i need tips on buying a used tl from a dealership.

 

1. Research the average price for the car you want, taking into consideration the condition, mileage, options, etc.

2. Definitely test drive the car.

3. If you're not mechanically inclined, or don't know where/what to look for in terms of problem areas, bring a friend with you who does.

4. This is going to sound weird, but I suggest leaving the lot afterwards, and going somewhere else to look for a similar car. This way, you'll have a chance to compare similar cars and be able to better negotiate a favorable price for the car.

5. This could've been #1-Ask for the Carfax report.

 

I agree with #4. Definitely leave the lot to sleep on things.

Find out the prices a TL like the one you are looking at is going for in your area. Shoot for $1-2k lower and see if the dealer wants to sell, if not, there are tons of other TLs out there, especially used ones.

Also, never show that you've fallen in love with a car. Otherwise the dealer won't budge because they know you are willing to pay more.

 

usually the price edmunds.com has listed is pretty accurate....the best tool you have is your ability to walk....i always work out a deal i think i can live with and then i tell them i need some time to think about it and walk out the door....then just wait, they will either chase you out the door and make the deal even better, or they will call you and try to get you back into the building...either way, the power to walk is worth atleast another grand off your deal....

 

Sounds like walking is more than just good for your heart.......

 

i agree with everything here.

biggest piece of advice I would give you is research, research, research!!! if you walk into the dealership and the salesperson senses even for a second he can take advantage of your lack of knowledge of the product he will.
Do your research and walk in confident. Do not let the salesperson think he knows more about the car than you do. He needs to know you have done your homework

 

+1 on everything he said.
I've bought/sold quite a few cars in my life, and in all cases the objective person that maintained the ability to just walk away had the upper hand.

Don't trust anything a salesman says: if he makes a promise that's not in writing, take it with a grain of salt.

If you have a trade-in, know what it's worth. They will try to low-ball the hell out of you on it.

Also, never show that you've fallen in love with a car. Otherwise the dealer won't budge because they know you are willing to pay more.
I made the mistake of bringing my wife with me to close a deal (once, and once only) - she acted like a giddy little schoolgirl and gushed on and on about how much she liked the car. Needless to say the salesman took advantage and got a nice commission on that sale...

Check out edmunds.com. They have a lot of information and tips on how to deal with salesmen.

Most of all, maintain your objectivity and take your time. There are a lot of good used TL's out there so don't feel like you have to "settle" for something that's not exactly what you want.

Good Luck!

 

If they have an internet sales department for used cars, utilize that as well. A lot of the time, you will get a better deal.

Just think with your head and not your heart, TL's are a dime a dozen, if you can't get a good deal then walk around. Another will appear before you know it.

 

I say go in there negotiating like my mother-in-law. The sticker on my wife's BMW new was 37K. This was back in 2006. She had a 1999 Integra GS, auto, nothing fancy with about 65K miles on it as trade. That woman is a fool. First time I ever felt ashamed to be with someone buying a car. After the test drive my wife made her first mistake of showing that she loved it. Salesman asked, so how much are you looking to spend. This woman blurted out "$9,000." No smile on her face, no response from the salesman either because he was shocked.
We spent almost 5 hours there that day then said we were going to go eat dinner. Still didnt' sign anything at that point. They said, they'll just wash the car and get it ready for us to come back. But we didn't. They called a couple of times and her mom took the phone. Over the next two days, we spent at least 5 more hours there a day. In the end, we got $9500 for her Integra which was unheard of and she talked the price down on the BMW to $31,250 before the trade. My wife barely financed 21K on her BMW new. And yes that number doesn't add up with tax and license but I gave her a few thousand to put down out of my bonus from work.
In the end, I got mad that she had the nice car so I sold my 8 month old Altima V6 and bought the Audi I no longer have lol.
But man, something about the serious poker face of Korean people when they go buy a car. I learned a lot from her about the buying process but don't have the patience to go through all that. On my CLS6, I knew it was hard to come by and at least what helped me knocking off 4K from the purchase was the fact that I had my own financing from a credit union before I even went in there.

 

U argue over PRICE not payment. Try to secure financing before hand so you have more leverage. Good luck!

 

Yup, in most cases they will try and play around on how much you wanna pay per month instead of focussing on the price and then figuring out how much per month.
Of curse this ends up inflating the price; pay attention to variables like interest rate and length of loan when working out the payment plan, they are sneaky on the interest rates if you do not have outside financing.

 

I have sold cars off and on for 5 years or so.

"at least what helped me knocking off 4K from the purchase was the fact that I had my own financing from a credit union before I even went in there."

Wrong, dealerships do not like it when you use a credit union. They want you to finance using their bank, because they get a percentage of the interest. Dealerships do not like cash buyers or people that use their own credit unions. And generally will not lower the price as much if they know you're doing that.

"Yup, in most cases they will try and play around on how much you wanna pay per month instead of focussing on the price and then figuring out how much per month."

A lot of times dealerships concentrate on payment is because most people are on a monthly budget and it needs to fit into that budget. There were plenty of times when I worked on a deal where the car costs say $40,000 and the customer thought he could get a payment of $400 a month on a 60 month term. I always had to break out my calculator for him and tell him to do 400 x 60. Trust me there are plenty of people out there like that and are very frustrating to salesman.

One point I read on the topic is Carfax, do not rely on carfax for an accurate report. Take the used car to your own mechanic to have it looked at. I sold a car that came clean on Carfax and the customer bought the car and took it to a mechanic anyways. The car had been in a major front end collision. I was unaware of this and lost a sale and had a very angry customer as well.

 

And if you get close to a happy deal but they won't move more ... tell them your going to go home and think it over "but" remind them as your saying goodbye that they "have" to sell cars... you don't "have" to buy one, and give them your home phone number and imply your expecting to hear from them and won't be calling. .. . It puts meat & potatoes on thier table.