hello.

I'll be going into a Toyota dealer tomororw morning to check on this used car. My GF's bro wants it. I got a few questions before I leave:

1) Can you bargain on the price on a used car? Everyone knows you can on a new car, but what about a used car? What is usually the discount? It's better to get close to invoice or under invoice for new cars, but what about used cars? match it to KBB price?

2) Can I trade in cars for used cars?

thanks guys!

 

ray,

used cars usually have higher profit margin than the new ones. and each used car has it own uniquness. the bottomline is to find one that you like, depends on what you value is the best quuality and the most important criteria..ie, price, mileage, paint..

on used car purchase, if you can get the final price at ~asking price out the door, including tax/license, you do ok..yes, dealers will make some $$$ of you, but it is normal as they are in it to make a living. plus, you also need to factor in the "re-con" cost that a dealer usually do; well, the reputable ones at least.

you can also trade-in a car/cars for a used car. BUT, keep in mind your used trade-ins will be used to make $$$ when they sell the car to the next buyer..if you want the best trade-ins, sell it yourself, then it may take 2 days, or 2 months, which goes to the same for the dealer who buy your car, it is an investment/risk they are willing to take in hope to make some $$$ later on...heck, you do not expect the dealers really has all the "free bottled water" falling from the sky, right??

 

in addition to the good advice Will gave you, id like to stress that, unless its a rare car/variation of the car (think blk/blk 5spd sc3 or something), you shouldnt have to pay blue book value for any used car. look up the kbb value before you head into the dealership. if theyre asking at or above kbb retail value, it better be worth it - ask about what they do to recondition the cars they take in. The better places will make sure the its been tuned up, has fresh oil/fluids, the belts and tires are in good shape, etc.

at this point, though, kbb seems to be used as more of an upper limit reference. there *should* be enough local options that you can find several similar cars for less than kbb value. however, how much you can haggle off the price can vary widely - i bought a $10k car for $7500 off the dealership lot with a little negotiating, but another dealership wouldn't even cut me $500 off of a $8500 car. It all depends on what they spent to get the car and how much demand they think is out there for it. just like a new car, if its hot and demanded, you wont get much of a discount (dodge recently offered some pretty nice incentives across their entire lineup...except for the viper).

anyway, these are just general tips when buying used. what car is it anyway?

 

thanks alot Will and Kyle! Those are great info, and I'm sure I can take advantage of those advices!

the car is a 98 N/A Supra It's rare but not as desirable as TT Supras.

 

Some good info there for ya Ray. Since Ive known you for a while Im gonna PM you some more info that may help the purchase, the Black Book value and the MMR(Manheim Market Report) value

 

got your PM. thanks a bunch!

 

1) yes you can bargain, definitely do that. when i bought my old old camry, i bargain quite a bit actaully.

2) and yes you can trade in, though if you want the best return you should sell the car yourself

 

thanks henry

hey guys my GF's bro bought it. Although the price isn't the best IMO, they gave him pretty good value on the very poor condition trade-in so I guess I'm ok.

thanks for all the help.

 

well at least you guys also saved the hassle, not bad