I am looking to buy a economy car from a dealer and was wondering how much I can expect to talk them down?

I understand that different factors can increase the amount, but didnt know if there is an average about that the DEALER expects to be talked down.


thanks

3/31/2012 10:33:51 PM

1) Don't buy from a dealer

2) Buy off craigslist

A lot better chance at getting a steal.

Dealers usually buy their cars from craiglist, car auctions, or trade ins which is basically the same condition as anything you can get off craigslist.

Talk them down the amount of money you think it'll take to repair the car so you'd break even on the price of the car after the repairs are done.

People don't sell perfectly good cars for no reason, so make sure you expect at least 1 major repair. After that you should be in the clear.

3/31/2012 10:42:54 PM

he never said it was used

3/31/2012 10:59:39 PM

^^ Shit, I've sold a small parking lot of perfectly good cars for no other reason than that I wanted something else.

3/31/2012 11:03:41 PM

Quote :

"Shit, I've sold a small parking lot of perfectly good cars for no other reason than that I wanted something else."

While it's good that these scenarios exists, it's best to plan for the worst case scenario. Falling into one of your scenarios is good fortune for the buyer.

3/31/2012 11:35:36 PM

could be someone wanted something with better fuel economy, seems like a good reason to sell a car.

4/1/2012 11:51:49 AM

OP, more information is needed. New or used? There's about 50 different "economy" cars out there and they're going to have a pretty broad range of markup so if you could narrow it down to a few, it would be a lot easier. For example, a Civic will have $1800-2500 in markup while a Chevy may have $2500-3500.

Quote :

"People don't sell perfectly good cars for no reason, so make sure you expect at least 1 major repair."

This is just an ignorant statement. Of course every car is sold for a reason but I'd say a good 75-80% of them don't include "needs major repair". The majority of people buy a car every 2-3 years because they WANT a new car, not because they need it. Out of ~15 cars I've owned, I sold 1 with a problem (mysterious oil leak that I could never find) & bought 2 with problems (1 with bad cooling fan relay & 1 was a flood car with a bad ecu).

4/1/2012 3:41:25 PM

Quote :

"Shit, I've sold a small parking lot of perfectly good cars for no other reason than that I wanted something else."

same here and all the cars I've bought have been from a private party to avoid the ridiculous dealer markup. I've found some great deals out there on cars. So much so that almost every car I've bought has been sold for about the same or a little more than what I paid after driving 10k miles.

Big things to remember are...
1) Get a prepurchase inspection from a reputable place knowledgeable in that particular vehicle (i.e. take a BMW to a BMW specialist, Audi to Audi specialist, etc.).

2) If you don't know much about cars then bring someone who does when you check out the car

3) Place close attention to wear and tear items (brakes, tires, oil changes, routine check-ups, etc.). It's always good to get a vehicle that gets serviced routinely. Also, as we all know tires are expensive. I always buy cars with newer tires. I've also sold many vehicles with those same tires to people that apparently don't give a shit that they will have to drop $1k on tires within a month or two.

4) Know the particular car model that you are buying. Other people have bought the same car and know exactly what goes wrong and at what mileage sometimes (example...the e46 m3 alternator goes bad ~55k miles and Vanos issues, the B6-B7 Audi S4 timing car shits the bed around 85k miles, etc.). You ask about these particular issues, see if they've been addressed then negotiate accordingly. Some issues are just too big to ignore. Internet forums are a good source of info from complaining owners.

4) Don't just go by bluebook price. That's a good starter but it's also great to check comparables on Cars.com, Autotrader and Craigslist. It's definitely a tough task because there are so many options and mileages for a certain vehicle but it's also necessary to be able to come up with a good price.

5) Always get a carfax because it's a great source of info (although not always correct). It can sometimes work as a great bargaining tool. It also makes a huge difference to buyers when you resell the vehicle. Almost every buyer will look at the carfax and you want to make sure you know your car is clean.

6) Never buy a car that was driven in the north unless the car was rarely driven in the winter. That's usually not the case if you are buying an economy car. Northern winters take their toll on a car.

All this info is good unless you're buying new. In that case then I just wasted my time.

Quote :

"People don't sell perfectly good cars for no reason, so make sure you expect at least 1 major repair."

Definitely an incorrect statement. I've only sold one car needing repair out of the 9 I've sold. It was a shitty ford escort from that I took down with me from the north. I basically gave it away here.

There are also only a couple cars that I have bought in need of repair.

Although I have sold many cars needing new tires however never to the point that the tires needed to be bought immediately.

[Edited on April 1, 2012 at 7:33 PM. Reason : yo]

v that's also true but you always have to take into account the B.S. dealership fees

[Edited on April 1, 2012 at 7:34 PM. Reason : yo]

4/1/2012 7:23:27 PM

it's rare, but good deals can be found at dealerships

4/1/2012 7:31:44 PM