Howdy

So ive been looking the last week or two for the wife a nice preowned car, Found a few models we are interested in but here comes the problem.

None of the vehicles are in my town, I have jumped on the internet and found probably half a dozen or so within a 150 mile radius.. Thing i am noticing about this is it doesn't seem to work as a new vehicle. I'm Use to clicking on the ad and then email the internet sales dept and they would give me a pretty decent price compared to their advertised price then i make the descision on which dealer gave me a good deal and then make the trip there.

With the preowned they dont seem interested in doing this, just start getting alot of emails and phone ringing off the hook. I don't have all the time in the world to be talking to these people or driving to all the different places looking and dealing face to face.

Is there not as much negotiations on a preowned vehicle? Any suggestions to make this a little easier?

 

FRANKLY for the last 20 years or so, I'm getting a better deals on New cars (or cars that only a few months old) than on old ones! Prices on used cars around here are often higher than what it cost to buy the exact same car new! And insurance and interest are less on a new car and the reliability of the new cars is just incredible! Also MOST private party sellers are totally unrealistic about what their car is worth. I used to buy old cars cheap and with a lot of work I could keep them running for four or five years but I haven't bought a used car (except my antiques) since the 1980s. And now I'm keeping cars for 15 years or more. Most of them are still running well at that age but I'm tired of them and I usually just give them to someone that needs a car.

IMO it's not worth my time to deal with private sellers since their cars often have problems due to lack of maintenance or were lemons to begin with or they owe back payments on them, etc etc. AND the owners want for more than they're worth. Go to a car lot that WANTS to deal instead of a private party DREAMER that will only sell IF he can get a fat price.

PS I bought my 2010 F-150 with IIRC 6,000 miles from a car lot (Hyundai of all places!) when it was less than a year old and saved about $14,000 over what it would have cost to buy it new.

 

I think you'll find there is a lot more "funny money" to throw around with new cars because of dealer incentives, financing offers, etc. Also, keep in mind that the used vehicle market is REALLY hot right now for several reasons -- primarily pent-up demand from the economic downturn, combined with the fact that the bulk of the used vehicles on the market today were produced during the same economic downturn -- a time when new vehicle sales fell to record lows.

Low new vehicle sales leads directly to smaller-than-normal amounts of used vehicles on the market 4-5 years down the road -- basic supply-and-demand economic principles.

I think another thing coming into play here in Texas is the oil bust -- a lot of people who during normal times might have already sprung for a new vehicle are deciding to lay low and continue driving the "old reliable" vehicle they already have rather than taking out a 5-year note on something they don't really need. Again, another factor that eats into the supply of used cars and raises the prices of the cars that are out there.

As someone who spends most evenings surfing the internet looking at cars, the only good deals I see out there on the used market involve vehicles that are older than many folks are looking for and/or involve vehicles that have kind of fallen off the "radar screen of desirability" for most folks. Quite frankly, the cars you are looking at are the ones that everyone with a few extra dollars in their pocket want to own right now.....

 

The mark up on used vehicles is wayyyy high. I use to sell cars at a Ford dealership back in the mid '90's. The rules were:...Get the Buyer in the Door! Find out what they are looking for. Check their credit. If it's bad, sweep them out the door. If not, get them interested in a car on the lot and sell it to them. Never let a buyer walk out the door before talking to the GM or Finance Officer. The #1 rule was "Buyers are Liers". Today may be different because of the internet. I don't know how it is now, but back then selling used I made ALOT more money. Whether it was new or used, Trucks were the Bread and Butter vehicles. When it came to selling new, I had to sell so low to get the deal, and I hardly had any commission coming. People were harder to sell new back then. It was only if I was able to sell add-ons, and extended warranties that I made any real cash. As you might expect, most people shopped. Sometimes all I had to do was sell for $1.00 lower to beat another dealerships price. Used is where I made the most money. Unless somebody thought they were getting a Really Good Deal, they would try to walk. The mark up was real high on Used. So, if the Buyer thought I really was dropping the price they would usually buy. On New I rarely made more than a few hundred dollars. On used I could make several thousand. So I would say that the old rule still applies. "Get them in the Door".

 

Thanks fellas, i finally got a dealer to do some negotiating and we ended up at a good deal.

Going tomorrow and checking out a sunset orange 2014 edge.

 

Good luck.......

 

Coolness. Pics. please if you pick her up...

 

Something else that's making the used car market hot is Cash for Clunkers. That stupid plan took a lot of good vehicles off the market and made a big hole in the supply.

I sold my wife's 2002 Beetle yesterday. I put an ad on CL and within an hour I had three people wanting it. That night I had two different buyers looking at it at the same time with cash in hand! I got almost full asking price which I had set high to give myself some wiggle room. I couldn't believe how quickly it sold.

 

Drove 80 miles to pick it up today. 2014 edge Sel with leather, my ford touch and nav. Loving this color!

 

Not the color I was thinking of at all -- I was expecting burnt orange.....???

 

Shes red until the sun hits it then its burnt orange. Beautiful color. Same as my Kodiak brown

Its going in for wlnder tint and some floor liners tomorrow. Ill get a pic out in the direct sun

 

Very nice!