Car buying experiences

[treehugger]

I have been assisting 3 friends purchase cars in the last few weeks. So far, we have a brand new Mazda C9 7 passenger fully loaded with the game of Costco played with Carlsbad Mazda Dealer who met that price and had desired vehicle on the lot vs waiting for Costco dealer to order and deliver. Seemed like a great deal and easy.

Drove to Santa Monica on Saturday to assist with purchase of a BMW 328 i, certified used, fully loaded with both sport and performance packages, 16000 miles. They did NOT want to budge from internet price. We wandered off to “think” and they called the second we left the lot dropping a whopping $200. We kept driving, went got lunch, wandered the promenade, they call again with the “fact” that someone else is interested in this car and would hate to see her lose a great deal….my friend got emotionally attached to the vehicle and we went back to dealership with a negotiated $300 dollare price drop on a $28,000 USED car.

Currently shopping for another friend who is undecided (read unemotional in her car choice, just wants a reliable car for a great bargain) as to whether she wants Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and on whether to purchase new vs used. There is a tremendous amount of inventory out there….I am e-mailing dealers and sharing the results I receive with them. Basically playing them against each other to see who will give me the best deal. Pretty easy for us to review the choices and not wasting my time or dealers wandering around their lots and hearing how they are actually going to lose money on this deal…..

[donaldduckmoore]

Are they willing to cut below the invoice price? I guess my question is do we still have to care about their invoice price? What type of the car has a better price cut, barely used or brand new car?

[donaldduckmoore]

Are they willing to cut below the invoice price? I guess my question is do we still have to care about their invoice price? What type of the car has a better price cut, barely used or brand new car?

[donaldduckmoore]

Are they willing to cut below the invoice price? I guess my question is do we still have to care about their invoice price? What type of the car has a better price cut, barely used or brand new car?

[donaldduckmoore]

Are they willing to cut below the invoice price? I guess my question is do we still have to care about their invoice price? What type of the car has a better price cut, barely used or brand new car?

[donaldduckmoore]

Are they willing to cut below the invoice price? I guess my question is do we still have to care about their invoice price? What type of the car has a better price cut, barely used or brand new car?

[Anonymous]

How does the “Costco” price compare with Invoice price?

[Anonymous]

How does the “Costco” price compare with Invoice price?

[Anonymous]

How does the “Costco” price compare with Invoice price?

[Anonymous]

How does the “Costco” price compare with Invoice price?

[Anonymous]

How does the “Costco” price compare with Invoice price?

[sdduuuude]

I’d say it’s pretty close unless you buy used from a private party. The dealers mark those used cars up quite a bit now (the ones with the 100 point inspection, certified and all that.)

When I bought my Accord 2 years ago, there were actually certifed used vehicles with 30K miles on them that had higher asking prices than the new price I paid.

Pre-tax price on the car was about 19,500.

I found a couple used ones from private parties for 15K or 16K with 30K miles on them, and lots of used ones with 30K miles or more from private parties in the 17K – 19K range, and several used ones from dealers in the 17K-21K range.

So, I went new. I had a similar experience recently when I was looking (never bought) for a Mazda3. I’d say buy new or buy used from a private party, but that’s me. Buying used from a dealer seems oddly overpriced in my experience.

October is a better time to buy. Wait for 2010 models to come out, then shop for a new 2009.

[sdduuuude]

I’d say it’s pretty close unless you buy used from a private party. The dealers mark those used cars up quite a bit now (the ones with the 100 point inspection, certified and all that.)

When I bought my Accord 2 years ago, there were actually certifed used vehicles with 30K miles on them that had higher asking prices than the new price I paid.

Pre-tax price on the car was about 19,500.

I found a couple used ones from private parties for 15K or 16K with 30K miles on them, and lots of used ones with 30K miles or more from private parties in the 17K – 19K range, and several used ones from dealers in the 17K-21K range.

So, I went new. I had a similar experience recently when I was looking (never bought) for a Mazda3. I’d say buy new or buy used from a private party, but that’s me. Buying used from a dealer seems oddly overpriced in my experience.

October is a better time to buy. Wait for 2010 models to come out, then shop for a new 2009.

[sdduuuude]

I’d say it’s pretty close unless you buy used from a private party. The dealers mark those used cars up quite a bit now (the ones with the 100 point inspection, certified and all that.)

When I bought my Accord 2 years ago, there were actually certifed used vehicles with 30K miles on them that had higher asking prices than the new price I paid.

Pre-tax price on the car was about 19,500.

I found a couple used ones from private parties for 15K or 16K with 30K miles on them, and lots of used ones with 30K miles or more from private parties in the 17K – 19K range, and several used ones from dealers in the 17K-21K range.

So, I went new. I had a similar experience recently when I was looking (never bought) for a Mazda3. I’d say buy new or buy used from a private party, but that’s me. Buying used from a dealer seems oddly overpriced in my experience.

October is a better time to buy. Wait for 2010 models to come out, then shop for a new 2009.

[sdduuuude]

I’d say it’s pretty close unless you buy used from a private party. The dealers mark those used cars up quite a bit now (the ones with the 100 point inspection, certified and all that.)

When I bought my Accord 2 years ago, there were actually certifed used vehicles with 30K miles on them that had higher asking prices than the new price I paid.

Pre-tax price on the car was about 19,500.

I found a couple used ones from private parties for 15K or 16K with 30K miles on them, and lots of used ones with 30K miles or more from private parties in the 17K – 19K range, and several used ones from dealers in the 17K-21K range.

So, I went new. I had a similar experience recently when I was looking (never bought) for a Mazda3. I’d say buy new or buy used from a private party, but that’s me. Buying used from a dealer seems oddly overpriced in my experience.

October is a better time to buy. Wait for 2010 models to come out, then shop for a new 2009.

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