I bought a new car last year. It cost more than any house I ever bought.
I did talk them down $500 and drove the car home. Many of the dealers did not even have one new car on the lot.
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I bought a new car last year. It cost more than any house I ever bought.
I did talk them down $500 and drove the car home. Many of the dealers did not even have one new car on the lot.
I have bought several vehicles from Craigslist, and got a good deal every time. Most had complete maintenance records. The last truck I bought off of there, I drove for five years,and sold it for more than I had gave for it.
These guys were pretty good to me https://www.kruseford.com/used-inventory/index.htm they turn inventory fast so be ready to pull the trigger if they have what you want...
Car shopping- I hate it with a passion. I'm probably a bit unusual when it comes to vehicles. Many people identify with their vehicle, and it's important to them to drive a nice rig. I don't; couldn't really care less so long as it gets me down the road reliably.
My wife bought a brand new Saturn, at the end of the last century just before we met. We drove that car a quarter-million miles, until our daughter wrecked it. We sold it to a scrap yard just last year. What a great little car, sad to see it go.
I bought my truck used just before 9/11, four years old but excellent condition. I bought it private party at a great price, and am still driving it. Other than routine maintenance and tires, I don't think I've spent a thousand dollars on it in the last 22 years.
We bought a used high-mileage minivan over a dozen years ago, $4k cash from a used car lot. It has ran like a top and my teenage son is now driving it. Three years ago we bought a used high-mileage Scion from another lot, also $4k, and it's been going like a million bucks since. We've had really good luck with used cars.
That's it for our car buying, in the last quarter-century or so. Raising a family on my income alone, with medical bills for my wife's issues, there's no room for car payments, haven't had them in nearly twenty years. I can't even imagine buying a brand new car. It's as foreign a thought to me as buying a yacht. Nothing against those who like nice cars; I just have simple tastes when it comes to wheels.
I suggest you look online. I found both my 2015 nissan titan and my wife's 2019 Jeep Trailhawk last year that way. The pandemic got a lot of dealers to get much better at listing vehicles online. I stumbled across Capital One auto and found both vehicles listed for much lower (my truck was 9k less) then the stickers on the windshield at the dealer's lots. The out the door price is right there on the screen. Just have to print it out and take it in. If you want to finance it you can also do that all online, Capital One's website actually ran numbers from 4 different lenders for me then matched the one that beat them. Went to the Dealerships with the paperwork, test drove it and the finance dept at the lot tried to match Capital One and couldn't.
Best part was no stress or wondering, did it all on the couch chatting with the wife and kids.
I actually enjoy car shopping! Being a gear head, plus having put in a 2 year stint as a dealership auto tech, I have a little more insight on dealership tactics and operations, but having said that, I have never bought a new car and probably never will. I will not tolerate the games that salesman sometimes play. One of the more upsetting realizations of recent years is that dealerships will sell unsafe cars under the as-is agreement with no concern of consequence. My daughter and her husband bought a small suv that had severe brake problems. After 3 or 4 days the calipers and wheel cylinders had leaked so that it drained the master cylinder. When I went to the dealership to read the manager the riot act, he was unconcerned, and let me know that my daughter had no recourse, since they had signed the as-is agreement! Now, I am aware, I am old school, but the idea that a dealership would sell a potential death trap blows my mind. Hopefully, my daughter will have me inspect the next vehicle BEFORE they buy it!
I kind of enjoy the vehicle shopping thing. Wife hates it. Grandad loved to haggle and I learned from him. Friend of mine used to be a service writer and he would tell me a bunch of stories and what things really cost. If the dealer is being what some other dealers have been like, I have no problem walking out the door.
Thats one thing Grandad said, "Always be prepared to walk out the door".
Fixit have your daughter talk to a lawyer. Selling that vehicle and telling her she has no recourse is BS. What they did may be illegal. Factory may not be happy with what the dealership did. Factory doesn't have to sell dealership cars.
Going to buy a new vehicle is the next best thing to open heart surgery with out anesthesia.
Think I'm about done with dealers, Probably the next one will be an F-100 or its mirror cousin with letters C/K in it.
I agree with Duckiller. I think that the vehicle has to be in safe , operable condition, to be able to sell it at a dealership, in some states.
Duckiller, too many years and too much water under the bridge at this point. I did the fix and it's been a fairly good car since then. I was just illustrating how attitudes have changed since I was working in the field. Back then the attitude I got from most dealers was,if it's not safe, it goes to auction. Interestingly, the dealer spiel, and their excuse for the unsafe nature of the car, was it was a trade in, it was headed to auction, and if they had inspected it, it would have cost more. Still no excuse! Yes, they should've gotten a lawyer, if for no other reason but to teach the dealership how wrong they are, but time and money are in short supply when you're starting a family, so it didn't happen.
Have fun with the experience. I usually just call them and ask them to take a pic of something particular on the car (was looking for a 2015 TDI passat) so you'll be able to tell if something's funky. I hate to say it but it's best to only buy from the big places (ford chevy ect), they have less inclination to play games.
Bad time to be car shopping. But prices are reported to be coming down slowly. We bought a 2016 Toyota Avalon Touring back in the fall of 2018, had about 17k on the odo. Got it for $22,500. I hate to think about hitting a deer with it. Not going to find a deal like that again I'm afraid. Could be our last car I guess.