Re: Re: Truck buying stuff... I can tell you the dealerships are paying (in my state) about 17k for program, lease 03' Exp. XLT's, low miles.
Re: Re: Truck buying stuff... This is what ticks me off about being over here (Germany) we only have the one option, no shopping around. They do have 1 used 2002 XLT for 26k but they only offering the 1 year warranty - and I figured for only a little bit more, I get brand new and total warranty. Maybe we should wait until we get to the states (2 years or longer) but then we have the tax thing to deal with. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my very tired question!!
Re: Re: Truck buying stuff... Your not going to get the car for what a dealer paid for it. There are legitimate business operating expenses involved in dealerships. Keep in mind that new car dealers also make a good profit on warranty work as well. But what you can do is educate yourself so you get the best price you can. Also just curious why buy 2003? As soon as your off the lot it depreciates about 20%. With all the leased vehicles in the market now, cars that are around 2yrs. old are great buys. They usually have a factory warranty remaining and if not you can buy extended warranties straight from the warranty company. Mike
Re: Re: Truck buying stuff... My problem is we are in Germany, where leases are not available to us therefore no turned in leases and program cars are non-existent. Used late model cars are very limited. If I were in the states, that would be the route I would take, but as I only have one new car dealer to deal with that is why we are going w/ the brand spanking new 2003. Our only other option is to get 2001 or 2002 models for not much less, w/ less of the bells and whistles. But yes, I have been choking on the depreciation too (I can kid myself and say what we save on the taxes we lose on the depreciation LOL)
Re: Re: Truck buying stuff... What about private party sales? Only 1 dealer-YUCK! Can you wait until you're in the states to buy? If not it sounds like you are in a pinch. And as long as you have the car a reasonable length of time depreciation doesn't bite that bad. Mike
Re: Re: Truck buying stuff... Mike777/Tnobles, So what do you recommend if I'm looking for a '03 Toyota Sequoia (Limited). What's a good deal? MSRP looks around $43K, invoice ~$41K. We need to trade-in our '98 Subaru Forester ($1800 left on loan)or our '00 Mazda Protege($9K left). I know we should sell on our own but don't want to go through hassle. I was thinking of getting estimate at Carmax.
Re: Re: Re: Truck buying stuff... Carmax is probably going to offer you the best price in terms of wholesale value as long as the vehicle is in good condition and is well maintained (wash/wax/detail it before you go). But what I am hearing in your langauge, ie " I know we should sell on our own but don't want to go through hassle" tells me you are aflicted by wanting something now just as I have been (aqs have we all)! If you are not averse to giving away a good $3,000, then go ahead, trade in the car with the lowest payoff! But you might want to read an learn from my experience in the following example. Ac ouple of years ago, I found that I needed a car with more room (passenger seating, trunk room) than my BMW convertible offered. I owed $21,000 on the car and had babied it from day one and should have realized that it would easily bring $23,000 in resale at the time! So when I went car shopping I started the process as cash sale and once I had a price, then I talked trade. Man, that is when the salesmanship really kicks into high gear! There were two of the same Make/Model/Year car on the used car lot where I was shopping and they were telling me my car was only worth around $17,000 in trade. This meant that I would have to either cough up the difference or roll the difference into the purhcase price the new car. Now I may be a moron at times, but those other cars they already had on their used car lot, those cars had selling prices of nearly $24,000! That means that they would give me $17,000 and then turn around and sell it for probably $23,000 and make $4,000 on the deal! No thanks - I was not born yesterday and I certainly did not have some sign on my forhead that said dummy (yet)! So I make some calls and find the exact car I wanted in another part of the state where you could consider the cost of living to be higher and the market for imports much more favorable at the time. Trading in my BMW there would mean that I would only have to eat $2,000 in negative equity if I traded in! So I went for it, but you know what? A few weeks later a gentleman calls me up inquiring about the maintenance and history of my old car! He is about to buy it from the dealership and they had emailed and asked if I minded talking to him - no certainly not. So he calls and you know what he was going to pay for my former BMW? $23,995! Well that means that if I had not been in such a hurry to purchase a new car; if I had simpoly exercised a little patience in that instance, then I could have been the one profiting (as much as $3,000) from the sale and not having to eat the negative equity (too a penny) 2-years later (as in last month)! So if you want to eliminate any hassles, trade it in, but if you want some money for a down payment, then sell it oyurself. Sure it can be a little frustrating and you will get some interesting telephone calls but I would think that the $2,000-$3,000 that you will make on the sale to be adequate compensation! Michael
Re: Re: Re: Truck buying stuff... Thanks ms6073 for the reply. The only problem with that scenario is that we have not babied our car. It has about 70k miles on it. Our kids went from babies to the 6 and 8 yr olds they are now. It definitely needs a good detailing. My DH tried to buff out a couple of car door dings and now that glossy finish is not perfect anymore. There are a couple of interior things like cupholders broken, back cargo pull over thing has a broken piece, etc. It's never had any engine work etc. just normal stuff....tires in good condition too....so I just don't know what it would bring in private sale vs. trade value since it's not what I would call "mint". I really appreciate the input though because I want to do this purchase right with a good balance of saving $ vs. time and $ spent on trade, etc. I really love the Sequoia (I've already test driven it) and am ready to take the plunge. Any other suggestions you have are welcomed!!!
Re: Re: Re: Re: Truck buying stuff... Ah, car detailing can be tedious, not too mention it is also a "science" that can take a long time to master. Sometimes it is better to spend $100-$300 to have a car professionally detailed since in additon to a wash and wax, the detailers can also steam clean the engine bay, shampoo the carpet and give it that semi-new smell, as well as make minor exterior imperfections much less noticeable. As for the broken bits, call the dealer and see what they cost! If that is too much then check the yellow pages for auto recycling/salvage/junk yards where you might pick up the parts for a song! I scoured the salvage (junk) yards and was able to restore a Black & Tan 1992 Mazda Miata C-Model for which I had paid only $1,800, to near show room condition this way at a fraction of the cost!
