Car Shopping

[pinecone70]

Pinecone is going used car shopping....Wish me luck.

Gee, I bet I could get a good deal on a Toyota right about now.

[pawn]

good luck!

[rglbegl]

Private party or dealership?

I have spent my life working for dealerhips, so if you have any questions . . . let me know

[pinecone70]

Dealership probably. Found a decent Buick LeSabre that I can probably get a better price on. I'll be checking the Toyota dealership too, probably....Heh. I don't know what to think, but at least I'm in no rush to find a vehicle right now.

[Trouble 45-70]

Have never bought a new vehicle. Satisfied with most of them. Ran the wheels off all of them.

Now that I'm retired I bought a new F150. Only 52,000 miles. That's showroom new to me.

Best of luck on the new vehicle. Hope you get a great one.

[woolleyworm]

Got a great lesson in buying a vehicle, many years back from a retired Marine SgtMajor :

1 - There is Never such thing as a "Sale" at any car dealership.

2 - There is no such thing as an "Honest salesman" while they're on the clock. ( not to say that they're going to outright lie to you, but they sure as heck aren't going to just give it up and tell you all about every discount and their bottom line as soon as you walk in the door )

3 - It's your money - make them work for it.

4 - The more kids and the more Coke and Cocoa Puffs you can get them to eat before arriving will greatly impact the time to driving them to their bottom line price!!! ( no $%!& this works, my brother and I have both scored big time; amazing how fast they work to get you done and out of there. They still want a sale, no matter how bad. )

5 - If you can pick out the salesman on the bottom of the sales list, ask for him, he/she will be the most eager to get the deal done in your favor. The highest sales person is most likely the best smooth talker and most full of bs.

6 - Know exactly what You are looking for and what You want; don't get talked into something that you end up "thinking you liked". Do the research and know what the following values are : trade-in, loan, private party and retail.

7 - Dont ever act excited or overly interested, salesman prey on emotion to push the sale in their favor. The more "take it or leave it" that you give them, the better.

8 - Always buy on the last day of any month. This isn't a given that you'll get a better deal, but definetly can increase your chances of talking them down a little more. Doesn't really matter a whole lot, but statistically the last day in Feb is deemed the "best day to buy a car". Granted, stats are only as good as the data provided to the imperfect stat keepers. But I can guarantee you, that any "end of the year closeout or inventory reduction" line is just that, a line!

[rglbegl]

No disrepect, but I gotta tear this one apart


Got a great lesson in buying a vehicle, many years back from a retired Marine SgtMajor :

1 - There is Never such thing as a "Sale" at any car dealership.
Yes there is

2 - There is no such thing as an "Honest salesman" while they're on the clock. ( not to say that they're going to outright lie to you, but they sure as heck aren't going to just give it up and tell you all about every discount and their bottom line as soon as you walk in the door )
Yes there is

3 - It's your money - make them work for it.
Its our car, you need to prove that you want it as much as the next guy. If not, we will keep it from you so we can make money on the next guy

4 - The more kids and the more Coke and Cocoa Puffs you can get them to eat before arriving will greatly impact the time to driving them to their bottom line price!!! ( no $%!& this works, my brother and I have both scored big time; amazing how fast they work to get you done and out of there. They still want a sale, no matter how bad. )
This just makes you look like a bad parent in public. The price will be the same no matter how mis behaved your spawn is


5 - If you can pick out the salesman on the bottom of the sales list, ask for him, he/she will be the most eager to get the deal done in your favor. The highest sales person is most likely the best smooth talker and most full of bs.
The WORST piece of advice of all these. How do you know he doesn't sell fewer cars for 10x the profit?

6 - Know exactly what You are looking for and what You want; don't get talked into something that you end up "thinking you liked". Do the research and know what the following values are : trade-in, loan, private party and retail.
Good advice, but be careful; You have NO idea what the true value is. You can get an idea, but I have seen KBB get more people screwed than helped

7 - Dont ever act excited or overly interested, salesman prey on emotion to push the sale in their favor. The more "take it or leave it" that you give them, the better.
Terrible advice.
If you can get the salesman excited, he will work harder for you. If you seem uninterested, he will leave you for the next up

8 - Always buy on the last day of any month. This isn't a given that you'll get a better deal, but definetly can increase your chances of talking them down a little more. Doesn't really matter a whole lot, but statistically the last day in Feb is deemed the "best day to buy a car". Granted, stats are only as good as the data provided to the imperfect stat keepers. But I can guarantee you, that any "end of the year closeout or inventory reduction" line is just that, a line!
This one always bothered me. SO many people actually think this one works, and they couldn't be more wrong.
The best day during the year to buy a car is . . .. Today. Yes, today. Not tomorrow, not next week, not the end of the month . . . . Today.

[mrkirker]

For some reason, mrk can picture pinecone in a dark green tacoma!

