car hunting/buying process for you personally..

Yaj Yak

Gladys
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I am looking for another something currently... not sure what... not sure what for. just in the mood for it.

as i have been hunting I have realized, that not one of my vehicles I have owned has ever come from a dealer... private party always...

1998 lumina, 2001 gtp, 2001 cherokee, 2002 caddy deville, 2003 vibe, 2006 300c srt8, 2002 burban... not one from a dealer.

one from ebay, one from cars.com, one from a friend, 1 from craigslist... and two from car forums.

so right now as I "shop" around, i went to a dealer yesterday, but just cannot bring myself to pay "dealer" price for anything out there at all. because i can (in my mind) ALWAYS find a better deal...



whats your process?

right now I am cruising craigslist for anythings 06-newer between 6-12k...

and really won't waste my time anywhere else.

everything from an 07 s/c gp to a 06 h3, 06 sts, 08 altima etc etc...
 

Flyn

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Offer a dealer a ridiculously low price, say $12,000 for a $20,000 car. They will turn it down and maybe counter offer. Ignore the counter offer and tell them you are heading to a competing dealer to offer them $13,000 for a similar car. Tell the other dealer you were rejected with your $12,000 offer and are now offering them $13,000. Tell them if they do not accept your offer you will return to the first dealer and offer them $14,000. Continue process.

Dealers, being the whores they are :smile: , will not want the sale to go to the other dealer and as soon as you get close to the bottom line price they will accept, will jump on your offer or counter offer aggressively.
 

Flyn

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Saw it in a poker book, actually, and liked the idea. Each dealer has the choice of accepting your offer or letting you walk off the lot and head to another dealer who may complete the sale and cut them out of any profit. Seems to me they'll be more likely to take less profit rather than no profit. You're working at approaching their sales point from the bottom rather than trying to work it from the top and cut the dealer asking price of, say, $22,000.

Say both dealers would take $16,000 bottom line for the car. The dealer you offer $15,000 to knows the other dealer will take $16,000 so he will be anxious to close the sale while you are there rather than let you offer the $16,000 to the other dealer. You have both dealers fighting to get your sale... at the bottom of their acceptance range.
 

GTwolf

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Oct 11, 2009
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I worked in the car business for quite awhile, and have never, an probably never will come across a dealer with enough markup for that to work. If a dealer sold you a 20k used car for 13k most dealers would be taking a 5k ish hit. If there's a dealer out there with ten grand in markup on their used cars and shit is actually selling, I wanna know where the hell they're getting their cars.
 

Mike K

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Apr 11, 2008
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Introduce an outside variable that you can't control. I.E. Your wife has given you X amount to spend, your bank has only approved you for X amount, etc.

When we bought my wife's XC90 it was $13999 at a small dealer. I offered him $12,500 and he balked at it. I told him that we were looking at another model with slightly lower miles for $12,500 and that we were going to go see it the next day. The other car didn't exist. He came back and told me he'd do $14,000 out the door. I said I couldn't. So he did the "let me talk to my manager" thing and left three times, 5 - 10 minutes each time where he'd be talking to his manager.

The second time he came back at $13,500 out the door, the third time $13,000. The third time he was getting visibly flustered. He wanted me to give at least a little bit and truthfully I would have paid that had he let me walk but I just told him that $12,500 was my right now price. If he could do $12,500 I'd take it. If not, no big deal but I want to at least look at the other car and I might even come back and buy their's for the $13,000. At this point he knew I had him, went and spoke to his manager, came back and threw paperwork at me.

Pretty much any deal I approach I make up a competing product or introduce some outside variable such as my wife or my employer setting a specific budget for something. If people think the decision lies with you they'll argue with you and try to get more money but if you make like you would give them more money but you just can't, then they don't have any response and they're either forced to make the deal that's in front of them or let you walk.
 

Flyn

Go ahead. I'll catch up.
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I worked in the car business for quite awhile, and have never, an probably never will come across a dealer with enough markup for that to work. If a dealer sold you a 20k used car for 13k most dealers would be taking a 5k ish hit. If there's a dealer out there with ten grand in markup on their used cars and shit is actually selling, I wanna know where the hell they're getting their cars.

