I can't speak to your situation, but those numbers would make it make sense. I've bought a lot of cars, including an f150 a couple of years ago and never saw anything like that. Sounds like that dealer is trying to bludgeon someone on a used truck.
Compact to Midsized SUVs
- Thread starter Gonolz
- Start date
Not one specific dealer. Across an exhaustive, internet-wide search I found that there was, on average, a gap of $2,500 - $5,000 for my particular search.
I have done the same thing with my past 2 vehicles. Certified Pre Owned with low miles you can find some really good deals on and they have been well taken care of that they look new on the outside and inside.
Thanks, all. After all the comments and a little looking around, I think I will open up to gently used where I get a better deal or something that is a little nicer or bigger.
As RRR mentioned, there are some models where there isn't a huge difference in new and used, especially considering year end incentives on new ones. In that case, I'd get new, but it also looks like there are some deals to be had if you look around.
As RRR mentioned, there are some models where there isn't a huge difference in new and used, especially considering year end incentives on new ones. In that case, I'd get new, but it also looks like there are some deals to be had if you look around.
My next car will definitely be another CPO. This past purchase came down to a Honda Accord or an Acura TLX. Both were CPO and were great deals. This is my 2nd Accord but I'll probably go Acura next time.
A lot of people lease luxury SUVs and you are likely to find a well maintained vehicle with low miles for a good price compared to new. The down side is the car will most likely be 2 - 3 years old.
Having a truck in Georgia is like dating the hottest girls in school. As soon as you ditch it there is always someone who will pay any price to jump on it.
Our last two vehicles were TLs, and our next one will likely be a TLX. For me, it’s the best combination of value, style, comfort and quality.
62Nole
Seminole Insider
Soddy. You probably are quite aware of this, but trucks and SUV's have been sky-high for several years now. It is absurd what a 10 year old pickup with 125 k miles will bring. If you look at Blue, Black or NADA
book for values, you will never buy one. They command more $$$$$$
book for values, you will never buy one. They command more $$$$$$
Lol. I agree. Several years ago, when we needed a new minivan, I bought a used, loaded, 2002 Toyota Sienna with 110K miles in 2011 for 6K. It's still going.strong with 180K now. Found this on autotrader.
Last year, I bought my son a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe, Single owner, Limited AWD from Autotrader. with 117K miles for 4K. Had it checked out at the dealer for a recall after purchase. The seller bought a Lexus, and I figure that Lexus lowballed her on the trade-in, so she was just hoping to get 1K more. Got the autotrader alert, contacted her within hours and gave a deposit that day.
There are plenty of good cars far sale, under warranty, for great prices. Find somebody with access to auto auctions. Some Toyotas such as the Tacoma and Jeeps are hardly worth it, but other cars depreciate rapidly and you can find a great deal.
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I don't know that saving 2500 on a two year old truck is worth it. Is that a 5% savings or 10% savings. You lose two years of warranty, and you don't know the maintenance history. Buying used you want to find a reliable care that depreciates quickly.
BMWs are a good example, but not necessarily reliable. You can get them at a huge discount as they age.
But to each his own. If I buy new, I drive them into the ground and will pay the premium to know the history.
Demand for trucks is high and reflected in used prices. SUVs aren't quite as high on the used prices, but much higher than most cars. GM is laying off a lot of workers and closing plants because of lack of demand for cars. Trucks and SUVs are what people are mostly wanting these days.
I get that used cars are more reliable than ever and can make sense but we’ve always bought new then keep them for 10-11 years. I just like knowing the full history. Like Ronnie said, it’s often less than $5k difference so not a big savings.
Not knowing the history does give me some concern, especially on cars that are 1-2 years old. I mean, somebody sold that car for some reason. Carfax allays some concerns, but even it does not always have all/enough details. I saw a great deal, but Carfax included "service and replace battery" at 8,000 miles. I don't know whether that is just a bad battery that was drained or a problem with the electrical system. Another deal I saw was unbelievably good. Carfax showed no problems. I noticed the location was Houston and that the car was sold shortly after Hurricane Harvey. I won't buy any used car with any sort of red flags and will look for a good warranty if I go that way.
