I’m sure this has been addressed before in one of the super-long threads, but am hoping for consolidated answers as this is all happening in the next few hours. I haven’t done any of this in a really long time, and would appreciate any advice.
I am planning on buying a used car today from a dealer about an hour away. There aren’t many of these cars and we want specific features and this became available yesterday. Hence, moving quickly. I consider the asking price to be fair, and thus am not inclined to “haggle” much if at all over the asking price.
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The car is a 2022 with a clean CarFax, but only about 5,000 miles. Should I be wary at such low miles? Are there any questions I should ask the dealer? (They just took possession a couple of days ago, so I actually doubt they would know much).
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I have sufficient savings to purchase the car, but not enough cash in hand so I was thinking a combo of a cash down payment and financing the rest, likely with a very early repayment of the loan (my state prohibits pre-payment penalties).
I have heard both a) dealers prefer cash deals so don’t disclose that you want to finance until after the best offer and b) dealers make money on the financing so they prefer that. To me this seems like a discrepancy. Can anyone explain my best strategy/negotiation for this scenario?
- I have as a trade-in a 17-year old car that has seen better days. Worth around 4k. I would like to trade it in today primarily because I don’t have a second driver with me today and thus would have to leave it an hour away and then go back and get it once I have a second driver which is a hassle I don’t want. Any advice on when/how to ask for an offer on the trade-in?
Editing to add that this is not a particularly expensive car. Pre-tax is $25k, and dealer confirmed over the phone that there are no add-on charges except tax and registration. I will walk away if this turns out to not be true in-person.
Tagging @tsbna44 as I know they have a ton of car-buying/financing knowledge.
Thanks!
Ask about the history. Maybe it was a loaner car or no one drove during Covid. 5,000 miles is great. Just confirm there weren’t accidents or major repair (engine replacement)
For financing, I like your plan to pay money down and finance the rest. Just understand the repayment options and make sure you can repay early. Keep in mind rates are very high right now so even if you take a loan you may really want to pay early. But the loan gives flexibility if you run in to money issues.
Remember if you don’t push back you will pay the highest price. You have to be willing to push. Dealers make more on used cars than new so this is their bread and butter
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Negotiate the car price first and just defer discussion of the trade until you agree on the purchase price, no matter how many times they ask.
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after talking price, be willing to stand up and just say “I don’t know, the price is too high, I might have to go elsewhere”, and go off to the side and make some calls in their line of sight.
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Even go so far to say “I have to call my parents from the car”. Park right up against the showroom windows if possible. When you walk in figure out who the manager is. So later, As you walk out, make sure to get the attention of the manager and explain the situation. They will literally send the sales guy outside and come to your window. I have done this and so have my brother and son and we saved buckets of $$$.
Thanks. (Although I’m not a student – I’m a parent myself! Just haven’t done this in ages).
What rationale do I use to negotiate the car price first? My DH has been talking with them on the phone, but he is staying home with a fever so I guess I could be the “bad cop” who doesn’t want to pay asking price?
And on an out-the-door price of 25k for a pre-owned car, how much could I reasonably expect them to drop the price ?
We usually get them down $500-$1500. More is probably unrealistic.
Bad cop is the right move. Claim ignorance “I don’t know what he was talking about with you guys. I didn’t hear what he said. He didn’t tell me any prices”. You just have to say no and then force them to come to the table.
I think I can do that!
Any advice on how to manage the part-cash/part-financing component?
Just a note that my 2017 CRV only has about 8000 miles on it. We’re retired and it’s only gone on one long distance road trip, so mainly local driving. And husband’s car is used for most evenings out. So perfectly innocent reason for low mileage.
Good luck! Sometimes it becomes a call between saving a little money and more hassle than you’re comfortable with. I’m a big proponent of using husbands as an excuse/bargaining tool because some men have a certain mindset. Once another male comes into the picture, even remotely, they back off. Especially true if you’re a senior woman.
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That makes sense. And this is an electric vehicle that would likely only be used for city driving, so that could keep the mileage down.
Pretty normal really. There is usually a down payment on any loan. This is just a larger down patmentp
Get a copy of the CarFax. My SIL was only shown one, but found out later that it wasn’t for the car she purchased.
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Check for recalls and if so whether the work has been done. In buying two used cars in the past 2 years I found dealers weren’t willing to haggle much. Demand exceeded supply especially since we were going for cars rated high as used cars by Consumer Reports. Expect trade in value to be low for a 17 year old car. They would need to be able to sell it to recoup $4k plus their expenses.
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If you could get cash on hand in a matter of days, perhaps they’d allow you to make a downpayment and then return next week. (A bit of a pain with them being an hour away. But perhaps by then your husband will feel up to going along and driving back your current car to sell on your own.)
What car is it? I drive a Chevy Bolt and am vaguely familiar with most EVs.
I doubt you will get $4000 on a trade-in for a 17 year old car. They will probably low ball you on that. You would get more with a private sale on that.
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No advice on neogotiating, but I wouldn’t be too wedded to that $4K price for a 17 yo car from the dealer. I say this having recently traded a 14 yo car in excellent condition as part of a new car purchase.
What do they want for it?
Our Y2K truck has 60k miles on the odo. All parts are still original. No accidents, no odo fudging. Just trips to HD and the dump. So long story short, I wouldn’t be alarmed by low mileage. It could be that the owner worked from home during Covid.
If CarFax is clean, I’d go for it. Id check the VIN against the NHTSA recall database and ask for maintenance records.
When we bought our last used car, we had a used Mazda MPV that needed a new catalytic converter. It really was not worth much…but part of our deal was…they had to take the car, and they had to give us something for it. We just didn’t want to hassle with selling it ourselves. The dealership took it…and that made us happy.
WRT Carfax…we bought a used Camry just off lease for our kid with a completely clean Carfax report. When she went to insure it, the company wanted to upcharge her for the “accident she was in”. Except…she never was in an accident in that car, and never even knew the car had been in an accident…company searched using the vin. It got straightened out in terms of the insurance. Upon inspection, her toyota service folks found a new fender something that never would have otherwise been replaced. But she has had the car for 10 years…
The only stuff that appears on Carfax is what is reported to Carfax.
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Dealers prefer that customers finance. That’s because they make a bit of money on the financing. Cash is not king at a dealership.
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With respect to your trade, the dealer will ask you if you are trading a vehicle. The trade appraisal/offer will be part of their process. Don’t worry about that.
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WRT negotiating – a lot of dealerships are moving to a “the price is as advertised” model and away from negotiating. Why? Studies have found that most car buyers hate negotiating. And it does take, and often wastes, time.
Most dealers won’t lose your sale over a couple hundred bucks, but they also need to make money, and there isn’t nearly as much cushion as there was in the pre-internet days. Too much info is available online to customers, like comparing vehicles directly on price. So most are now putting their best prices online to avoid haggling.
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Our friends said the same thing when shopping for their new car. Prices were not negotiable. Trade-in value was the thing that could vary from dealer to dealer.
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