Costco

Anyone have horror stories? Or are they not as bad as they seem? Should I avoid certain dealers; i.e. the secondhand ones or the new car dealerships?

I know they are always more expensive than they should be at a dealership, but I just want to know.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

I have bought 3 used cars from dealers and one from a private owner. You will save a bit with a private owner. The interest rate will be a tad bit more from a private seller, but there are no fees.

The one advantage is that you can get a certified car through the dealer and not through a private seller. Plus you have a lot more options. I just got a Pathfinder and an I35, both used from the same dealer. I had a choice of 8 different Pathfinders and 2 I35's and4 Maximas. You can't get that from a private seller.

I would also suggest going to one of the major dealerships. And definately at the end of the month. They are a lot more helpful on the last week of the month. We got a lot more for my trade a a lot off each car by going on the last day.

Most dealers will also garrantee that the car will get past inspections. I have heard horror stories of people buying privatly and getting to the inspection center and failing because the car was messed up.

LuvMyTSX

I had a pretty painless experience when buying my certified used TSX from an Acura dealership in 2005. I'd do it again. Just gotta keep your eyes open for suspicious things, either at the dealership or with a private seller. It was my first car buying experience and it wasn't as bad/scary as I thought it would be.

SpeedyV6

IMHO most "certified" used cars are a ripoff. I've seen Lexus dealers ask ~90% of the value of a new car for a two year old "certified" car with 20-30K miles. At that point you may as well forget about trying to pinch pennies by buying used and go with a new car.

LuvMyTSX

True, but you can still negotiate on them and don't have to pay their asking price. I negotiated over 2k off mine and got a decent deal.

Doom878

I always wondered with those 2nd hand dealers. They sure seem shady.

iTimmy

They are, I have never met a honest used car salesmen. Every car on there lot is a "great car", "low mileage", "one owner", "owned by a little old lady".... etc. they always have a story, yet 95% of the cars they sell come from the auction and they have NO clue as to the history. I've dealt with 100's of used car salesmen and can count the ones who are honest(as possible) on one hand. Your more likely to get screwed over by an independent used car lot then any where else getting a used car, my

mclarenf3387

I bought my CL as a CPO and I paid 5K under what the "asking price" on the car was.

synth19

You want horror stories, I bring your horror:

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-talk-5/guess-whos-savannah-georgia-coming-back-home-no-car-351402/

fla-tls

Half of the people who come in here just bought their used car within the last couple of months. Remember - sometimes there's a reason for why a car was traded in (and it's not a good one).

If it's a higher mileage vehicle, make sure you get a warranty!

mclarenf3387

As much as your situation sucked, that is really not a horror story. The dealership treated you very well to reimburse you for your expenses due to their mistake.

iTimmy

I was thinking the same thing, when money is lost and you are stuck with a car the truly has problems, then it becomes a nightmare.

synth19

obviously you missed the part that I couldn't sleep in on Saturday because of my ordeal.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

That's rough.

Moog-Type-S

CPO is a way for the dealer to make a huge mark-up on the price of the car.
Basically you are paying waaaay to much for a warranty. Nothing more.

CPO is a win-win for the dealer, and usually the buyer takes it in the shorts.....unless you can negotiate the price way down.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Yeh. . However, is there anyone here that don't negotiate prices. I just got a Pathfinder CPO, and it was the same price as a non-certified one at a different dealer, or a privately owned one. But that was after they dropped about $3K off the sticker. IMO, if you don't try to negotiate, don't ever tell anyone here, because it is an opened invitation to be mocked.

Mokos23

Do you get a costco discount?

synth19

THANK YOU! finally some damn compassion on this site.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Sorry....I mis-represented myself....that was rough.

iTimmy

I was hoping your first post was suppose to be in red.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

My bad. I be slow sometimes.

synth19

You guys are retarded if you thought I ALSO wasnt being sarcastic. Seriously, red text is not needed al the time!

iTimmy

At least were all laughing about it, life's too short to let car crap upset you. As long as no one gets hurt, its probably not a big deal.

Moog-Type-S

So you ended up paying the same sticker price as the Pathfinder at the other dealer. Couldn't you have paid less for the other Pathfinder....due to the fact that you could have started your negotiations at car that was already 3k lower in price?

laidback93

Well I've bought my last two vehicles at small idependant dealerships and both times I was treated fairly. My TL-S looked to be a lease return to the Acura dealership, but it was auctioned. I'm still wondering why that happened. Carfax states no wrecks, however I know it was bumped into in back since there is some paint missing from the spoiler. Maybe that is why it was auctioned.

Anyways, the small place I bought it off of did let me negotiate a bit. Luckily I caught that the left side fog light was cracked and he agreed to send me a replacement.

I originally wanted to buy the same exact car at my local Acura dealership. However, they would not budge on the price at all! It had been marked down from $20, 500(which was high book) to $18,900. I tried to throw some offers and the sales guy stopped me dead in my tracks. He said that they really don't negotiate at that particular dealership. So I said see ya. I recently drove by the dealership and noticed the car was still sitting there up front as their showcase car! LOL

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

No. The other dealership was not a Nissan dealer, so they couldn't certify it anyways. I negotiated with them, and in the end their negotiated price was about the same as the negotiated price for the CPO one I ended up getting.

Moog-Type-S

Makes sense...I thought you were saying that the non Nissan dealer's sticker price was the same as your final negotiated price with the CPO.

You did well....most don't. The CPO price is usually so sky high that you can't negotiate down to a fair market price.