Buying a Used Vehicle

[Voodooman]

I looked for an older thread, but didn’t see anything that matched my question...

We need to get a second vehicle, something in the lines of a midsize AWD SUV, like a Toureg, Tucson, RAV4, Forester or similar. Thinking 2015 or newer, less than 100,000 km, and from the research so far, looks like the budget will be in the $15 - 20K range.

My primary question is how much wiggle room on price do you think there will generally be, given the current market. We’ll be paying cash. Thinking of starting the search on some dealer lots, as I just don’t know if I have the patience for Autotrader or Kijiji. I can deal with car sales guys, but the private sale stuff sort of puts me off. I know we might likely find a better deal privately, but that is something I’m willing to pay for.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated. I looked at lease busters, but think I would rather just buy pre-owned.

[burn_this_city]

I don't know what about private sale turns you off. I wouldn't for a million years buy a car off a used lot. Those cars come from auction vs buying from the first/second owner who can provide real details about ownership history. No one trades in a car to Al's Used Lot.

[Voodooman]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I don't know what about private sale turns you off. I wouldn't for a million years buy a car off a used lot. Those cars come from auction vs buying from the first/second owner who can provide real details about ownership history. No one trades in a car to Al's Used Lot.

No, I wouldn’t buy from any of those private lots either, thinking more about the dealerships. But I appreciate the perspective about private sale, and will do more research.

[flames_fan_down_under]

I would look into certified pre-owned from dealerships then, typically some warranty left over that will offset the small premium you will pay for not buying privately.

I test drove about 10 or so cars at dealerships before I found what I wanted. Best thing about Covid is that you test drive the vehicle by yourself, no dealer to make unnecessary small talk with while they drone on about heated seats etc.

Don't tell the dealer your price range.
Don't tell the dealer what you do for a living.
Come in with an idea of what you want and know what it's value is. They will lie about the original MSRP of the car etc to make it seem like you're getting a deal.
Typically you want to cut 8-12% of the asking price, unless if its a Toyota then I doubt there will be much wiggle room.
When you buy the car tell them you want all weather mats, cargo cover, full tank of gas etc at no charge before you sign off on the deal.

That's all i can think of.

[blankall]

I would attempt to buy a car still under original factory or certified pre-owned warranty if you can. Obviously, going to be a more expensive option, but I like the piece of mind. But yeah, only from a dealership.

[mrkajz44]

The one thing about dealerships is they try to tack on extra costs that are basically nothing but profit. If you are negotiation the price, stand firm on no extra fees - you can usually get out of most (or all) of them.

One time they tried to charge me a $500 admin fee and had zero explanation as to what that covered. The bumbling salesman said it was for office supplies, etc. as if it cost $500 to print out the sale agreement. SMH

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

The one thing about dealerships is they try to tack on extra costs that are basically nothing but profit. If you are negotiation the price, stand firm on no extra fees - you can usually get out of most (or all) of them.

One time they tried to charge me a $500 admin fee and had zero explanation as to what that covered. The bumbling salesman said it was for office supplies, etc. as if it cost $500 to print out the sale agreement. SMH

You should always negotiate a care on out the door price. Doesn’t matter what it’s broken down as after that.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

Don't tell the dealer your price range.
Don't tell the dealer what you do for a living.

These are very good points, you could always say you have a lower paying job than what you currently have too. When i bought my last vehicle (motorcycle on consignment) I told the dealer I had a price in mind I would buy it for and that I'm not haggling, if they hit my price I would be in the next day for a test drive and have a cheque in hand. They came back about 15% lower than their original ask.

[lazypucker]

My own Kijiji car selling experience, not matter how much you list your car, people will call you and ask if we can have a deal for $5K, cash in hand....

So if you don't mind taking a little gamble (you can always paid for an inspection as well), Kijiji is actually a good place for a car buyer. Facebook Marketplace too. Also, those places are flooded with used car dealer ads anyways, so those are good places to look at...

[Nufy]

I just went through this looking for a car for my son.

My budget was a bit smaller than yours so the experience may be different...

Facebook marketplace was a disaster if fake accounts and used car lots from east Calgary selling their stock as privately owned.

You ask to see a vehicle and you would either not get a response or 1 one two word reply pointing you to the used car lot.

Something that said slight hail damage could have been sponsored by Titleist or Nike they were so bad.

I read that with Covid the used car market is thin because there aren't many new cars available or that people just can't afford new cars right now...

My budget was sub 10K...

Might be different when working with a higher number.

Good Luck.

[pylon]

I’m a used car manager at a reputable local dealer.

The tide has shifted from ‘buy private’ to ‘buy at a dealer’ in The last decade. There are just too many risks going private unless you are really dialed in for what to look for. I’m a pro, and appraise 1000+ cars a year, and the odd car still falls through the cracks and I miss something big and it ends up being a total dumpster fire.