I picked the numbers out of thin air. The main thing you want to do with the technique I described is start well below what a dealer will sell a car for and move up in whatever increments you decide. $1K, $500, $250, whatever. The main goal of this method is to complete the sale at the bottom of the dealer's "acceptable" sales range.
 

cacicgtp7

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Nov 9, 2008
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I just use the low ball method because I always buy used. So I can't play the "other dealer" game. Usually because the car I want is pretty specific. For example in a couple of months I'm looking to buy a used Volvo S80 V8 (08-09 ish) . Problem is, it's not a very common car. In fact, there's only like 2 for sale right now in the entire state of texas with the criteria I have. (under 50K loaded for xxxx dollars)

Thus when it comes time to find one, I'm probably going to have to travel (which is fine) but the only game I can really play is low-ball and "walk." And just hope they come down. If anyone has a good tactic when you want something so specific please enlighten me!
 

Angus

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You can win against dealerships. They don't always make money on every deal and you may be lucky enough to be that sale that they lose money.

Thing is dealerships usually borrow money to have cars on their lots. So as the car sits, they are being charged interest or other fees. Also, even if they don't make money on the car, they have small other fees that might make up for it or even if you finance it thought the dealerships, they make money on that as well.
 

Runtz52

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Oct 7, 2008
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You can win against dealerships. They don't always make money on every deal and you may be lucky enough to be that sale that they lose money.

Thing is dealerships usually borrow money to have cars on their lots. So as the car sits, they are being charged interest or other fees. Also, even if they don't make money on the car, they have small other fees that might make up for it or even if you finance it thought the dealerships, they make money on that as well.

truth, buying towards the end of the month helps too, so that dont have to pay the fees and such on another car, buying towards the beginning of the moth they are less likely to haggle as they have more than likely just paid interest on most of their inventory
 

Flyn

Go ahead. I'll catch up.
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For those who have bought off craigslist. Look at the car then offer (possible lowball) or lowball off the bat without seeing it. Which has had better success? I tried once before looking at a car and got a very negative response.

Look at the car. Feel out the owner with questions to see what he thinks about the car. Examine the car closely. Point out every defect you see. Then lowball. In the interest of fairness, don't screw him too badly.
 

KnightFan26917

Old Cars, Strong Hearts
Apr 28, 2009
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so right now as I "shop" around, i went to a dealer yesterday, but just cannot bring myself to pay "dealer" price for anything out there at all.

For older cars, it's "worse", imho.

For instance, a few months back, I found a gorgeous 1989 Caprice Classic ... at a dealer. The price? $4,000. I went to see it; it was WELL worth the asking price. Trouble is ... the dealer "fees" and the taxes added ~$1,000 to that ... and that just didn't make sense to me.

I know that I can get a VERY similar car privately for the same (if not lower) price ... with NO dealer "fees" ... and, for that matter, a heck of a lot less in taxes. Last time I bought a car was a few years ago ... and the tax was ONLY $25. Maybe that has gone up since then, though. Still ... that's a LOT less than the % paid in taxes at a dealer.

*shrugs*



Cort | 38.m.IL | pigValve + paceMaker + cowValve | 5 MCs + 1 Caprice Classic
CHD.MCs.CC + RoadTrips.hobbies.RadioShows.us66 = Cort's Web Pages
"Just when I think that I can make it without you, you come around & say you want me now" __ Rosanne Cash __ 'I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me'
 

GTwolf

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I picked the numbers out of thin air. The main thing you want to do with the technique I described is start well below what a dealer will sell a car for and move up in whatever increments you decide. $1K, $500, $250, whatever. The main goal of this method is to complete the sale at the bottom of the dealer's "acceptable" sales range.

:rofl: Ahhh ok, that's definitely a decent strategy then. Just gotta be careful not to throw the first ball so low that they don't take you seriously.

You can win against dealerships. They don't always make money on every deal and you may be lucky enough to be that sale that they lose money.

Thing is dealerships usually borrow money to have cars on their lots. So as the car sits, they are being charged interest or other fees. Also, even if they don't make money on the car, they have small other fees that might make up for it or even if you finance it thought the dealerships, they make money on that as well.

Ehhhh this is true but I wouldn't want to be that sale they lose money on. Generally if a dealer is willing to lose money on a car that means it has some kind of underlying problem, and they need to get rid of it asap before it gets worse. Or there's some other quite possibly good reason why it's not selling for at least what they paid for it. There are some occasions like you said where people just get lucky because the dealer needs out of a floor plan or needs quick cash, but it's much less common. My experience with used car dealers is if the price on a car seems too good to be true, it probably is. That's the nice thing about just trolling private party craigslist for good deals, there's a million and one good reasons why someone would need quick cash and be willing to sell a perfectly good car for a lot less than it's worth.
 

