Buying a new car

"John Harlow" > wrote in message
...
>
> > Several years ago, I did my research VERY carefully,
>
> If you had, you would have avoided dealers entirely. Let someone else
take
> the hit.
>
>

That depends on how you use a car. If you trade it every few years (which
itself is a bad idea), then buying used can save you a little money. But
some people don't trade a car every few years, and would rather NOT deal
with problems caused by someone else's negligence. So for some people, the
depreciation over the first year or two is the price that they'd gladly pay
for the extra peace of mind of knowing the ENTIRE history of the vehicle
they are depending on. -Dave

Dave C. wrote:

<snip>

> Hell, look at 1-2 year old used cars on NEW CAR DEALER LOTS. I swear to God
> I've seen used cars marked with prices HIGHER than identically-equipped NEW
> cars sitting 50 feet away on the same dealer's lot.

I've seen the same thing. There are buyers out there that are convinced
that there is a huge amount of instant depreciation as soon as you drive
the car off the lot. In some cases they are correct. If you pay way too
much for a new car, or if you buy one of the makes with terrible resale
value, you probably are better off buying used.

> I once asked someone
> how dealers could think that they'd get away with crap like that.

<snip>

The real answer is that it's morally wrong to allow a sucker to keep his
money.

The real question is what these used vehicles actually sell for most of
the time. Are they mostly being sold for the asking price or not? I've
inquired about a used Toyota, and the seller was absolutely convinced
that he would get more for his used vehicle than what local dealers were
selling them for new.

"Dave C." > wrote in message
ink.net...
>
>>
>> He made a statement about availability of a certain model at certain
>> prices. YOU have inflated it into a "all dealers are scum" position.
>
> Well, that WAS a logical conclusion, based on the known, and undisputed
> facts. -Dave

No disrespect, Dave, but calling judgment on an entire group of people based
on isolated incidents with six individuals is not logical.

> >> He made a statement about availability of a certain model at certain
> >> prices. YOU have inflated it into a "all dealers are scum" position.
> >
> > Well, that WAS a logical conclusion, based on the known, and undisputed
> > facts. -Dave
>
> No disrespect, Dave, but calling judgment on an entire group of people
based
> on isolated incidents with six individuals is not logical.

Well tell that to their manager. HE said it, and he certainly knows the
crooks better than I do. -Dave

wrote:
> John David Galt wrote:
>
wrote:
>>
>>>Very bad move. Dealers hate cash buyers. Not only does it mean that
>>>they've lost their kick-back from a lender, it's a giveaway that
>
> you're
>
>>>not likely to buy any of the other high-profit stuff like a
>
> warranty,
>
>>>or WAOs (worthless add-ons).
>>
>>Unfortunately, most new-car dealers won't stock a car unless it comes
>>from the factory with plenty of WAOs.
>
>
> I'm not talking about factory options, or even port options, I'm
> talking about the crap that the dealer tries to add on, and charge for,
> i.e.
>
> -Pin striping
> -Fabric Guard
> -Paint Protection
> -Undercoating
> -Glass Etching
> -Touch of Class
> -Gold Package
> -After-market security system
>
> etc.
>
> Things that cost the dealer virtually nothing, that have huge mark-ups.

So am I. Power windows, keyless entry, leather trim, all stuff that
doesn't make the car worth a penny more (to me at least) but gives
them an excuse to charge several hundred more.

In article . com>,
Ad absurdum per aspera > wrote:
>Sutton is also very big on private-party sales within your network of
>family and friends and neighbors as a good way to pick up a quality
>*used* car. The catches, of course, are that you have to be flexible
>about make/model/year and the timing of the purchase so as to take
>advantage of what's available, and that it'll often have to be a cash
>deal.

Of course, you also have to have family, friends, and/or neighbors
who take care of their cars. There are some people I know whom I
would not buy a used car from, based on the condition of their cars.

Though if you do know someone who takes good care of his/her cars,
buying his/her used car may be advantageous due to the known good
history, compared to the less known or unknown history of a typical
used car.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

In article . net>,
Steven M. Scharf > wrote:
>I've seen the same thing. There are buyers out there that are convinced
>that there is a huge amount of instant depreciation as soon as you drive
>the car off the lot. In some cases they are correct.

The bid/ask spread causes the "instant depreciation" (bid = trade-in
price that a dealer will give for the car, ask = what a dealer is willing
to sell the car for). You lose a lot by buying a new car and then selling
it a day later. But the amount you save by buying a slightly used car from
a dealer compared to a new car (from a dealer, of course) is much less.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

Timothy J. Lee wrote:

> The bid/ask spread causes the "instant depreciation" (bid = trade-in
> price that a dealer will give for the car, ask = what a dealer is willing
> to sell the car for). You lose a lot by buying a new car and then selling
> it a day later.

Not necessarily. You could make money by buying a new car at the low end
of the price range, and selling it used to a naive buyer for somewhere
between MSRP and what you paid.

Look at the Camry LE. It has an MSRP of $19,835, an invoice price of
$18,197, and can be purchased for $16,000 (carsdirect is $16,300, but
local dealers regularly sell them for $15,9xx. It is conceivable that
you could resell it at around the invoice price to someone that believes
that getting a car at invoice price is an amazing feat.

The sales tax would make this a tough way to make a living, but you
still be coming out ahead.

On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 22:15:50 GMT, "Dave C." > wrote:

>
>> >> He made a statement about availability of a certain model at certain
>> >> prices. YOU have inflated it into a "all dealers are scum" position.
>> >
>> > Well, that WAS a logical conclusion, based on the known, and undisputed
>> > facts. -Dave
>>
>> No disrespect, Dave, but calling judgment on an entire group of people
>based
>> on isolated incidents with six individuals is not logical.
>
>Well tell that to their manager. HE said it, and he certainly knows the
>crooks better than I do. -Dave
>
If they are all scum, why were you there to buy?

--
Bill Funk
Change "g" to "a"

> >> No disrespect, Dave, but calling judgment on an entire group of people
> >based
> >> on isolated incidents with six individuals is not logical.
> >
> >Well tell that to their manager. HE said it, and he certainly knows the
> >crooks better than I do. -Dave
> >
> If they are all scum, why were you there to buy?
>

Ummm . . . cause it's kinda tough to build your own. (isn't that
bvious?) -Dave