Used Car Purchase at Dealership

[BLee15]

When I was looking for truck I bought a brand new f150 cheaper than I could have got a used one for. I don’t understand prices on used cars and agree with most they don’t move as much as they do on new for price. 4Runner you will pay up for they are expensive new and used

[ItsLeo]

I have been reading the used car market is on fire. Prices are up.
The rental car agencies need to sell right now..............

Yep! And the code for rental car is "Fleet vehicle"

[wickll]

buying a used car is easy.
1. find the car you want
2. look up trade in value of that car on KBB & NADA (this is likely the most they paid for it)
3. start your offer $1000 above that number and don't pay over $3000 above trade in value of it
4. it is very helpful to look on sites like autotrader, cars.com, driversselect.com (one of those no haggle type places that always has really good prices) etc.. and find comps that are priced below the one you are looking at. print out a few of them along with the one you are looking at. have the one you are looking at in the top of your pile. once they start with the "this is as low as we can go" stuff, turn the page to a cheaper one and say that you are on your way to buy the next one on your list then.
OR just go to drivers select in Arlington and buy it at whatever price they have it at.... which is probably as cheap as you will find it anywhere else.

This. It is funny how most used car salesman claim those numbers don't mean much. But they rely on them heavily. Just remember that there is trade-in, wholesale , and retail. Don't expect to get the vehicle for wholesale, but don't let them get get high retail either. And you have to be willing to walk away they won't budge.

[Mike D]

Don’t expect much movement on either of those vehicles. Do your research on what they are selling for in your area and decide if you are willing to pay that.

If you are at least you can go in knowing what the market is for those vehicles.


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[BigCohiba]

You'll probably hear the following...

If we go any lower, we'll lose money on it.
We've got several others looking at this same vehicle.
My manager says we can't go any lower.
Blah blah blah.

I never pay the asking price. There is quite a bit of mark up on used cars. Let them know what you are willing to pay and stick to it. Just don't be afraid to walk. Sometimes they call back and sometimes they don't. Last used car I bought (ironically a 4Runner) I walked out over $500. Manager calls and asks me if I was going to let $500 keep me from buying a car. I asked him if he was going to let $500 keep him from selling a car.

Yep. My theory is if you don’t walk out at least once, you probably paid too much...

[sandbill]

When I was looking for a Tundra, I started out looking at used with less than 30K miles. When the smoke cleared the savings was less than $2,000 on several of the same trucks, most of the warranty was gone so I’d have to buy another one (there goes that savings) and the interest rate was lower on new trucks. The used Toyota guys (even one at a Mitsubishi dealership), wouldn’t deal much. I actually told them all you need to give me a reason not to buy new and none of the budged much at all after their “lowest” offer. New was a no brainer with the incentives they had back in May around the first shutdown timing of the Corona scare.

Good points. I've been hearing pretty much the same for a while now. With some of the higher demand models, like Tundra, you're often better off biting the bullet and getting a new one. As you said, the incentives are worth going after.

[stroker_ace]

Sewell Lexus in Dallas has or had some great used vehicles. Their supposed to be top notch there. My next vehicle I’ll go to Houston or Dallas.

Sewell Lexus in Dallas is awesome. We have purchased two vehicles from them and have two friends who have purchased from there also. Chase Matthes is the salesman we all used. Service department is great too.

[Jaker]

I like the search on carfax.com

[TMC50]

When I bought used, I found a couple vehicles I was interested in on their website. We pulled into the dealership and the sharks were circling us. We got out of the truck and I pointed at the youngest guy and said I am dealing with you.

I told him what I wanted my payment to be and I would not budge from that number.

We walked around looking at vehicles and I made it known to him that I knew which vehicles I was interested in.

Test drove 3 vehicles, the one I wanted, one that would have to do, and a new one (because I wanted to drive it)

We told him what we wanted, I walked the truck and found some chips, told them and they came back with my price but wouldn't match what I wanted for my trade so we grabbed the keys and walked out. Salesman and finance guy chased us down as we started the old truck. Haggled them into what I wanted for my old truck and we walked out with a 2017 with 17k miles for what I wanted to pay.


Best advice is do your research and do not be afraid to walk out.

[Mike]

There is a lot of good info here but if you have not purchased a used vehicle since COVID started in March, some of it is invalid. The used market is red hot and inventory is turning every day. Most all used departments are now using a pricing contractor to set prices for geographic areas. They have very little wiggle room, if any, for the used side of the business.

I have purchased 2 used cars since June and both were a battle, and I am an industrial salesman. The last one I bought was 6 weeks ago and they would not budge up front. In closing they added a bunch of fluff and I caught it.

Also, be very leery of the protection plans. There are many dealers that advertise a price and when you get there to do the deal, they add a $1995 protection plan, which is what you pay insurance for in my opinion. Don't buy into it.

[nairb2580]

When I bought mine almost 2 yrs ago, they were asking in the neighborhood of $8500. I drove it then made an offer of $6500. They came back with a counter of $7800 or so and I countered that with $7200 before we agreed on $7495. Not sure the wiggle room they had but I got it down a grand which was more than I expected. Wondering now if I could've gotten it lower had I walked.

[jer_james]

All prices are up - Corona has messed up supply. I’d wait before purchasing if possible

[TMC50]

There is a lot of good info here but if you have not purchased a used vehicle since COVID started in March, some of it is invalid. The used market is red hot and inventory is turning every day. Most all used departments are now using a pricing contractor to set prices for geographic areas. They have very little wiggle room, if any, for the used side of the business.

I have purchased 2 used cars since June and both were a battle, and I am an industrial salesman. The last one I bought was 6 weeks ago and they would not budge up front. In closing they added a bunch of fluff and I caught it.

Also, be very leery of the protection plans. There are many dealers that advertise a price and when you get there to do the deal, they add a $1995 protection plan, which is what you pay insurance for in my opinion. Don't buy into it.

This as well. I bought my truck in august-ish and I did notice this. Watch for the fluff

[Rick]

I dont think you will find a they come down XX% on used cars. It is just going depend on type of vehicle and local markets. I have bought several used cars, from dealers and individuals. Have to research and understand local markets and decide what you would think is fair for what you are looking for

[Quackerbox]

Theyd be right on used car prices being up. I work an auction one day a week and ALL the buyers are complaining about the prices being up. But, folks are still buying used cars from them.


The best used car buying experience Ive ever had was from carmax