Outlaw

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I use Craigslist for 90% of the 40+ cars that have been in my possession. I never discuss money on the phone, and ask a lot of detailed questions. Then look at vehicle to see if that matches up to what they said... if not, i hit them hard on my offer to make up for the differences. Also, find similar vehicles to show them to justify price.
 

ktraver97ss

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You planning on financing or paying cash? I would only buy from a dealer if I was financing or they were willing to make a great deal. It really depends on the specific situation to determine a good strategy of attack. I am ruthless when it comes to buying cars and will beat down the sales person until he wants to cry.

Example: Sticker on our '12 Kia Optima SX was $32xxx, paid $28500. We bought the Jeep over 2 years before this with 37k on it for $11650 i believe, and traded it in for $10500 or so. I also kept the soft top and sold it on CL for $400, so all in all I only paid $750 to drive our Jeep 2 years and some 20k miles. I am just a stubborn fuck and don't give in until I get what I want, or I walk.
 

10sec

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When I was looking at an STI about a year ago, the car was visibly in poor condition. Had a crack in the bumper, blemishes, and the brakes were completely jacked up. After meeting with the shady salesman for a couple minutes, he asked me what I would pay for the car. I told him the shit that's messed up, and offered him $6k less than they were asking. Dude was PISSED :rofl: He was so offended by my offer. It wasn't a lowball either, there was one right down the street nearly identical with everything 20k less miles, going for $1500 less, in perfect condition. Some salesmen are straight up douche bags. They don't realize the consumer pays their bills.
 

PANDA

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For private party sales.

  • Calling the seller up and offering to met up NOW.
  • Bring cash.
  • Look at the car, drive the car, etc
  • Make cash offer to take the car away on the spot. No deposit or come back tomorrow with money BS.

Works well most of the time. If you are in the market have cash available. It can come in handy if say something pops up on clist for a great deal at 5PM on a Sunday when banks are not open. Most of the time when a seller is motivated and prices the car to sell fast its a race on who can get to the car with the money first.

As far as used car sales so many things can factor in how much of a "deal" you can get. I would just say low ball and don't be afraid to find another car or go somewhere else.

My most recent dealer experiences.

Mom was looking for a Honda CRV. She wanted something brand new with a warranty. I never bought a new car so I wasn't so sure on what the deal was so I called Barker for some info. Anyway... Went over to Schaumburg Honda so she can test drive one. They had ONE Honda CRV-EXL (leather) on the lot. She drove the car but it wasn't the color she wanted. We decided to talk numbers with the dealer anyway even though I will NEVER buy anything from any Bob Rohrman establishment. Dealer wanted to give her less then carmax for her car on trade, basically look 500 off msrp of the new car, and wouldn't give her 0% financing unless she bought the car today. After looking at some used cars we left. fuck Bob Rohrman.

We drove ALL the way out to Brilliance Honda in Crystal Lake. A very attractive young sales woman helped us out. That dealer also only had one CRV with leather but the wrong color. Understandable because it was a much smaller dealer then Bob dickheads #1 honda dealer in the midwest. My mom wanted to drive a CRV again then we sat down and basically told the dealer she wanted a white one. NO PROBLEM. They located one at another store for her and did a dealer trader or whatever. We negotiated the price/payment and my mom put down a deposit. Two days later she called her and the car was ready for pickup. It was a no BS transaction.

When the 5.0's came out I went over the Arlington Heights Ford on my lunch break to test drive a 5.0 Because honestly if I was going to buy a NEW car that would be on the top of my list. (but mostly I just wanted to drive one) I pull up in the GTP and immediately greeted by a dealer. I told him I was interested in the new 5.0 Mustang. We get to talking (I can tell I know more then he does) he states "Its faster than that GTP you pulled up in" I was like ORLY? Should have lined them up, he would have been mind blown. So after like 15 min of talking I get him to hand me the keys. I take it out in the industrial park and smack it from a dig to like 80mph. Now I do pulls down this road to work like every morning its no problem. This dealer was about to shit his pants, what does he expect someone todo on a test drive with a "performance car" take it on the freeway and see what kinda mpg it gets? He tells me to take it back to the dealer, im like :ugh: cool test drive bro. I talk some numbers to pretend im interested in the car a tad. They wanted like $37K for it. Thing was like a base model auto. I LOL'ed, told him it shifted slow as fuck and turned like a minivan and I was not impressed and left.
 

EmersonHart13

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I love private sale, so much more for your money. I did buy the Burb at a dealer and I have to admit it was nice to not have to apply for the title and get the plates and etc. Was it worth the premium? Probably not but they had the truck I wanted and it was a half mile down the road so I took it.

Buying new cars is great though, so much less to worry about and easier to cross shop as you can find cars that are basically the same and get dealers battling against each other.
 
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