New car/truck buying

[Bamaman]

I worked 24 years for an auto manufacturer, and still have a few friends around in different auto franchises. And thankfully I get the relative price without having to negotiate. That includes buying Lexus' at dead cost.

I keep up with which dealers are those really willing to compete with a fair price--and not slam and jam operations. I prefer to do business with individually owned dealerships and avoid chain stores with $699 documentation fees like the plague. I like to go back to a dealer 2-3-4 years from now and buy from the same salesman too.

But I'm not too naive to think I'm going to beat them at their own game. Any dealer selling below "real cost" won't be in business long.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I worked 24 years for an auto manufacturer, and still have a few friends around in different auto franchises. And thankfully I get the relative price without having to negotiate. That includes buying Lexus' at dead cost.

I keep up with which dealers are those really willing to compete with a fair price--and not slam and jam operations. I prefer to do business with individually owned dealerships and avoid chain stores with $699 documentation fees like the plague. I like to go back to a dealer 2-3-4 years from now and buy from the same salesman too.

But I'm not too naive to think I'm going to beat them at their own game. Any dealer selling below "real cost" won't be in business long.

Yeah, that's why, incentives aside, I don't care about what they call fees or anything, I just focus on the dealer invoice, and aim for maybe $500-1000 above that. If they give me their invoice price but charge a $600 "fee", that's fine with me. They are there to make a markup, and I'll give them a small one in exchange for being a quick sale.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Also, he did not transfer the title and managed to collect a few traffic tickets. They came to me, of course, and I had to show the bill of sale to prove I didn't own the car any more. Fortunately that is a tear-off portion of the car title form, so it is created as part of the transaction.

Now I make sure that if I sell to a private party he and I go to the DMV get the title transferred immediately. And no checks, even small ones, of course. Best scenario is to go with him to his bank, get the dough, and make sure the bank gets the title paperwork. They will ensure it gets transferred and their lien recorded.

Some states (most, I think) have a way to report that you have sold the car. I always do this and it came in very handy a few years ago when we sold our boat. We had renewed the registration a couple months before selling it, so it was good for 2 years. Of course, the buyers never transferred it into their name. About a year ago, I got a random letter in the mail from someone who had bought the boat from the guy I sold it to and they couldn't get the title because the yahoo hadn't transferred it into his name and owed several years of penalties because of it.

 

[ckelly78z]

Ckelly,


Where did you read that used Civics are in demand? I was unsure about the used car market in general. If this is true, isn't it strange that the second dealer was so low with their offer, and so reluctant to budge a little to complete the sale?

Thanks for the suggestion.

JP

My daughter late last year, bought a new 2019 Civic because we couldn't find any low mileage, late model Civics for anything under $15,000, some used ones were as much as $20,000....she paid $23,500 for 0 miles, and a full warranty.

 

[gerntz]

Just bought a Soul using Costco deal. No hassle at all. Best price?

 

[REWahoo]

Just bought a Soul using Costco deal. No hassle at all. Best price?

Satan? Is that you?

 

[Sunset]

What I'm up to:
I'm hoping to upgrade from a small car to a midsized pickup. I want to be able to carry a bunch of tools and misc household items with me down to Florida. I also want a vehicle for hauling stuff when I get down there.

.....

Buy a Sienna van.
You can take out the middle seats, and fold down the back seats and you have 4x8 space covered to store everything you need to haul to FL without worries of rain.

That's what I do.

 

[Sunset]

Lesson learned: One time I was selling a car, IIRC the price was $3500. Buyer showed up with $3400 cash and asked if I would take a check for the final $100. It turned out to be a bad check of course. Also, he did not transfer the title and managed to collect a few traffic tickets. They came to me, of course, and I had to show the bill of sale to prove I didn't own the car any more. Fortunately that is a tear-off portion of the car title form, so it is created as part of the transaction.

.....

