Buying a Used Vehicle

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by nik-

So did you buy the car?

Not going to, I really don't want to add new debt, my car is a 2017, and I don't drive much, I have less then 25k on it mileage wise.


I mean the new cars are really sexy, but sexy isn't enough.



I'm also just getting into the running my own thing Less then 6 months, I don't need to take the risk.


Plus, and I hate to say it because my overall dealings with Hyundai have been very good, I felt completely over pressured when I was there.

[vegasbound]

I just bought a vehicle from an absolute scummy dealership. Made me not want to hand over the money. I probably dealt with the least scummiest guy and he was still not great. They didn't pressure me to buy right then and there (used vehicle, paying cash) but yikes. This is after a absolutely wonderful experience 6 weeks ago at a different dealership so this whole thing today just made me shake my head.

[Voodooman]

Just to wrap this up, we did end up purchasing a vehicle through Northland VW, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend that any of you do the same. Pylon and his team were friendly, professional and it didn’t feel high pressure for a second. My wife is pleased both with the vehicle she chose and how easy the whole experience was.

Thanks Pylon, your assistance was greatly appreciated, as was the CP good guy deal.

[Voodooman]

Originally Posted by boogerz

The only positive dealer experience I've had was at Valentine Volvo. Didn't go in expecting to buy a car (just wanted to test drive one), but almost walked out as an S60 owner. Super low pressure sales guy... he practically let the car sell itself

I wanted to second this as well. Even though they are the only Volvo game in town, Valentine has always been so, so great to deal with. I’ve bought 3 XC60’s from them, and been super happy each time. If you are in the middle-end SUV market, make sure to check Volvo out.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Voodooman

Just to wrap this up, we did end up purchasing a vehicle through Northland VW, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend that any of you do the same. Pylon and his team were friendly, professional and it didn’t feel high pressure for a second. My wife is pleased both with the vehicle she chose and how easy the whole experience was.

Thanks Pylon, your assistance was greatly appreciated, as was the CP good guy deal.

Much appreciated, glad we could help. Dealing with a super nice customer makes it much easier as well.

Originally Posted by Voodooman

I wanted to second this as well. Even though they are the only Volvo game in town, Valentine has always been so, so great to deal with. I’ve bought 3 XC60’s from them, and been super happy each time. If you are in the middle-end SUV market, make sure to check Volvo out.

No arguments there either. They have an impeccable reputation, and the recent passing of Ted Valentine was a big blow to the local dealership community. He was truly one of the good guys in the business.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by boogerz

The only positive dealer experience I've had was at Valentine Volvo. Didn't go in expecting to buy a car (just wanted to test drive one), but almost walked out as an S60 owner. Super low pressure sales guy... he practically let the car sell itself

I'm the same. Valentine was really good to deal with. We bought a v90 Cross Country. We started looking at the xc60 but wasn't sure if it would fit our gear for a ski weekend. They let us bring it home overnight so we could test it out. It was a little too small so we did the same with an xc90, which was more than enough. But then a conversation on CP got me looking at the wagons and we fell in love with the Cross Country. Valentine, just took everything in stride. It took me 4 months to make up my mind (I was looking at other brands as well) and they just let me do the process at my pace. Whenever I had questions, they were more than happy to help.

[CaptainCrunch]

I can vouch for Pylon as well, I really enjoyed dealing with him and his team.

[Table 5]

I had such a good first experience with Valentine, it basically led to the purchase of 4 other Volvos within our extended family over the next couple of years. It’s funny what a no-BS sales experience can lead to.

[Voodooman]

Originally Posted by bossy22

I'm the same. Valentine was really good to deal with. We bought a v90 Cross Country. We started looking at the xc60 but wasn't sure if it would fit our gear for a ski weekend. They let us bring it home overnight so we could test it out. It was a little too small so we did the same with an xc90, which was more than enough. But then a conversation on CP got me looking at the wagons and we fell in love with the Cross Country. Valentine, just took everything in stride. It took me 4 months to make up my mind (I was looking at other brands as well) and they just let me do the process at my pace. Whenever I had questions, they were more than happy to help.

I hear you. When I bought the last XC60, they had this gorgeous light Aqua blue V60 cross country wagon sitting in the showroom. I drove it twice, and almost pulled the trigger, but couldn’t swallow the sizeable chunk of additional cash. Richard just waited for me to figure it out, and we placed the order once I came to my senses.

Next Volvo, factory delivery for sure. I’ve heard great things about the experience.

[bizaro86]

I've been tentatively looking at SUVs for awhile now. I've previously bought new, but am thinking about doing a 1 or 2 year old one. Lots of dealers appear to have a number of 1 year old vehicles in inventory.

Is it reasonable to assume these are rental fleet sales? I can't imagine ever buying a new vehicle and then selling it a year later - I would have a hard time getting over the time and money lost.

