Would you be a SC if...

[mjr]

Fords depreciate WAY faster than Hondas. A tuakky Honda still has the best resale value out there as far as trade ins are concerned, so I'm not really surprised by that at all.

So what about a low-end 2005 Accord with 140,000 miles on it? A guy rear-ended me in it, so I had to have the trunk, rear bumper, and I think the rear window replaced.

Just curious.

[Pimento]

Lol I'm not even gonna get into quotes and stuff


Huge things that affect depreciation on a trade in:

Smoking inside the vehicle
Any insurance claims over 2500
Any physical damage (including tires shocks and struts. They will deduct 4-600 just for tires if they're worn)

Also. The reason Hondas and Toyotas hold value?

They don't give huge discounts.

That new ford truck with the $60,000 price tag that you walk out of there for $30,000. Well. It's only really worth $30,000. Sorry lol.

My 2009 SI was 27k new and I'd get about 15 on a trade in.

Also. BODY KITS RIMS AND SPECIAL PAINT STICKERS WINGS AND STEREOS DEVALUE YOUR VEHICLE TO A DEALER

Just sayin :P

[Seshat]

My view:

If you're examining vehicles and learning stuff, staying at the dealership for ages makes sense.
If you're in a waiting area kicking your heels and googling better prices elsewhere, waiting only makes sense if there's a specific, reasonable purpose behind it.

Learn about vehicles. Car club websites often have great advice about finding used cars and finding out which ones have been damaged enough to be lemons. They can often also have 'reviews' about makes, models and years.

Your local mechanic can be a great resource, especially if you have a good relationship with them. Last car we bought, our mechanic sent us to. We'd told him we were after a <make, model> of <year>, and if he could do a mechanical check on one we'd found. He said he'd just done a mechanical check on <newer car of similar make>, and he thought it'd be a good car for us if the price was okay.
So we went to the dealership; they showed us the car, told us their asking price. It was within our budget, paperwork took a little bit over half an hour. We called our insurance company while they were calling someone else, and we drove out with a newly owned, insured car. Which we'd been assured was sound, by a mechanic we trusted.

Only problem we've had with it is hail damage from a storm a few years ago. (Since the purchase, not before!)

[protege]

I got lucky with my last car. My '00 Mazda hit 127,000 miles, had failed its state inspection twice, and was going to require more cash in another attempt at passing. I'd already spent 2 grand on unsuccessful repairs. I wasn't about to dump more money into a 7-year-old car...so it had to go. Some other sucker could fix that heap.

Of course, the inspection failures, plus the knackered electrics and crap tires meant that I was going to get low-balled in trade. I'd had a Toyota before, and since my dad knew the service manager (the guy was actually the service manager for Saturn, which the dealership also sold), they were more than happy to help me out. They let me trade in the old car, put about $10K towards the Corolla I was buying, and then financed the last $5k or so. I didn't get to hear "let me check with the manager." Instead, the dealer's finance person simply punched it up on her computer, said "we can do that," and I was then a Toyota owner. Took about an hour

With that said, I hate buying cars. Too many asshole dealers locally. I refuse to buy a Chevy from the dealer "minutes from the mall" because of how I was treated. I'd just written off my Tempo less than a week prior, and still had the neck brace on. I was not amused when the sales rep said that unless I was buying a car that day, he would not walk the lot with me. Not only did I rip him a new one, but his manager as well. They tried to salvage a sale, but the damage was done. I won't buy a car there, nor will I recommend them to anyone.

Instead, I'll head to the Toyota place. It helps to know people there, but they've always treated me well. Last time I was down there, they hooked me up with a free lunch, since my car's brakes were taking so long to work on.

[jedimaster91]

We just had a fabulous experience buying a car from Enterprise. I know what you're thinking. Used rental car. But it's not as bad as it's been made out to be. Yes, some used rental cars aren't fit for even the Mythbusters to blow up. Enterprise doesn't sell those cars. According to the guy we worked with, if a car in their fleet has ever had more than $1000 of damage, they won't sell it on their lot. They also appraise trade-ins based on wholesale rather than retail. So if they can find someone who will pay more for a trade-in to sell parts, that's what they'll give you.

There were two cars we were considering: a 2012 Nissan Versa and a 2012 Toyota Yaris. Both had around 33k miles. Prices were clearly marked on all the cars and they had the CarFax report for both vehicles for us to look at. We test drove both and decided on the Yaris. The process was super easy. Everything was explained clearly and at no time did we feel any pressure from the sales staff. They've even been extremely helpful and accommodating in helping us hash out the paperwork to get our trade-in signed over (we bought that car at auction and literally just got the title and they're being great in helping us get that paperwork taken care of). Night and day difference from the dealership.

If they have a sales lot in your area, definitely check them out.