I had a guy buy my car and also not transfer the title, he re-listed it for sale for 3x my price and lied about the model.
I phoned the DMV to tell them about the sale.
Didn't hear anything else about it, but I worried for about a year.

 

[jazz4cash]

Can you get a trade in price quote from Carmax? That gives you a floor for trade in value.


The way I buy is to sell my old car privately and put dealers into a bidding war via email, so I never step into the dealership until I pick up the car. A new car is a commodity, unlike a used car where condition is variable.

We have a place across the road from CarMax with a huge sign “WE BEAT CARMAX”. If you get a CarMax s was quite, they’ll beat it. Look for some place like this.

I agree new cars are all the same and used cars are all unique.

 

[bizlady]

One last thing, "Don't put any dealership name decals or dealership license plate holders on my vehicle or I'll make you take them off before I drive away."

LOL I always thought they should pay me for the advertising!

 

[OldShooter]

LOL I always thought they should pay me for the advertising!

Yes. I think the late-20th century triumph of product marketing was to convince consumers that they should pay extra for products that advertise the producer.

I was at Cabela's once and liked a pair of shoes that the salesman showed me but I told him that I wouldn't buy them because they carried too much advertising. I don't think he had ever heard that before.

 

[gerntz]

Satan? Is that you?

 

[JP.mpls]

I hate this too.

I noticed the dealer stickers are in three locations on my new truck, but they are "stenciled " stick on labels.

A heat gun and googone should solve that problem.

LOL I always thought they should pay me for the advertising!

 

[Asabino]

Toyota Tacoma - reliable, runs forever and keeps its value!

 

[airbornesapper]

Self Professed BMW Nut....for years have bought New or CPO (up to 2 years old)....buying CPO in Canada was a great deal...as you could buy a demo etc, and extend the 4 year warranty in Canada to 6 years as I did (making sure it was included in the price)...The free basic maint stopped at the 4 year point.

Kept them for years, passing them down to my kids....currently 4 BMWs in the family. As for expense...what I can't do my self once the free maint period is over, I use a great Indy garage. I buy parts from Rock Auto and Germanparts.ca and pay labour only in that case.

End Feb we bought a new leftover 2019 X3 M40i with 30Km on the clock saving 25K+ Cdn$ over the identical 2020....Probably our last gas model. My own vehicle is a 2013 X6M...incredibly easy to work on from a basic maint perspective (filters, plugs, coils, fluids).....I did a running-in-service (not required but hey) on the new X40i at 2500Km and it cost me 40 bucks...at my Indy (I supplied the BMW filter and oil - service interval not reset)....I usually do oil changes etc myself.

Just did brakes on a 2015 X3 (rotors, pads and sensors - front and rear ) with BREMBO product for 500 CDN....

I have my own scan tool with BMW software loaded.

Out of warranty, we avail ourselves with the 60 buck BMW inspection that comes with a years BMW Roadside with accident/trip interruption benefits...A great program.

Bottom line, no worse than any other maint cost wise, and if you are smart, even a bit handy, savings can be significant....I look after my stuff and really have no complaints. I have a good dealer relationship..who offer military discounts unlike many other brands around here.

If you use any dealer...its going to cost you..a good friend is to Honda's as I am to BMW....He is likely finished with Honda....he spends far more on maint than I...

 

[Happyras]

Self Professed BMW Nut....

We just bought our first BMW. The 2020 X3 30e, electric hybrid. Wow, out of the box no complaints. We have put the first 800 miles on it and used about 11 gallons of premium so far. It is so far a great car, replacing our 2014 Jeep GC Overland. We passed that one down again to the one daughter to keep our Grand kids safe. It replaced the 2004 Liberty we gave her 10 years ago.

My one friend stated the maintenance will be high on the BMW. But then, I service all our vehicles as stated above, not too worried. I bought a Jaguar I Pace last year, now that was something to worry about. Can you spell Lemon, our yes J_A_G_U_A_R.