This. People who get itchy in the want car for any amount of time. We bought our Jeep as a one off from a Lexus dealer. I find those are the best deals since anytime you trade in a lease early, you are getting crushed on the deal. Now the dealer has an off brand car on his lot that he can't sell from foot traffic, so anything he can do to unload it is icing on top.
The EX-L trim is the second from the top after Touring. If you buy a 1-2 year old Pilot as CPO you can get it for mid 20s
For me, the sweet spot is the 3-4 year old range. Our last car was 3.5 years old, 32K miles and still has a new car smell. We got it for half of sticker and will probably own it for at least 10 years. I'll take 10 years at half sticker over 13 years at full sticker.
That always amazes me. These people that drive a car for 3-4 years without putting a scratch anywhere on the interior or exterior and the car smells of new must not have kids. I always wondered with the cars we traded in if they didn't go straight to the car crusher.
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Location matters a lot. I traded in my 4Runner (it was 10 years old) on my Tundra and was blown away by what they offered. After the deal was signed I asked the salesperson about it and he said that such a vehicle will move in a matter of hours to someone working on a natural gas/fracking site in the area (I’m in western PA). He then kicked me in the nuts and said I would have made a good deal more if I had sold it myself. 
I recently took a part time job - to relieve boredom mostly - at a local car dealership (one of the largest in the state) where I'm a floater (fill in where needed but not in sales)
What an eye opening experience. I don't mean in a bad way, just learning a whole new industry. I'll just say they need to sell lots of cars every month to cover overhead, so buyers should be aware and prepared to drive bargains as much as possible.
What an eye opening experience. I don't mean in a bad way, just learning a whole new industry. I'll just say they need to sell lots of cars every month to cover overhead, so buyers should be aware and prepared to drive bargains as much as possible.
When we lived in West Palm, my wife was a title clerk for a large Ford dealership. They turned out 500-750 cars a month. They had long time sales people who made 6 figures primarily on volume selling to past customers.
There’s an excellent This American Life about life as a car salesman:
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/513/129-cars
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/513/129-cars
Or it's coming off of a lease if it's about 3 years old there can be some good deals there
Yes because the stealership does not make money on selling cars they make it on financing and repair
I just took my Mazda in for a 60000 mile maintenance and they try to sell me a brake fluid change and a fuel injection / carbon cleaning change for about 300 plus extra I asked the service guy if either of these items were on the maintenance manual and he said the brake fluid change was but I looked it up later and it only said inspect. I then called my Independent Auto Body Shop and they would have done both jobs and brake jobs for half the price of the dealer using Mazda parts
He later called me back and told me my battery was weak and gave me some numbers on amps and voltage Etc since the car is 5 years old and I've never replace the battery I just told him to do it I paid 150 for that but I could have gone to the auto parts store and done it for probably 90 bucks in 10 minutes of Labor myself but I just don't have time to hassle with all the DS stuff like that in my life
Overall the experience was very good but you just need to watch what they try to upsell
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Wound up w/ the Santa Fe as a rental over Thanksgiving weekend.
Very easy to drive. To me that is the number one criteria. Does it pick up speed well, is it too noisy, does it drive like a boat. Santa Fe checked the right boxes. About 5 years ago when my folks were getting a Hyundai Genesis I was like "Why would you do that", since then I've wound up renting a number of them and become a big fan of the brand. They're my number two, only behind Acura.
In terms of cars, I like gadgets, so the tech features are what matter to me the most after ease of driving, I don't care as much about looks or luxury cachet. I haven't owned a car in 13 years but if I were to get one now, I'd be between a Hyundai Elantra, Acura ILX, Acura TLX, Tesla Model 3, or Tesla Model S.
Yeah, trucks don't lose a lot of value and I won't even purchase a used house. I'm hoping to buy a new F150 here soon, maybe get a 18 right before new year when they are anxious to sell them before they get all of the 19s.
I drive all sorts of rental cars across the nation and i always enjoy returning home to my wife's MDX. Acura hit the nail on the head with this mid size SUV.