[nik-]

But we can all agree that Polestar is a dumb name for Volvo's performance models right?

Sounds like a stripper.

[speede5]

I have a question for Pylon, 4 square is enough to make me walk out the door but I also have a problem with the dealership charging document fees. Since when does a customer have to pay for the dealership to write a receipt. I've seen this fee as high as $700 and I think its a total gouge. I have a friend who defends it, saying how else is the finance manger supposed to get paid (she works at a dealership and sees who gets commision on what).

They already get the PDI and I am ok with a % of markup as they deserve to make money selling a product. Plus I am also the kind of customer who would return for service so it's not like they wont get their pound of flesh.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by nik-

But we can all agree that Polestar is a dumb name for Volvo's performance models right?

Sounds like a stripper.

The name wouldn’t dissuade me, they are great looking cars. Polestars being made in China, and not Sweden, would though.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by speede5

I have a question for Pylon, 4 square is enough to make me walk out the door but I also have a problem with the dealership charging document fees. Since when does a customer have to pay for the dealership to write a receipt. I've seen this fee as high as $700 and I think its a total gouge. I have a friend who defends it, saying how else is the finance manger supposed to get paid (she works at a dealership and sees who gets commision on what).

They already get the PDI and I am ok with a % of markup as they deserve to make money selling a product. Plus I am also the kind of customer who would return for service so it's not like they wont get their pound of flesh.

You should negotiate the total out-the-door price. If they want to call it $2 for the car and a $29,997 happy car buying fee that doesn't really matter, imo.

[Poster]

I usually offer to offset my “purchase enablement fee” that I charge dealers when I make a car purchase. They often are confused but I tell them I have to take time to come to the dealership, talk to my bank, call my insurance company, and get my items prepared in the new vehicle.

It never works but it makes me feel good.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

I've been tentatively looking at SUVs for awhile now. I've previously bought new, but am thinking about doing a 1 or 2 year old one. Lots of dealers appear to have a number of 1 year old vehicles in inventory.

Is it reasonable to assume these are rental fleet sales? I can't imagine ever buying a new vehicle and then selling it a year later - I would have a hard time getting over the time and money lost.

We’ve never had an issue buying a 1-3 yr old vehicle. Of course you still need to check the Carfax and history, and ideally get another inspection done. The problem buying this from a dealership might be you never see the garage history for “privacy reasons”.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by RichieRich

We’ve never had an issue buying a 1-3 yr old vehicle. Of course you still need to check the Carfax and history, and ideally get another inspection done. The problem buying this from a dealership might be you never see the garage history for “privacy reasons”.

Ha! I was all ready to buy a car a few years ago, like fully ready to pull the trigger but the carfax showed an accident with a major repair.

The repair was done by the dealer I was buying from. They told me for privacy reasons they couldn’t tell me what they fixed. I laughed in their faces and asked since when did cars have privacy rights?I offered them several thousand less, they balked so I walked.

I bought somewhere else, a much better car for a much better deal, the following weekend. Funny enough about an hour after I got home from buying the other car, they called and said they’d meet my price.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

You should negotiate the total out-the-door price. If they want to call it $2 for the car and a $29,997 happy car buying fee that doesn't really matter, imo.

I did this on a truck I bought a few years ago, just said I will write a check for x and I don't care how they write it up. It worked but it was a cheaper used vehicle not a new car.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by speede5

I did this on a truck I bought a few years ago, just said I will write a check for x and I don't care how they write it up. It worked but it was a cheaper used vehicle not a new car.

I bought my last new vehicle using this plan. We actually negotiated it by phone/text, and brought in the certified cheque after we had everything agreed. When we went in to sign they had it broken down with all sorts of fees and taxes (doc, amvic, nitrogen, and maybe one or two others) but the total was what we had agreed and it was a good price all-in.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Ha! I was all ready to buy a car a few years ago, like fully ready to pull the trigger but the carfax showed an accident with a major repair.
The repair was done by the dealer I was buying from. They told me for privacy reasons they couldn’t tell me what they fixed. I laughed in their faces and asked since when did cars have privacy rights?I offered them several thousand less, they balked so I walked.
I bought somewhere else, a much better car for a much better deal, the following weekend. Funny enough about an hour after I got home from buying the other car, they called and said they’d meet my price.

Our current SUV had a major repair prior to us buying but gave me all the photos and I could see what was done. I also had a full mechanical inspection done. It's been almost 2 years and no issues so hopefully this continues as we got a significant price reduction.

A previous almost-bought vehicle... they promised no accidents or issues and yeah the history showed it had actually been written off. At that point I said gimme my deposit back and I'll leave otherwise you have a big problem. Got my deposit and off I went...
Like any business the idea is to sell for maximum profit and the consumers goal is minimum outlay. It shouldn't get personal but it does.