Negotiating Price of Used Vehicle - Suggested Approach/Tips

[cral12]

(Couldn't find a recent thread)

Kinda like a NHL GM looking to acquire a player (think Flames Feaster & Smid trade with Oilers), looking for advice on negotiating for a used car.

Any tips and thoughts welcomed...

Vehicle I'm looking at asking price is $39,900.

Red Deer dealer has very similar model offered at $37,000
EDM dealer w/ similar one for $38,000

$35-37900, estimated Canada Blackbook value

41,400 avg asking price

[Fusebox]

Please provide more details, like what kind of car it is, model, kms, etc.

You've got to come up with a fair number, offer that, and be prepared to walk away if they don't accept it.

[ken0042]

Also, are you buying from a regular dealer (one with new and used cars, and a service dept), a used car dealership (all they sell is used), or private sale?

[TSXCman]

cral12, I would recommend taking the wear and km into consideration for your reference cars. Try to use the $37K in Red Deer as leverage, but don't be too smug or anything about the way your comparing.

Perfect timing for this type of thread, I hope to learn something as well.

Look at the ~$30K mark for EVOs and STis, and do it in a way that I can resell at as close to my purchasing price as possible.

Best to go through private purchase or dealer for this? For both inside and out of warranty years.

[Red John]

Could be wrong on this but isn't VMR Canada more accurate than Black book?

[TSXCman]

Nice, VMR is helpful

[Derek Sutton]

Haggling with a dealer can be fun, especially on a used car. They likely paid 75% of what they are asking, maybe even less if it was a trade in, so there is usually a lot of room to move. My Dad just traded in his Sienna, Toyota mini van, on a brand new one. They got 8k for it, it needed some basic work done, high Kim's etc... All the dealer did was clean it up nap slap a price tag on it of 14k.

A salesman will also take any reasonable offer to management, he wants the sale more then anyone. My buddy just sold an 09 Tahoe and the first offer he presented was 8 thousand under list price and ended up selling it for 5 thousand less the it was listed for. The dealer then made up for it by selling all the service packages, loan insurance and all the ad on/ up sell crap.

A private deal is obviously different but I got this advice from a friend and did it when buying my trailer. Get a bank draft made out for two thousand ( or thereabouts) less then the asking price, get it for what you want to pay. Then take extra cash for what you are willing to pay. When or if they turn down the bank draft, ask them how much more cash it will take? Then pay what you are comfortable with.

My trailer was listed for 12k which was a decent price. Phoned the guy and offer 10 over the phone, he said no, I then told him I wanted to come see it. I went with a bank draft for 10k and 1500 cash. I looked at it again and told him I wanted it and gave him the bank draft, he said that it wasn't enough. I asked him how many 100's (dollar bills) he needed to go with it he told 5 so I gave home another $500 and it was a done deal. *Except I took my afore mentioned friend along and he laughed and said I better give him another one cause I had "at least five more in there". So i did, it was still a good deal and it made both of us laugh.

[Cuz]

Biggest piece of advice, as has already been mentioned, is to be willing to walk away from the deal, just don't be a dick about it, especially if it's a private seller. Thank them for their time and be on your way. You'd be surprised at how this can work if it's a dealer.

If you're dealing with a dealer, at that price point, you should have at least 5 grand to play with. Dealers have a far larger profit margin on used vehicles than on new ones, so use that knowledge to your advantage. When dealing with used vehicles, dealers make their money by being smart with their buys, whether they acquire the vehicle via trade in or at auction.

[cral12]

Thanks all - this is from a dealer. Salesman states the vehicle is a lease back.

The comparables I have are similar condition and kms.

Like all the advice!

[cral12]

Wow - 2 months later and I still haven't pulled the trigger. I wasn't in a rush before - more or less researching what vehicle I really want. Looks like I'm fairly settled on on the vehicle and I'll likely be buying in the next month or so.

Came across this article if anyone interested - some good tips in the comments section as well:
Link: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/0...or-a-used-car/

Opinions welcomed on this:
At want point in the negotiation should you reveal you may want to trade in your current vehicle. Does doing so up front impact your negotiating “power”?

[Buff]

Bring a thermal detonator.

[cral12]

Any experiences with specific dealers would be interesting as well...

[Dion]

Originally Posted by cral12

Any experiences with specific dealers would be interesting as well...

Have always had positive experiences with High River Ford.

[Sylvanfan]

Bring in a hired gun to negotiate for you. Someone who doesn't care one iota about getting the vehicle and will create a scene. Decide beforehand what your max number is and offer him/her 50% of the difference. Example...you decide you will be willingto pay 37 taxes in....the negotiator gets it for 36....they get 500 for their work.

[Sliver]

I think you are over thinking this. Step one is to ask what his rock bottom price is. Boom, now you have a new starting point from which to hammer him down. Step two is to pretend to be disappointed and a bit surprised that he didn't come down nearly as much as you thought he should have. He'll see your surprise, then ask what you think is fair, present your low ball offer at this time, meet somewhere in the middle, then enjoy the thousands in savings.

Keep in mind that the buyer has a ton of power. Selling a car sucks. It can feel like nobody wants it and you'll be stuck with it forever. As the buyer, you need to leverage that to get the best deal you can and you can always get it for lower than the seller thought he'd go by using my above approach.

Lastly, for the love of God, don't trade in your car; sell it privately. Trading in is just giving money away. What kind of car are you getting rid of, anyway?

[cral12]

Selling/trading in:
- 2002 Jeep Liberty Sport
- good condition; regularly maintained; no accidents
- 135,000 km (not a mistype!)

Prefer not to have hassle of selling privately, but maybe should reconsider then.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by cral12

Selling/trading in:
- 2002 Jeep Liberty Sport
- good condition; regularly maintained; no accidents
- 135,000 km (not a mistype!)

Prefer not to have hassle of selling privately, but maybe should reconsider then.

Yeah it is a hassle, but it won't hurt to throw it up on kijiji right now and see if you get any bites. Great time of year to sell a 4x4 in Calgary.

[Boblobla]

I sold my truck pretty painlessly on Kijiji for $6000 more than the dealer was willing to give me.

[mykalberta]

What did you take as payment for the vehicle - bank draft, cash?

Did you allow the buyers to take it for a test drive by themselves (taking a pic of their license and credit card etc) or did you go with them? Given what happened in Ontario and a few other places recently Ive wondered what people do these days when selling used cars.

[cral12]

Any suggestions on a fair asking price? (on my Jeep that is)