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re: First time shopping for a car
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:12 am to Honky Lips
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:12 am to Honky Lips
quote:
Autotrader. Nearly every dealer lists their used cars on this site.
I just helped my dad find a used minivan out here in AZ(his truck flooded in LA so we waited till after I relocated them here to car shop). We used Autotrader as well. Liked that most cars listed there have a Carfax link available to view. I also downloaded a free Kelly Blue Book app on my phone to be able to look up the suggested prices of the vehicles we looked at.
We also only looked at listings for used cars that were on a major dealership and not those shady independent ones you see in bad parts of town. We were on a really tight budget(trying to stay no more than 10k out the door with everything including an extended warranty). Ended up finding a 2007 Nissan Quest for my dad with only 64K miles for under $7500.
1
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:23 am to LSU_Saints_Hornets
Walk away from the deal once or twice and they will come running after you!!!
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:25 am to ellishughtiger
quote:I hope this was meant as a joke.
CarMax is the only way I would but a used car.
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:29 am to lsunurse
Autotrader has more inventory but cars dot com doesn't have 3 tiers of search results like autotrader. Nothing frustrates me more than sorting by price on Autotrader and having to scroll allllll the way down to where the "basic" ads are.
OP here's what I do to find market price:
- go to cars dot com
- search for exactly what you want. With a common car like a Rogue you can narrow it down to year, package, AWD vs FWD, and so on.
- sort by price, lowest, within your comfort zone. I do 500 miles to include markets like Dallas & Houston.
Once you find the cheapest one within a few hundred miles you can either buy that one, or go to your local dealer and show them that car to give them a chance to match it on something similar.
OP here's what I do to find market price:
- go to cars dot com
- search for exactly what you want. With a common car like a Rogue you can narrow it down to year, package, AWD vs FWD, and so on.
- sort by price, lowest, within your comfort zone. I do 500 miles to include markets like Dallas & Houston.
Once you find the cheapest one within a few hundred miles you can either buy that one, or go to your local dealer and show them that car to give them a chance to match it on something similar.
This post was edited on 11/30/16 at 10:30 am
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:30 am to Tigerfan56
True car is a good site but Id also check out autotrader and esmunds as well.
Ive sold cars in the past (hated it) and can give a few tips:
1. The main rule you need to ALWAYS remember is not not show emotion during the sales process and make aure you emphasize this with your fiance if she will be with you. Once you show you really want the car, a good salesman will play on that emotion.
2. Have a price in mind of what you can afford or woukd be ok spending. Do NOT mention that you want to be at a certain car note each month. Once you mention a figure they can work the numbers any which way to be at that number and more than likely youll pay more.
3. Be prepared to walk out at any time. No matter how much you want the vehicle, you need to be in control of the sale. Now obviously you need to understand that the dealership does need to make some profit, but you also need a price you can afford. There are other dealerships that have the same vehicles or can get the same vehicles. Hell alot will even do a dealer trade and you might get the actual vehicle you wanted.
4. Do not get hooked on a certain color. If you are willing to budge on a certain color you can probably factor that in to better pricing.
5. Another thing on the pricing... do not mention that you will be financing the car. They will ask pretty early if you are looking to finance. If they ask you this, tell them you havent decided but youll probably be writing a check. This will allow more negotiating room if they think its a cash sale. By doing this, you are able to negotiate the total sale price lower and then once agreed on a price, you can decide to look at financing options.
6. During the negotiating process, always counter and DO NOT say anything after you write your number. The less you say the better.
7. Dont fall for the closer that comes in and gives you the spiel of being the guys sales manager. Ask him if he is actually the sales manager or another salesman helping to close the deal. If that throws them for a loop, you know they arent the sales manager.
8. I cant stress this enough. No matter how far you are in the negotiating process, be prepared to walk if you dont like the way things are going. You need to be in control at all times.
Good luck.
Ive sold cars in the past (hated it) and can give a few tips:
1. The main rule you need to ALWAYS remember is not not show emotion during the sales process and make aure you emphasize this with your fiance if she will be with you. Once you show you really want the car, a good salesman will play on that emotion.
