I'm going car shopping on Saturday, any advice?

My mom is loaning me the money so there’ll be no financing and no trade-in. I’ll be essentially paying cash for the car.

I’ve know exactly what I want in terms of make, model, year, mileage and I know what the blue book value is on that particular vehicle. (2002 or newer Honda Odyssey, less than 50K miles any color other than gold) I do have plan B and C picked out in case they don’t have a suitable Honda (B-Toyota Sienna, C-Nissan Quest) I really need a minivan for the cargo space.

My mom knows a salesman (in that he sold her a car last year) at a local Toyota dealership and he called me today and told me they’re having one of those big tent sales of used vehicles out at the mall by my house. I told him I’d pay him a visit on Saturday afternoon with my husband. Mom aka money bags (she loves it when I call her that) will not be with us. I talked to this guy before and he assured me that if I found the car I wanted mom could come in later and pay for it.

What should I look for? I signed up for Carfax so I can get the carfax report on it but how do I do that while I’m at the dealership? I don’t suppose they’ll have a wifi hotspot set up.

Should I take it to my mechanic and have him check it out? Will they let me do that?

I’m not really worried so much about getting a lemon as I am about paying too much. Are the Kelly Blue Book Retail and Private buyer prices fairly accurate in terms of what I can expect to pay?

In the past I’ve shopped for cars by the “how much monthly payment can I afford” method which I understand is not the smart thing to do so I’m arming myself with as much information as I can this time.

Any and all advice, anecdotal evidence, funny stories, “car deals gone bad” stories and anything else you care to share with me is welcome. Thank you.

Always be willing to walk away.

Check you local classifieds before you go, so as to get a feel for the price locally. Compare it with the Blue Book value and determine your target price range.

Paying cash should be a good bargaining chip. Don’t tell the dealer you’re going to pay cash right away. Discuss price, and when you’ve got a feel for how low he/she is willing to go, then say “So how much less if I pay cash.” The salesperson probably won’t even expect it, especially given the year/model/miles of the auto you’re considering.

In my experience, if you are paying cash, buy from a private seller rather than going through a dealer. You’re liable to get a much better price and not as likely to get lied to. I’d personally never go near a dealership unless I had to finance. Lucky you!
Check autotrader.com, or the paper, or craigslist.
If you see something you really like, nothing wrong with going way, using your computer to check carfax, and coming back. Never be in a hurry to buy a car…if you’re at a dealer you can go online there, I’d imagine. They’re online.

The answer, from what I gather, will be “absolutely nothing.” Car dealerships make lots of money on financing, and aren’t particularly interested in giving a discount for cash.

I wouldn’t be to impressed with the tent sale. It’s probably not a bad way to look around, but I’d be wary of any pressure to buy that day before you can do your homework. After all, they sell used cars every day.

First, don’t use Kelly Blue Book. It is put together by the guys selling the cars. Use NADA to get a better idea of the value. Also, check your bank and ask what the loan value is for the vehicle. That is often a good indicator of the deal they are offering.
Remember, the salesman is NOT your buddy. He is NOT on your side. You are on opposite sides of this struggle. His goal is to get as much as he can and your’s is to pay as little as you can get away with.
I agree with the earlier post saying to buy from an individual if possible. Ignore the stereo, the wheels, etc. Look at the tires, the brake pedal pad, the drivers seat material . Lots of wear is a bad indicator. Check the mileage vs. the year. The math should be about 1200-1300 miles per year for average use.
Is it a local car? Northern cars often have rust underneath due to road salts in winter. Look under the hood. Look for leaks or stains were leaks have been recently cleaned off. Sins of regular maintenence of neglect.
Run you finger around the inside of the exhaust pipe. It should be fairly dry with some black soot. If it is oily, this is a very bad sign.
Go to each corner of the vehicle and bounce the shocks several times and then watch to see how long it continues to bounce when you stop. It should go back up, down and stop if the shocks are good. If it keeps bouncing several times, they are shot.
Don’t be in a hurry. You have the advantage of many more cars being available than buyers.
Good luck and let us know what happens.

Remember that as a result of Katrina and its aftermath (to say nothing of other hurricanes or other types of natural disasters involving water) there are potentially a lot of cars that suffered water damage that someone is trying to sell, possibly without revealing the water damage.

Take your time. Don’t let the sale ending at 6 pm, and its 5:30 now force you to pick quickly. Don’t let pressure to buy a car, any car now so that you have one on Monday force you to pick quickly. A bad choice will leave you with less money and a car needing money for expensive maintainance.

A friend of my mother just bought a car which has sand in the engine-- due to flooding in Florida, or maybe Louisiana. She bought it too quickly, and disregarded the musty smell–which should have been her first clue that it had water damage, including engine damage she didn’t know about until it was too late.

Don’t be female. If you are female, and

the dealer ignores you;
or
the first thing the dealer asks you is “What color car would you like?”;
or
the dealer says, “So hun, who do you need to consult to make this decision?”;
or
you drive/inspect the car, find something that makes you suspicious and the dealer responds with: “it’s okay, it’s supposed to be like that.”

Walk away, and find another dealer.

Sorry for not checking back until this morning. I had a date last night with some scones (my baking assignment for this morning’s St. Patty’s day festivities here at work). The scones are delicious and I swear I’m going to stop eating them now.

Big_Norse Thanks for the advice. I am female and have experienced exactly what you mention. I’m taking my husband, the cynical New Yorker, with me. He’ll be the first one to look at the guy and say “what are you talking to me for? It’s her car.”

SmellMyWort We are willing to walk away. I have a driveable vehicle. We’re not in a hurry and I refuse to be pressured. I know my price and if the dealer can’t meet that he won’t have a sale.

bonobo_jonesI have to agree with you there and we may end up going that route. But my mom has dealt with this guy and feels like she ‘knows’ him so she wants to give him a shot. I’m not completely opposed to that.

nic2004 I didn’t know that about Kelly Blue Book. I will check out the site you mentioned. Thanks for the other items you mentioned. I wouldn’t have thought to check those things.

Eureka I had not thought about that possibility. Thanks for mentioning it.

Dag Otto and **Walrus[b/] Thank you for your comments. I’m hoping that if I go into this armed to the teeth with information I’ll be able to get a reasonably good deal.

You’ve all been very helpful. Thanks a bunch

Glad to here you’ve got a cynical New Yorker on the team, that’s just what every car shopper needs!

I’m very happy about that. And he’s cute too!

He’s not terribly inclined to buy from a dealer so we’re looking at this as more of a window shopping, test driving expedition before we buy the mini van of my dreams from a broker or private seller.

and how pathetic is it that there is a “mini van of my dreams” I need to get a life…really

Girl, you have scones. What more do you need? :smiley:
Good luck this weekend.

Shouldn’t that be 12,000-13,000?

avoid ford motor company vehicles, after all…

Ford = Found On Road Dead
Ford = Fix Or Repair Daily
Ford (backwards) Driver Returns On Foot

my first “car” was an '88 Escort, the “Murphy’s Lawmobile”, you name it, it broke…

i know my bad experience with one ford vehicle is statistically insignificant, and that the '80s were not a particularly good time for American cars, and other people have had good luck with their ford products, but i’m hesitant to trust ford products again…