[pawn]

Dark Green Tacoma. Tacoma.... Yeee-haaaa. Errr, ummmm. I mean Uff-daa

OK Mr.K: What is that beautiful rifle in your signature. Don't have clue, but I bet it is a 308 win.

ps- I am wrong all the time.

[mrkirker]

Originally Posted by pawn

Dark Green Tacoma. Tacoma.... Yeee-haaaa. Errr, ummmm. I mean Uff-daa

OK Mr.K: What is that beautiful rifle in your signature. Don't have clue, but I bet it is a 308 win.

ps- I am wrong all the time.

Wow! You are DARN good!

It IS a .308 - and it's my 'dream' rifle. It is a late 60's .308 built on a Mauser action with all the 'trimmings', & it has an interesting history. Suffice to say, that it is an 'obsolete' foreign special applications rifle, offered with a paticular German made scope, and a set of top 'o the line Aunschuts (sorry bout the spelling) non-optic sights, for some reason pictured with the front sight in place with the scope attached. (I know from contact at work that special application folk sometime use non-optic sights, but I've never had the nerve to ask 'why' - there's a strong 'need to know' ethic where I work, and since I don't 'need to know' this in order to do my tasks, it would raise a red flag, were I to ask.)

Alas, it is 'dearly' priced. I could get my smith to build a custom .308 on a Remington 700 action for about 2/3 $$ what 'dream' rifle is priced. But there's something about this particular rifle . . . . . . I guess we all have to have our dreams! I just 'picture' mine, LOL!

duh, just realized that I should have replied in a p/m! sorry for the 'drift' folks!

[pinecone70]

Heh, excellent thread drift--back to guns!! LOL! Tacoma is a bit big for me.....

So, the car seeking is for a used car, as I would never buy brand new, it is against my religion. One important thing I discovered was that my '97 Blazer is now valuable because of the ridiculous cash for clunkers program. Hooray! There are no vehicles under $5k available like this one, and mine is going to give me 2/3 more value as a trade than I figured. Awesome.

I did find some nice Buicks, but one stands out as a possible must-have. It's an '02 with gentle mileage, originally a program car. It is in a heated show room, detailed inside and out, has the 3800 engine I like. I will have to test drive it of course, and if everything works and it drives well, it could be the one. I am pretty good at this car-looking business, I know exactly what I want and what I would pay for it, and I don't let the dealer talk me into anything. This project is way more fun because I'm not replacing a vehicle out of absolute necessity! Score for me.

[gdmoody]

There is one thing in your second post that will probably work in your favor. If you are in no rush to buy, you have time to look for the best deal. Good luck in your search

[Terry_P]

Originally Posted by pinecone70

Tacoma is a bit big for me.

So the Chevy 1 ton I was going to suggest doesn't work. But it just has so many uses.

[pinecone70]

Ah, but I have a Chevy 1 ton dually already.....

[pinecone70]

Originally Posted by rglbegl

Private party or dealership?

I have spent my life working for dealerhips, so if you have any questions . . . let me know

So, how about method of payment? Is it true that they give better prices if a person finances through their particular fiance entity? A friend told me that and I just can't wrap my mind around it. I prefer to pay cash, of course, I think taking out a loan and paying it off right away is just a lot of paperwork and hassle.

Anyone have an opinion on that?

[pawn]

Originally Posted by mrkirker

Wow! You are DARN good!

It IS a .308 - and it's my 'dream' rifle. It is a late 60's .308 built on a Mauser action with all the 'trimmings', & it has an interesting history. Suffice to say, that it is an 'obsolete' foreign special applications rifle, offered with a paticular German made scope, and a set of top 'o the line Aunschuts (sorry bout the spelling) non-optic sights, for some reason pictured with the front sight in place with the scope attached. (I know from contact at work that special application folk sometime use non-optic sights, but I've never had the nerve to ask 'why' - there's a strong 'need to know' ethic where I work, and since I don't 'need to know' this in order to do my tasks, it would raise a red flag, were I to ask.)

Alas, it is 'dearly' priced. I could get my smith to build a custom .308 on a Remington 700 action for about 2/3 $$ what 'dream' rifle is priced. But there's something about this particular rifle . . . . . . I guess we all have to have our dreams! I just 'picture' mine, LOL!

duh, just realized that I should have replied in a p/m! sorry for the 'drift' folks!

Doesn't matter at all. The dream is sublime, thanks for sharing and kudos.

[rglbegl]

Originally Posted by pinecone70

So, how about method of payment? Is it true that they give better prices if a person finances through their particular fiance entity? A friend told me that and I just can't wrap my mind around it. I prefer to pay cash, of course, I think taking out a loan and paying it off right away is just a lot of paperwork and hassle.

Anyone have an opinion on that?