2. Have a price in mind of what you can afford or woukd be ok spending. Do NOT mention that you want to be at a certain car note each month. Once you mention a figure they can work the numbers any which way to be at that number and more than likely youll pay more.
3. Be prepared to walk out at any time. No matter how much you want the vehicle, you need to be in control of the sale. Now obviously you need to understand that the dealership does need to make some profit, but you also need a price you can afford. There are other dealerships that have the same vehicles or can get the same vehicles. Hell alot will even do a dealer trade and you might get the actual vehicle you wanted.
4. Do not get hooked on a certain color. If you are willing to budge on a certain color you can probably factor that in to better pricing.
5. Another thing on the pricing... do not mention that you will be financing the car. They will ask pretty early if you are looking to finance. If they ask you this, tell them you havent decided but youll probably be writing a check. This will allow more negotiating room if they think its a cash sale. By doing this, you are able to negotiate the total sale price lower and then once agreed on a price, you can decide to look at financing options.
6. During the negotiating process, always counter and DO NOT say anything after you write your number. The less you say the better.
7. Dont fall for the closer that comes in and gives you the spiel of being the guys sales manager. Ask him if he is actually the sales manager or another salesman helping to close the deal. If that throws them for a loop, you know they arent the sales manager.
8. I cant stress this enough. No matter how far you are in the negotiating process, be prepared to walk if you dont like the way things are going. You need to be in control at all times.
Good luck.
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:32 am to the LSUSaint
quote:
Lafayette area. 2000k off bank buyout cost for the length of sale only....buyers market this time of year...inventory liquidation basically
This is absolutely the wrong time of year to be buying used. All of the dealers are buying used right now so there is a smaller pool of available vehicles. The dealers buy up cars in November/December to use to get people on their lots at the first of the year when the income tax refunds get distributed. The best time to buy a used car is in the summer.
Secondly, CarFax is completely user driven, similar to wiki. What this means is that just because a car has a clean carfax doesn't mean the car hasn't been in a wreck. Also, the carfax can have something on there that didn't actually happen when someone self reports to carfax and mixes up information.
Follow Will Cover's method to a T and you will walk away from the deal much happier with less regret. A reputable dealer that also sells new inventory is 9/10 going to be your best bet for a quality used vehicle.
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:38 am to JOHNN
I love how adversarial all this advice is. 
The only thing I would add is to have a 24-hour cooling off period after the test drive.
I hate when people act like there's a price that makes everyone happy. No. I want to murder this deal. I want the dealer to make as little as possible because any dollar profit they make is a dollar I'm losing. But I do make it quick: the last few cars I've bought at a dealer have taken less than two hours and have been on Saturday mornings.
Also: search for forums dedicated to the car you're after and find what the common problems are with them. You can throw off the sales guy with questions "I've read that the water pumps on these fail after 70k miles, has that been addressed on this one?".
The only thing I would add is to have a 24-hour cooling off period after the test drive. I hate when people act like there's a price that makes everyone happy. No. I want to murder this deal. I want the dealer to make as little as possible because any dollar profit they make is a dollar I'm losing. But I do make it quick: the last few cars I've bought at a dealer have taken less than two hours and have been on Saturday mornings.
Also: search for forums dedicated to the car you're after and find what the common problems are with them. You can throw off the sales guy with questions "I've read that the water pumps on these fail after 70k miles, has that been addressed on this one?".
This post was edited on 11/30/16 at 10:42 am
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:42 am to Hogwarts
I always like Edmunds for reviews etc...
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:53 am to JamalSanders
quote:
A reputable dealer that also sells new inventory is 9/10 going to be your best bet for a quality used vehicle.
Which is exactly what this is! And you're wrong about the time of year.
Dealers pay taxes on inventory. Yes they want to catch tax returns, and that's when they stock up....first of year.
They have stock now. And moving it is a high priority, especially when the bank owns the floor.
We work thru reputable dealers, showing buyers left book (wholesale) and also car fax reports. The dealer's name is on the line and ALL sales are dealer approved fist, period.
