OT: How much should I pay for a used car?

[RobertG]

I'm asking this august body for their knowledge on how to negotiate a used car from a dealer.

Ok here are the specifics on the price. I won't go into make and model because it's irrelevant to the question:

Car listed Price: $13,488

Kelly Blue Book Fair Market $14,376 - $17,637 I
Trade in value: $11,016 - $12,783.

How much over the trade in value is the dealer willing to accept? What should my starting offer be?

 

[DJ Spanky]

Have you looked at the CarFax yet?

Why is the dealer listing it below Kelly Blue Book value?

Have you checked with edmunds.com?

Year and mileage are important.

Trade-in value is basically what the dealer will take based on the fact that they want to be able to turn around and sell it and make at least a little profit.

 

[rutgersal]

actually, make and model is relevant, as it would tell us how desirable the car is. see what carmax is charging as a baseline. their price will be the high end of what you would expect. Starting offer should be at the high end of trade in value. test drive the car, come home, and email your offer and see what he says.

 

[RUfromSoCal?]

you should buy it from the other guy on here once his lease runs out.........

 

[DJ Spanky]

actually, make and model is relevant, as it would tell us how desirable the car is.

Unfortunately if he posts that, then he gets unwanted commentary on it, which will lead the thread off into unintended tangents involving various cars.

 

[rutgersal]

Unfortunately if he posts that, then he gets unwanted commentary on it, which will lead the thread off into unintended tangents involving various cars.

good point. i'd forgotten about that. unfortunate.

 

[RobertG]

Car fax has no accidents one owner car. Edmunds has it appraised at 15000 but I see some as this around the same price $13900 or so.

 

[DJ Spanky]

It sounds like they're offering a decent price - you may have a little wiggle-room of a couple of hundred dollars. I'd say go in with the approach that you were looking to keep it under $12K (DON'T offer $12K!), but you're willing to come up from that, and then ask them what they can do for you. Push it back to them to make the first offer, then go from there. Just so you know, these are transparent ploys, but this is a dance that all dealership salesmen expect. I'd say based on the numbers you posted, if you can get it for $13-13.2K, that's probably the best you can go.

How much warranty are they offering on the car?

 

[RobertG]

Don't know about the warranty. I'll ask.

 

[CranfordKnight]

If you can find out how much the dealer paid for it you have a lot more bargaining power. I bought my car used a few years back from a dealership, but by using the Carfax with the VIN, i was able to Google car auctions and found out the exact price they paid and when. They were asking 16500, but only paid about 10K and the car was on the lot for 4 months. I offered 11500, they countered with 12K, and the deal was done.

 

[RUJohnny99]

Is it a dealer or one of those auction lots on the side of the road? If a dealer, is it the same kind that they sell, or did they take a trade in & looking to dump it?

Personally, I'd start at 10, and work my way up. There's so much wiggle room in it, it's not even funny. They could have "given" $14 in phantom credits to the buyer of a new car which cost them essentially nothing. Don't be afraid to walk away. It's getting late in the month and the salesman needs to feed his family.