How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

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surfer949
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How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by surfer949 »

Calling all car shopper experts :moneybag !

I'm in the market for a certified 2015 Camry and need to gauge the right price to base my negotiations with the dealer. I used the Kelly Blue Book estimate but it only gives me a range and for the car that I want, the dealer's price is within the KBB range.
So how do I know what number is a good price?
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dm200
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by dm200 »

surfer949 wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 9:49 am Calling all car shopper experts :moneybag !
I'm in the market for a certified 2015 Camry and need to gauge the right price to base my negotiations with the dealer. I used the Kelly Blue Book estimate but it only gives me a range and for the car that I want, the dealer's price is within the KBB range.
So how do I know what number is a good price?
Also, look at nadaguides as well as kbb

Look for what other, similar cars are being offered for sale on Craigslist

Find similar and acceptible cars at multiple dealerships - and make offers at the bottom range - see what happens.
SC1959
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by SC1959 »

Go to cars.com and search nationally and you will see the price range that applies to your desired vehicle. Match up cylinders, trim and mileage to narrow the search.
onourway
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by onourway »

CarGurus is a great site for searching used vehicles and their data will indicate whether the asking price is a good deal or not. Has generally seemed pretty accurate to me.
adamthesmythe
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by adamthesmythe »

Work it the other way. Look at the price for a new vehicle with approximately the same options. Then ask yourself how much of a discount from this would make the used car attractive. Use that as your maximum price.

On a vehicle like this with high resale value- working from selling prices you run the risk of paying more than makes sense.
bloom2708
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by bloom2708 »

+1 for Cargurus. I find their "Deal or no Deal" to be quite accurate. You can limit your search to a range you are willing to drive.

Your best deal will be a 2015 private party. Find a one owner car whose owner wants a new SUV or needs more room for family or some excuse they are using to sell a nearly new car.
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lthenderson
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by lthenderson »

Besides other sources listed above, I also look on ebay to see what that car is selling for elsewhere.
jehovasfitness
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by jehovasfitness »

onourway wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 10:01 am CarGurus is a great site for searching used vehicles and their data will indicate whether the asking price is a good deal or not. Has generally seemed pretty accurate to me.
agreed
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whodidntante
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by whodidntante »

Limiting yourself to "certified" cars is a trap that limits your options and takes away most of your negotiating power. Now, if you have the money and want that specifically, go ahead. But it's unlikely that you'll get what I would consider to be an equitable deal.
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dm200
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by dm200 »

Also look for cars coming off lease or rental cars sales as well.
Maverick3320
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by Maverick3320 »

Get ready for 50+ responses. I always use Cargurus to get a rough estimate; if you use KBB, I'd use that as a starting point and negotiate -5%, depending on the demand and availability of the vehicle.
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BogleFanGal
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by BogleFanGal »

I just purchased a used 2015 vehicle and found KBB and cargurus helpful on many levels. But one thing to be aware of: estimates can be too low/misleading (especially CarGuru) if you are in an area with a high volume of sketchy used cars and are seeking something in exceptional shape with low mileage, no accidents and a squeaky clean carfax record.

In my market, there are tons of cars with accidents or questionable history like flooding selling at lower prices. That throws off KBB & CG averages. It was very frustrating: I looked for a clean, low mileage car for months: anything in range I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. Anything super clean was higher than CG, which made me question if I was getting ripped off or just facing market reality.

Wasted a ton of time. Ended up with a car out of state from Carvana: beautiful condition, clean CarFax at a very good but not likely lowest price. Whole process was transparent and terrific. I will never bother with the local used car market again.
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dm200
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by dm200 »

Maybe look at similar make/models at carmax. It might give some idea of "values"
delamer
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by delamer »

Edmunds.com is a good source of information.

I use it plus kbb.com.
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livesoft
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by livesoft »

I look across the nation for the actual sales prices of similar cars. So for a Certified pre-owned car, I usually start offering at least 20% below asking price and expect to pay lower than 15% off original asking price of the used car at a dealer. And watch out that they show the car with one set of tires and don't switch them out to cheaper, balder tires when you pick it up.

Note that Carmax has almost as high a price as dealers, but they tend not to negotiate, so Carmax are very high prices to me.
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soccerrules
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by soccerrules »

delamer wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 1:50 pm Edmunds.com is a good source of information.

I use it plus kbb.com.
This + Cars.com.
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friar1610
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by friar1610 »

whodidntante wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 10:23 am Limiting yourself to "certified" cars is a trap that limits your options and takes away most of your negotiating power. Now, if you have the money and want that specifically, go ahead. But it's unlikely that you'll get what I would consider to be an equitable deal.
I recently shopped for a 2-3 y.o. Volvo to replace an '05 Volvo I had bought CPO. My experience (in the area south of Boston) was:
1. There were very few for sale as CPO
2. Dealers would happily add a CPO warranty as long as I would pay for it (about $2K).
3. Dealers were not at all receptive to my attempts to have a CPO added as a deal sweetener.

This was different than my experience 12 years ago in Burlington, VT when virtually all of the local dealer's late model used cars were CPO.
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livesoft
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by livesoft »

Oh, another thought: If you try to negotiate to a low price and never close the deal, then you can pretty well know that your low price is probably too low. So I would suggest that you have many failures and not be bothered by them at all. Then you will really know what price to negotiate to.
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chevca
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by chevca »

surfer949 wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 9:49 am Calling all car shopper experts :moneybag !

