but with used, that's much tougher. That's why I was interested in how much room there was on the price.
I found a few at CarMax that I was interested in, but the CarFax report showed them to be rental/fleet vehicles and/or from snow regions up north. The closest Costco affiliated dealer is in Highpoint. Not sure I want to drive that far. AAA doesn't currently have what I am looking for. The extended warranty for a certified car does make it a factor for me to consider.
The auction is like the 'Island of Misfit Toys' from that Christmas TV show.
It is no secret that there are fewer quality used cars in the marketplace than ever before, and the average age of a car in service in this country is over 11 years old, the highest that number has ever been.
The cars that end up at the auction these days are cars that two or three prior parties who are in the business of selling cars have made a conscious decision not to sell. Think about that for a second.
Easy to explain if we are talking about a 10 year old car with 150,000 miles on it, but sometimes it is an oversupply situation. A good example of this would be the GMC Acadia/Buick Enclave. Many of the well heeled people who bought these 3-4 years ago defected from Japanese brands due to the seating configuration (something competitiors simply did not offer other than a minivan), but have hit the 60-70,000mile mark and are afraid to keep them based on frequency of repairs, which never happens with Pilot/Highlander. So, fewer Pilots and Highlanders in the used marketplace that are still viable based on age and miles, and a glut of Acadias/Enclaves.
The proliferation of lightly equipped higher mileage ex-daily rentals is affecting the market, too. In addition to the big 3 American manufacturers, a huge percentage of Nissan and Hyundai's retail business is fleet sales to rental car companies. These cars come back into the marketplace with less equipment and higher miles than the ones people bought one at a time from dealerships, and that pulls down the average auction price on the model. Pull onto my lot in a 4 year old Altima and it is worth substantially less than a 4 year old Accord that cost about the same money new because the Honda's values are not being pulled down by all of the crappy cars that accumulated their first 30,000 miles getting driven around Orlando by 100 different drivers.
The cars that end up at the auction these days are cars that two or three prior parties who are in the business of selling cars have made a conscious decision not to sell. Think about that for a second.
I guess my feeling about cars that come from auctions is true! That's why I held out for a local trade, and I'm very glad I did. Last July I bought a 2004 Highlander with only 94K miles on it that had obviously been pampered. Hopefully it'll last me quite a few years as I drive less than 10K miles a year now.
GM CPO cars also typically have two years of oil change/filter & tire rotation.
Shop dealers way far from Wake County, they have lower overhead for sure. Buick-Chevy store in Burnsville NC has NO silly all-profit dealer doc fee. Search cars with cargurus.com site. Try to deal with the Internet sales mgr or fleet sales manager. Small dealers with 15-20 employees have the best deals.
Avoid TrueCars: dealers have to pay several hundred to do a deal through them
IMO, a used car is difficult to negotiate over the internet although I must admit I have less than 'thorough' experience in this area.
I located a used car dealer that sells good cars at a decent price.
I almost bought.
Caveat: Look at the CARFAX very keenly for he has a lot of re-built ones.
He had a clean Honda Civic Coupe and a VW Jetta, until last weekend.
exclusivecarz.com
auctiondirect.com too has a store in Raleigh
Both are considerably lower than CarMax. Of course, they are not certified.
AAA has good options too and if I am not mistaken, certified ones too.
There is another aspect I discovered quite accidently. To get a deal on, say a Toyota, look at a non-Toyota dealership. Although uncertified, one might bag a decent deal on a good one.
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