Reading your list of cars..... I’m a VW guy, but a used Touareg in that price range, I’d avoid. They are an awesome truck, but if it’s out of warranty, you’re basically paying Porsche Cayenne prices for servicing.

Shoot me a PM and I can see what I can do to help. I might have a few in stock that might interest you and I can line up a CP good guy deal like I have for a lot of members here. Also bear in mind, the used car market is on fire right now, and prices are a bit on the high side. 10-15% higher on average both wholesale and retail. There’s a myriad of factors fueling this right now, but that’s a different discussion.

My inventory is here: northland-VW.ca

If you need an opinion on something you are looking at elsewhere, I can offer an opinion too.

No
Matter what you do, the golden rule on a used car is, no Carfax, no deal.

[Voodooman]

Thanks Pylon, I’ll be in touch for sure. I was actually looking at something on your lot.

And I’m a moron, because I typed Toureg instead of Tiguan. We are definitely looking more in the midsize Tiguan range.

[btimbit]

^pylon is a great dude, you can trust his word on this kind of stuff

[lucky1]

Hey Pylons back! I bought a beautiful used GTI from him some years back, he’s pure class

[ricosuave]

There is a guy who sells carfax reports on ebay for $15 each. ive used him a couple of times without issue. If you end up finding a car you like without one.

Just sayin...

[cupofjoe]

Just bought a 2018 Mazda 6 Signature privately with 50k at $18,000 off what she paid new at the dealership. On top of this, she included an extra set of nice 19" rims with winters, she had the undercoat rust proofing, 3M film on the front and winter mats which is worth around ~$4K on top of the this.

Clean carfax, and she had all the service records.

There are some really good buys on the used market, you have to research, and due your homework.

Here is a good link to help price used cars:

https://www.cargurus.ca/Cars/instantMarketValue.action

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by lucky1

Hey Pylons back! I bought a beautiful used GTI from him some years back, he’s pure class

Want.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

I would look into certified pre-owned from dealerships then, typically some warranty left over that will offset the small premium you will pay for not buying privately.

I test drove about 10 or so cars at dealerships before I found what I wanted. Best thing about Covid is that you test drive the vehicle by yourself, no dealer to make unnecessary small talk with while they drone on about heated seats etc.

Don't tell the dealer your price range.
Don't tell the dealer what you do for a living.
Come in with an idea of what you want and know what it's value is. They will lie about the original MSRP of the car etc to make it seem like you're getting a deal.
Typically you want to cut 8-12% of the asking price, unless if its a Toyota then I doubt there will be much wiggle room.
When you buy the car tell them you want all weather mats, cargo cover, full tank of gas etc at no charge before you sign off on the deal.

That's all i can think of.

Ugh.... "left over" warranty transfers whether you buy new or private. Certified pre owned offrers very little in most cases.

"Come in with an idea of what you want", says the guy who test drove 10 cars. The sales person typically doesn't give a fat rat what you do for a living, it just hepls with the small talk an investigating that you are on the right vehicle.

Written like someone who has bought one vehicle in their life....

I too would stay away from the used corner/ curber lots. They get a portion of their vehicles from dealers as they won't pass anything more then a safety inspection. And remember, safety inspection is not the same as a mechanical inspection which is more in depth and what a brand name store would typically put their vehicles through.

With buying private their are two potential risks. The biggest is their being a lien on the vehicle, meaning it is not paid off pr it has been and it has not been released, which is common... A lien check can be done through CarFax. Of course the basic CarFax will also have accident claims provided they went through insurance. Be leery of a CarFax that has estimates but no claim, in some cases this means they just paid cash for the repairs rather then go through insurance, or mean they know a guy who knows guy who does "work on the side". The benefit is no GST and no fees so you'd be saving $1000 in tax and $500 in fees.

Cash is not advantage to you on a used vehicle, in fact you are likely to get a better deal when you finance, don't be upfront about paying cash. And pricing is quite rigid, the internet makes car pricing fairly fixed across the board. And the current market is strong on trucks and SUV's. In your price range there's going to be $1000ish in negotiation.

Also make sure you are dealing with a dealer who posts the pricing, this is the number one sign you are dealing with a shady dealer, no pricing anywhere... And if they pull out the 4 square, get up and walk out. Don't buy anything with body damage. It's not "$100 to pop that dent out" if ti was that cheap the dealer would've fixed it. I can go on, fell free to pm me with any questions.

[Erick Estrada]

If anyone ever receives the 4-Square treatment at any dealership the above advice is correct. Immediately leave regardless of how attached you are to the vehicle as it's designed to deceive buyers into thinking they are getting a good deal when they are actually getting ripped off. Any dealer that uses this method cannot be trusted.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

If anyone ever receives the 4-Square treatment at any dealership the above advice is correct. Immediately leave regardless of how attached you are to the vehicle as it's designed to deceive buyers into thinking they are getting a good deal when they are actually getting ripped off. Any dealer that uses this method cannot be trusted.

Exactly. Every single vehicle purchase should be negotiated on out the door price including taxes.