Used car buying... (1 Viewer)

[KarmaPolice]

I fully admit, I am a sucker who hates confrontation and knows zip about cars. The salespersons' dream.

Anyway, my son is quite tall (6'8"), and we found something that he really loved and could fit in. We seem to have landed on an Altima. We looked online and it seems the price is a tad high - priced at 9.4K, but we see a bluebook saying 8.5-9.1K. We also looked online and there is only 5 in our price range within about an 80mi radius, and this is the best one considering year and mileage. I am wondering how people with car knowledge and a spine would approach this.

Also, what things should we be on the look out for when we buy? Is there anything worth a crap that they will try to throw at us? Any specific questions that should be asked?

 

[ChiefD]

Buying a used car right now sucks balls. Had to buy one a month ago. Made me want to puke what we had to pay.

Good luck!

 

[northern exposure]

Is the vehicle at a car lot? If so, I would ask to see the Carfax (or whatever it is called in your area) a report that gives a rundown of any accidents the vehicle has been in and the service records.

I would take the vehicle for a test drive and listen carefully for any strange noises and really look it over carefully for any flaws. If the tires look old, the windshield is cracked, there's some rust on it, etc. I would use this as a reason to lower the price to closer to the bluebook price. They are trying to get top dollar for the vehicle and you should try to get it for the best price possible. If they won't lower the price, I would try to get them to throw things like free oil changes from their service department into the deal. It saves your son some $ in the future and doesn't really cost the dealership much.

 

[KarmaPolice]

It is at a lot, we saw the carfax and it was just minor damage, which was a mild scrape my the driver rear taillight. All the serivces i saw on the report were regular maintenance. 2 owners.

We got to the lot before they closed with just enough time to drive it a bit. Honestly, i thought the car looked great - very clean, i didnt any damage or wear inside or out besides the above. Tires looked great.

 

[fruity pebbles]

I don’t know how many miles or service history but the weak spot on these cars is the cvt transmission if not meticulously maintained.

 

[northern exposure]

It is at a lot, we saw the carfax and it was just minor damage, which was a mild scrape my the driver rear taillight. All the serivces i saw on the report were regular maintenance. 2 owners.

We got to the lot before they closed with just enough time to drive it a bit. Honestly, i thought the car looked great - very clean, i didnt any damage or wear inside or out besides the above. Tires looked great.

The lot will do a good job of detailing the vehicle to make it look its best.
If I was you I would go to the lot with your son and tell them that you are sold on the vehicle, but your son isn't.
Tell them your son is set on another vehicle that is priced closer to the bluebook price (say $8.7K). Tell them you are sure you can convince him to buy the Altima if they get their price closer to that magic number.

If you don't want to mess around with all of this, just pay the full price. It sounds like you are sold on the vehicle.

 

[MTskibum]

If it has a CVT I would avoid. They are an 8000+ dollar repair usually. Based on what I read online maybe a 150,000 is about best case, with anything over 100,000 miles living on borrowed time.

 

[culdeus]

There's a billion page thread here on this topic. Lots of good advice.

 

[brun]

Has your son test driven any other cars?
I had a 4 cylinder Altima, 2017 I think, for about 6 months. Thought it was underpowered.

 

[KarmaPolice]

There's a billion page thread here on this topic. Lots of good advice.

If we wanted to decide last night and act this morning, I didn't want to read a billion pages, sorry.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Has your son test driven any other cars?
I had a 4 cylinder Altima, 2017 I think, for about 6 months. Thought it was underpowered.

Yeah, we were out all of yesterday. Like I posted above, his size was a huge limitation. I was surprised he seemed more comfortable in cars vs. SUVs. But then many of the cars we had initially eyed up like the Elantra and others when he got in he was scraping the roof. We annoyed one salesperson because I just wanted him to physically try to get into a bunch of cars so we could eliminate a lot he probably climbed into 20 different cars and suvs. He was most comfortable in a Sonata, Trax, and Altima. The Sonata was key start so we couldn't get that insured, so that was going to be another process if we wanted to try find one they would insure in our range. I thought it had decent pep, but I also was just riding. It's an Altima 2.5 SL if that helps.