The deal is in plain sight, transparent, IF they finance, ANY finance deal with any lender in America produces profit for the lender and raises the amount of money paid (in the end) to a price higher than the sale amount. That's what credit interest does, in all walks of life.
This post was edited on 11/30/16 at 11:01 am
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:57 am to the LSUSaint
Not sure about used cars but Truecar is a joke when it comes to new cars. I was quoted an additional 1500.00 off a Toyota Tundra from what they quoted when I visited the dealership..
Posted on 11/30/16 at 10:58 am to Tigerfan56
Hopefully you're getting a manual, rwd vehicle to keep up with the OT.
Posted on 11/30/16 at 11:05 am to Tigerfan56
If you decide to buy new, look as far out as you are willing to buy. I saved about $3k by flying to Chicago and driving the car back home.
Posted on 11/30/16 at 11:10 am to LSU_Saints_Hornets
I've both listed and bought from Auto Trader.
Posted on 11/30/16 at 11:28 am to GaryMyMan
quote:
I love how adversarial all this advice is. The only thing I would add is to have a 24-hour cooling off period after the test drive.
I hate when people act like there's a price that makes everyone happy. No. I want to murder this deal. I want the dealer to make as little as possible because any dollar profit they make is a dollar I'm losing. But I do make it quick: the last few cars I've bought at a dealer have taken less than two hours and have been on Saturday mornings.
I really didnt mean for it to be like that but I guess it came off that way unfortunately. Im still in sales so I totally understand that the dealership needs to make a profit and the salesman needs to make money as well. The reason I got out of selling cars was due to hating how so many guys were out to frick unsuspecting customers, especially on used cars. And the dilemma I was always faced with was knowing you make zilch on new cars and that used cars is where the money is. I think it was really the dealership group I worked for where they preached do anything to make the sale.
Ive bought many new cars since leaving and I have always had a good experience. I tell guys up front that Im not going to go back and forth all day haggling on a vehicle. I have my price that I know will work for both parties. Either we can do that deal, and you get to move on to the next customer, or I'll go to another dealership down the road. No hurt feelings, just business. Hell if you seem like a good guy I'll even recommend you to other people even though I didnt get anything from you that particular day.
Posted on 11/30/16 at 1:08 pm to Tigerfan56
quote:
Nissan Rogue S has been front runner.
may sound funny but go with a buick. they are by far the most dependable car that I sell. check out the new envision if you want something compatible to the rogue.
Posted on 11/30/16 at 2:04 pm to Tigerfan56
quote:
Nissan Rogue S
Posted on 11/30/16 at 7:29 pm to Tigerfan56
quote:
Nissan Rogue S has been front runner
Try any other competitor....the RAV4 in particular is a decent choice as far as small crossover/van goes.
This post was edited on 11/30/16 at 7:30 pm
Posted on 11/30/16 at 7:31 pm to Tigerfan56
Posted on 12/1/16 at 6:51 am to PearlJam
I'm not a fan of haggeling with car salesman. Plus over 50% of cars they buy off auction don't even pass inspections so don't even see the lot. That kind of makes me feel better.
My parents always bought new cars every 3 or so years. Since 2008 or so they have been using CarMax and have been happy.
I just purchased a 2017 Tacoma. I went to CarMax first but did not find what I wanted so I decided to go new. Kinda regret not going to the Houston or Jackson CarMax before doing so.
My parents always bought new cars every 3 or so years. Since 2008 or so they have been using CarMax and have been happy.
I just purchased a 2017 Tacoma. I went to CarMax first but did not find what I wanted so I decided to go new. Kinda regret not going to the Houston or Jackson CarMax before doing so.
This post was edited on 12/1/16 at 6:53 am
Posted on 12/1/16 at 7:49 am to ellishughtiger
quote:
CarMax is the only way I would but a used car.
I used them for my last car because I had something specific in mind that wasn't available in my area, and they shipped it to me for free from one of their other lots. But I would have gotten more car for the money by buying from a private seller and settling for a car that's pretty common. When buying from a private seller be sure to have a thorough inspection done.
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