Travails of Used Car Shopping

[CycloneErik]

Balken - out of curiousity, what are you looking to buy?

I've had both ends of the spectrum. Purchasing my Accord from Holmes was great. Not sure I got all that great of a deal, but they guy there at least made it "feel" like I did.

Contrast that - we were also thinking of getting a new Forrester from Ramsey Subaru. The guys there are jacks. I little too "tough". We were in the showroom one night checking over the new model. The guy working was helpful, but made it crystal clear that sticker is what we would pay - no negotiations. "They sell too well for them to mark down". At least give me the feeling that I'm getting a deal. Especially when I can shop online and have priced it for 2K+ cheaper.

I'll go out of town before I give that place my business ever again.

Both those were new, however. The only used car I bought was from Stew Hansens when they were still on Ingersoll. They were fantastic. Can't say a bad thing about them. Checked in with them when I tried to buy my truck years back. They were great then too, just didn't have what I was looking for.

I think most of us end up just feeling like we got a good deal. A good salesman will do that. They'll make sure the numbers match up to what we want, even if those #s possibly could have been better somewhere else or with better negotiating on our own part. To me, that's probably where most of us (definitely me) end up.

[ISU4ME]

I'll be looking at the end of this month, end of next month to get into to something different. Are there any tips/tricks that people know of to get a good deal? I know buying at the end of the month is normally better than the beginning of the month.

Go to Edmunds.com and reasearch the TMV (True Market Value) if you are purchasing new. Take this to the dealership with you. It is a solid starting point and made the negotiation on a sell price a lot easier vs. working from MSRP like they started.