I'm in the market for a certified 2015 Camry and need to gauge the right price to base my negotiations with the dealer. I used the Kelly Blue Book estimate but it only gives me a range and for the car that I want, the dealer's price is within the KBB range.
So how do I know what number is a good price?
Do you like the car, want that one, and feel it's a fair price? Then it's a good number. Keep it simple.

Folks put far too much effort into negotiating and haggling for cars, IMO. Especially if talking a used 2015 vehicle. There's probably not a lot of room to wiggle there anyway, and especially being a certified car. If you don't want that one, someone else will soon enough. If you want to get a low price on a used car, you probably need to watch the local dealers and see how long some used cars are sitting on the lot and watch for the dealer to drop the price as it sits.

If you like it, buy it. My take on it.
chevca
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by chevca »

Are you trading in a vehicle? There may be some wiggle room there. Maybe more than on the purchase vehicle for a CPO purchase.
livesoft
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by livesoft »

chevca wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 4:16 pm
surfer949 wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 9:49 am Calling all car shopper experts :moneybag !

I'm in the market for a certified 2015 Camry and need to gauge the right price to base my negotiations with the dealer. I used the Kelly Blue Book estimate but it only gives me a range and for the car that I want, the dealer's price is within the KBB range.
So how do I know what number is a good price?
Do you like the car, want that one, and feel it's a fair price? Then it's a good number. Keep it simple
The point of this thread was to know how to feel if it's a fair price.
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chevca
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by chevca »

livesoft wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 5:19 pm
chevca wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 4:16 pm
surfer949 wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 9:49 am Calling all car shopper experts :moneybag !

I'm in the market for a certified 2015 Camry and need to gauge the right price to base my negotiations with the dealer. I used the Kelly Blue Book estimate but it only gives me a range and for the car that I want, the dealer's price is within the KBB range.
So how do I know what number is a good price?
Do you like the car, want that one, and feel it's a fair price? Then it's a good number. Keep it simple
The point of this thread was to know how to feel if it's a fair price.
And, I answered. :happy

OP did some research already. If the price matches up with what they found and they think it's fair.... it's fair to them. Someone is always going to get a better deal out there. Who cares?

What's fair to one person might not be to another. There's no one "fair" out there... especially in the car buying game.

That better, livesoft?
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yukonjack
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by yukonjack »

This is one of the main reasons I prefer buying new. As you can tell by all of the responses there are numerous ways to try to find a “fair” price. I’ve never felt comfortable in knowing when I’ve reached a good price other than livesoft’s idea of knowing that your price is probably too low if you keep getting rejected. Of course that method takes a lot of time and effort.
This difficulty also applies to knowing whether or not you received a good price on a trade-in.
dubsem
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by dubsem »

Nice job starting with the KBB range. The dealers will have suggested prices for their cars, but their prices will include mark ups (i.e. mark-to-market adjustment, transportation fees, their service/labor fees, etc). Take your time and check out the car - see what you don't like about the car.

Based on what you think the lowest realistic price you can pay for the car is, ask if the dealer will consider your price. Never hurts to ask! Has always helped me in used car negotiations. I remember I offered a few hundred dollars lower than the dealer's "lowest" price, and the dealer acquiesced rather easily. At that moment I knew I should've offered lower but I was comfortable paying the final price.
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jehovasfitness
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by jehovasfitness »

chevca wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 4:16 pm
surfer949 wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 9:49 am Calling all car shopper experts :moneybag !

I'm in the market for a certified 2015 Camry and need to gauge the right price to base my negotiations with the dealer. I used the Kelly Blue Book estimate but it only gives me a range and for the car that I want, the dealer's price is within the KBB range.
So how do I know what number is a good price?
Do you like the car, want that one, and feel it's a fair price? Then it's a good number. Keep it simple.

Folks put far too much effort into negotiating and haggling for cars, IMO. Especially if talking a used 2015 vehicle. There's probably not a lot of room to wiggle there anyway, and especially being a certified car. If you don't want that one, someone else will soon enough. If you want to get a low price on a used car, you probably need to watch the local dealers and see how long some used cars are sitting on the lot and watch for the dealer to drop the price as it sits.

If you like it, buy it. My take on it.
Agreed. I buy often and after looking online all over you start to get a feel for asking rates and compare what it's worth to you imo
nhdean
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by nhdean »

I would go to KBB and do a trade in to dealer value and subtract roughly 5% of that number. That will give me an idea what the dealer paid for it
chevca
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by chevca »

nhdean wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 6:36 pm I would go to KBB and do a trade in to dealer value and subtract roughly 5% of that number. That will give me an idea what the dealer paid for it
And, if you go to the dealer expecting to buy it for that price, you're simply wasting your time.

Unless the car has been sitting there for 6 months, that's a bad strategy.
nhdean
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by nhdean »

Not at all. It gives you an idea what the dealer paid for the vehicle. I never said you could buy it for that, but it gives you an idea if you are getting screwed or not.
jlawrence01
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Re: How do you know what price to negotiate when buying a used car?

Post by jlawrence01 »

II take a different approach.

On the low end, I head on over to the Hertz and Enterprise websites and price out their USED late model cars

On the high end, I head over to Carmax and see what they are selling similar vehicles for. My starting bid to any dealer on a midsized car will be about $2.5k less than Carmax. Generally, I get about $1500-1800 off the Carmax price.

Unlike the NEW car market, there is a tremendous price elasticity on used cars.
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