So as to @northern exposure 's point above, yeah I guess we are sold on the car after talking through more. I was mostly just fishing for a quick answer if the price seemed reasonable or how much they could be marking it up. bluebook seems to indicate it's a bit high, but it is also about the only decent safe prospect we've had after a couple days of looking so there is that. Curious where others would or have started with any price negotiations.

 

[kupcho1]

there is only 5 in our price range within about an 80mi radius,

Why does this matter?
Carvana (or other on-line vendors) completely remove proximity from the equation.
I used Carvana ~3 years ago and the process was exemplary. You'll likely find a better deal there and they'll drive the car right to your door.

 

[KarmaPolice]

there is only 5 in our price range within about an 80mi radius,

Why does this matter?
Carvana (or other on-line vendors) completely remove proximity from the equation.
I used Carvana ~3 years ago and the process was exemplary. You'll likely find a better deal there and they'll drive the car right to your door.

I will be honest, I have barely heard of Carvana, and just assumed it's yet another site like autotrader, carfax, etc..

It was an issue because the 3 of us are barely in a room together for more than 5mins before 9pm because of our schedules. He currently doesn't have a car, and my wife just happened to have the day off today and tomorrow.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I just looked at carvana and unless I am doing something wrong the lowest priced Altima is a 2014 2.5SV for $11,990 + shipping.

 

[bonsai]

Buying a used car right now sucks balls. Had to buy one a month ago. Made me want to puke what we had to pay.

The worst part is dealing with the smarmy salesmen. If there's a way to avoid those guys at all costs when buying a used car, that's always ideal.

I just looked at carvana and unless I am doing something wrong the lowest priced Altima is a 2014 2.5SV for $11,990 + shipping.

There's no CarvanaPrime in which you can get free shipping, right?

 

[kupcho1]

There's no CarvanaPrime in which you can get free shipping, right?

When I used Carvana 3 years ago, roughly 1/2 of the cars I was considering had $0 shipping.
It's vehicle price + shipping + taxes, tile & registration
You need to factor all the costs

 

[KarmaPolice]

Buying a used car right now sucks balls. Had to buy one a month ago. Made me want to puke what we had to pay.

The worst part is dealing with the smarmy salesmen. If there's a way to avoid those guys at all costs when buying a used car, that's always ideal.

I just looked at carvana and unless I am doing something wrong the lowest priced Altima is a 2014 2.5SV for $11,990 + shipping.

There's no CarvanaPrime in which you can get free shipping, right?

There were cars available with free shipping, I just specifically looked at that model the closest match to what we drove yesterday.

 

[bonsai]

You need to factor all the costs

Is there an easy to do this?

 

[kupcho1]

You need to factor all the costs

Is there an easy to do this?

Yes and no.

The easy part, if your using Carvana (and others, I guess, but that's the on-line vendor I've used), they provide

• vehicle price
• shipping cost (can be $0)
• taxes, title & registration

So there's your all-in purchase cost.

They also provide a Carfax, but if you're using someone else and they don't have it available for free, it's worth paying for (pennies on the dollar w/r/t your purchase price)
You can use this to see if there have been accidents, expensive maintenance, etc. That, the mileage of the vehicle you're considering and how old the car is should give you some indication of maintenance costs going forward.

Lastly, are you getting 2 keys? I think just about all cars use the fob nowadays, and they can be expensive if you need a replacement or want a spare. It'll be at least a couple of hundred dollars. If you are choosing between 2 cars, and all other considerations are roughly equal, I'd consider the fob cost.

 

[Ridgeback]

I just traded my 2017 Mazda CX-5 in for a 2022 Mazda CX30, Carbon Edition with 17k miles. After the trade in, it was 8,600 OTD. It is SO much funner to drive. This drives like a suped up sedan instead of a crossover SUV.

I usually don't do trade ins with the dealer but they caved to my price so I couldn't resist.