Toddly,
It does take practice, but it actually ends up being much less stressful than the take it or leave it approach, even if it lasts a bit longer.
Just remember:
1: Let them negotiate against themselves
2: Let the car negotiate for you
3: Then, you negotiate
One thing to remember: NEVER buy a car that has been in an accident or flood (CARFAX is your friend here). Many times, accident repairs leave a car permanently weakened, and these cars have actually fallen apart on the highway!
Give any car a good looking…you can determine a lot by noting repainting or doors that do not properly close. Also, by all means, payba competent mechanic $100 for a comprehensive check-it will save you a lot of money!
I only have a few minutes now.
• Used car dealers are by and large more interested in moving inventory than squeezing the maximum amount of profit out of an individual car;
• Dealers are professional negotiators, and I’d much rather deal with such
• Dealers do know the market value of the car, and as such you can ride 'em right to the bottom line and they really don’t care that much
• Private sellers are often misinformed about market value (usually on the high side, partially for the reason I gave above, partially out of personal involvement)
• I’d hardly describe your average private seller as being driven by a desire “to help the buyer get the best car for their needs.”
• Dealers have it all over private sellers in terms of small fixes, potential warranties and handling of the transaction
• I didn’t mention it before, but if you need it, financing will be much easier through a dealer. It’ll cost you, but it’s well nigh an impossible thing to accomplish with a private seller who’s not a relative.
• How long will it take you to check out 20 cars through 20 private sellers versus 2 or 3 dealers?
I’ll stand byu what I said, saramamlana. IMHO, on average, you’re going to have better luck shopping for a used car through dealers than you will shopping the private sellers. I’m not saying that you can’t possibly get a better deal from a private seller, just that it’s not likely. And, you don’t want to spend a month looking for that better deal, either. Start on the 'net tomorrow and be riding away from the dealer’s lot this Monday.
Good luck!
Wow, thank you all so much for all your advice. I was looking only at private sellers, but “20 cars through 20 private sellers versus 2 or 3 dealers?” is a really really good point, especially since I don’t have a car of my own to begin with.
I’m planning on bringing my dad along with me whenever I start really pursuing this. We have a joke in my family about my dad making car salesmen ‘cry’, so it’d be good to have him around to make sure his little girl don’t get screwed over. :j
I recently bought a used car via a dealer.
Went to two dealers and looked seriously at 1 car each. I was astonished that the first serious price they offered was 25% off the number on the window. Egad. But it was also near the last day of their selling month (June 2 or so). They wanted to sell now. There is a lot of bargaining room on these cars.
The car we got had some minor trim issues, we don’t care about that, so we got a really nice deal on a 2 year Corolla.
The $65 we spent on having our mechanic check it out was worth every penny. (Needed new windshield wipers and air filter. Sweet.)
Watch out for cars that are selling for a lot less than you’d expect. That’s not to say there may not be a valid reason (moving and can’t take it with them, owner recently passed away and the family is just eager to get rid of the car, wife pissed at ex or cheating husband {remember that $20 car commercial, told as a Darryl Waltrip story for Route 66 jeans?}, horrible industrial accident makes driving impossible, etc.), but there often isn’t.
If what you figure should be a $5000 car is selling for $2000, you really need to find out why.