If you are gonna pay cash, do not say anything till you are in the finance office.
Most people think it is a good idea to brag up front by mentioning cash, but it kills your negotiating power.
Let them play their games, and the only thing you need to focus on is price. (tell them you have a trade in too, then keep at the last minute)


I am a finance manager right now. (I have held every seat in a major dealer, but finance is where I can make the most $$$)
I make more $$$ for the store than the salesman do.
If I can get 2 points on your loan, plus sell you an extra or two, I can make about $4000-5000 per vehicle sold.
My worst nightmare is someone who, at the last second, just says . . . . "Oh, I already have my own financing" or "I'll just pay cash".

If the dealer thinks they are gonna rip your trade and make $2000 on it
+
They think they are making $2-3K on the sale
+
They think they are making $4-5K on the financing

They are likely to let the selling price be very low, often times less than what they actually bought the car for.


I could go on for hours about the tricks that work . . . . this is just a glimpse in to the workings.

[pinecone70]

Originally Posted by rglbegl

If you are gonna pay cash, do not say anything till you are in the finance office.
Most people think it is a good idea to brag up front by mentioning cash, but it kills your negotiating power.
Let them play their games, and the only thing you need to focus on is price. (tell them you have a trade in too, then keep at the last minute)


I am a finance manager right now. (I have held every seat in a major dealer, but finance is where I can make the most $$$)
I make more $$$ for the store than the salesman do.
If I can get 2 points on your loan, plus sell you an extra or two, I can make about $4000-5000 per vehicle sold.
My worst nightmare is someone who, at the last second, just says . . . . "Oh, I already have my own financing" or "I'll just pay cash".

If the dealer thinks they are gonna rip your trade and make $2000 on it
+
They think they are making $2-3K on the sale
+
They think they are making $4-5K on the financing

They are likely to let the selling price be very low, often times less than what they actually bought the car for.


I could go on for hours about the tricks that work . . . . this is just a glimpse in to the workings.

I've already got the price a thousand under what I had squirreled away for the purchase, thanks in part to my trade being worth much more than I guessed. I may be able to squeak a little more savings on the price. So far, the fellow does not know I'll be paying cash but he knows about the trade-in and got all excited about it.

Oh, and I had the salesman print out the details for me, the printout 'magically' came to me with $300 less on the price. He said, "I don't know how this happened, this never happens!" Yeah...I bet...!

[rglbegl]

Unless your car qualifies for a clunkers program, keep it and sell it privately.

Get your own financing, or have the cash ready. Dont say anything till the last second.
Matter of fact, make them think you are financing through them. In MN, I think they allow a 3% take on financing. Depending on the amount financed, that could be over $3500.
And if they think they are making $5500 on the financing, they will be more willing to reduce the price of the car to make you happy



Its kinda funny;
I work in the industry, but I hate dealerships
So if you can screw them ... . please do. Then give me a high 5.

[pinecone70]

My Blazer? Sure it qualifies for a clunker program, but there is no way I'm buying a new car to replace it according to that plan. If they're going to give me $1,500+ for a 13 year old Blazer, I don't think that's too bad at all. I have sold a couple of vehicles over the years, it's not my favorite thing to do. People try to pull things sometimes.

The car I am potentially buying is not that expensive, I'm sure it's taking up space on their showroom floor. I typically buy used vehicles that are under $7k and pay cash for them. I don't think they'll get too excited.

I won't say anything about paying cash until the last second. Good tips, thank you very much. Tomorrow I'm going to see what online price ranges are, just to see if this one's price feels right.

[Crpdeth]

I don't have a clue about all this stuff, Piney, but good luck and take pics!


Crpdeth

[pinecone70]

For some reason, the salesmen all end up staring at my lapel. It has a tiny enameled revolver pin stuck in it. The favorable car has a large, clean trunk that just cries out for gun cargo. I will take pics if I buy this one, it looks really nice.

[cycloneman]

Ok piney i just got an image of you in a red convertible like cristy brinkly in the vacation movie. Thats what you need.

[armedandsafe]

I was looking for a full sized pickup to replace my little Mazda. I found an F150 I liked and went in with the salesman to talk about the $6,500 they were asking. I told the salesman I had $4,000 in my pocket. He went back to the manager and returned with an offer. I said I had $4,000 in my pocket. He went back to....you get the idea. Five trips back and I saw the manager laughing. He returned and said "How about $4,025?" I said, "How about $4,000 and I'll pay for the license tabs when they come up? (4 months down the line.) " I drove home in my F150 and left behind 40 $100 bills. The salesman drove my elCamino home for me, had a beer and I gave him a ride back to town.

Cash does work, sometimes.

Pops

[Suicide*Ride]

Good luck in finding what you want tomorrow Sis.

Buicks are great cars, esp. the newer ones running 3800cc motors! The 3.8's were built to survive being supercharged , even though they didn't really need the extra power. If you do get a chance to test drive a supercharged 3.8 - be prepared to have some fun!

While you're out there looking, don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for owner's manuals in gloveboxes or center consoles that might have the maintenance records, receipts, etc. in them. IMHO, there's nothing better than to find a repair log / maint. history in the vehicle that you're possibly looking to purchase.

Looking forward to a full report when you get home!

SR