Used Cars- Dealer or Private Sale
We may start looking for a used car soon and wonder what the experts think about buying a used car from a dealer where you have some kind of warranty or buying privately when you generally have no warranty. Just looking for something to think about.
Bessie 
I loved my Toyota corolla bought it certified pre owned from Toyota in ledgewood. I had 2 problems with it the lighting n a trans problem both where fixed at no charge no deductible
http://www.toyotacertified.com/warranty.html
I would not buy private
shoebie What's the budget Bessie? 2011s are coming out soon so you can probably get a new 2010 cheap and possibly low or no multi-year financing?
Jay Bessie, you're usually going to pay more for a car at a dealer, certified or otherwise. Unless you know the person you're buying from or are very knowledgeable about cars, stick to the dealer. Plus, if you buy a certified used car, it'll most likely come with some sort of warranty.
collegeviewrider You will prob pay more going to a dealer. If you find a car private ask them if you can take it to your mechanic to check it out
Nosila I went and looked at a used car at a dealer yesterday. I gave them a price $4000 less then they wanted and they said no, but could do it for $3000 less. It is an 08 with low milage. Sometimes you can get a decent deal on a used car at a dealer. You just have to play the game and play it well.
MJBI will say dealer if you gonna need to finance, sometimes with a special low apr on certified, you will get a better deal. Honda, for example is running a low apr for certified cars until sept. 22nd
Stinko Dinko i recently bought a used car..i had a $6,000 budget and i swear i couldn't find one from a dealer that was $6~out the door...i wanted a Honda again or a Toyota,under 50,000mi..10yrs old or less..i looked at Hyundai's too..$6,000 is alot of cash for me but i got the impression that dealers almost scoff at that figure!! Jeeze!! Finally found someone in my complex looking to sell her '98 Ford Taurus because she couldn't see well enough to drive anymore..it had 33,000mi on it and i got it just below Blue Book value for $1,600...i already had to put all new tires on and the brake lines had to be bled..i had a mechanic look at ir but i dont think Dealers let you do that..
Being a former used car salesman let me help you all out. First of all if a dealer has enough markup in a car to offer 3000 off the price something is wrong. The average markup is around 1500.00 on a used car. To be quite frank, when someone offered me 4,000 less than what I was asking, I was insulted lol. The pricing at "most" used car lots is very tight these days, because of the economy. Most of them are just trying to sell cars with little profit. Here is a problem I see. Some not all customers have this impression that they should get the car for cost at a "used" dealer. Well believe it or not used car dealers aren't a not for profit organization. They need to make money to live as well. Let me get rid of the myth that used car salesman make alot of money. We really don't, especially in the last few years with the economy. I have gone 3 weeks with no paycheck and the last thing we want is a customer to come in and treat us like we are pieces of crap. Now with that said I understand some dealers are very shady and don't care about the customer, my point is don't lump us all in one category. At least give us a shot to see what we are like before snap judging us. Ok enough rant back to business....Let me just say that kelly blue book is just a "guide". You cannot rely on it for real market value. For instance alot of the cars I sold were marked 2 to 3 thousand less than kelly blue book retail. I have had many customers say but kelly blue book said my car is worht X amount of dollars. My response would be " does kelly blue book have a send check now button you can click on?" That's because we use books that are updated monthly based on figures from auctions all over the country. So we put a number on the car we feel is fair and will allow us to make a few dollars, again we aren't not for profit. Next any reputable car dealer should have no problem with you taking you car to a mechanic. If they do just walk away. I always let my customers bring the car to thier mechanic. Now to touch on Ginger's comment. Let me be honest, to try and find a honda or toyota 6,000 out the door would mean they would have to sell you the car for around 5300.00.......that car does not exist, unless you go back to the late 90's for a honda or toyota. Chances are with the age it will have more miles. People just have to be more realistic. If you find those cars with that mileage for around 5,000 let me know I will buy them and resell them lol. Anyway if anyone has any more question feel free to ask, and I will answer as best I can.
Maxedout,
I agree that you do have to make money, 3-4 % over what you paid should be fair. I realize you use Galves pricing, but why does that not translate on trade ins? a car is worth what someone will pay and how much they like the car, Not some up to the minute pricing of national auctions. Always seemed like a scam to me, a collusion of dealers. I have met many car dealers that I thought were fair and personable, and had no reservations about dealing with them in the future.
I recently bought a used car at DeBoer's Auto in Hamburg, NJ, where I got a very nice certified car for a very reasonable price. The car had one glitch that I wanted them to look at, so I took it back up there to have them look at it and asked them to do an oil change for me while the car was there. When I picked up the car yesterday (I had to leave it there overnight the night before because I couldn't get a ride back to my apt.), not only was the problem fixed (and explained to me by Bill DeBoer, the owner), but when I asked if they had changed the oil, the receptionist told me, "Yes, we did, and your first oil change is free of charge." I almost fell over and fainted! They have a little card you can use where they punch it every time you get your oil changed there, and after 4 oil changes, you get a free oil change! So she made sure she punched the card yesterday (even though that oil change was already free), so now after 3 more oil changes, I'll get another one free. They are a family-run business and are very, very nice and knowledgeable! It's a bit of a trek to get there (they're on Rt. 23 North), but well worth the drive!
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