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Purchasing Used Vehicles

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#1 of 1678 Used Vehicle Prices Increase... by Car_man HOST

Nov 18, 2003 (11:52 am)

I thought that those of you who visit the Smart Shoppers Message Board might find it interesting that used vehicle prices seem to be on the rise. According to the following new article that was published by Automotive News yesterday, Average wholesale prices increase again, the country's biggest auto auction corporations claim that the average price of used vehicles that were wholesaled in October 2003 increased 0.5% from the prior month's number. Has anyone out there notices a similar trend when shopping for a used vehicle? How about those of you who work in the industry? Have you noticed a general increase in used vehicle prices over the past several months? Inquiring minds want to know? Please feel free to use this discussion to provide your thoughts on this article or on your own observations of used vehicle pricing. Thanks.
 
Car_man
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#2 of 1678 Car_man .. by rroyce10

Nov 18, 2003 (2:11 pm)

..... **How about those of you who work in the industry? ..**
 
        The last month ..? hmm, I didn't know they had 100 day months .. I better be asking for a more accurate calender for the year of 2004 .....
 
        Depending on the area (and the vehicle) most dealers are up about 10/15% over last year.
 
                     Terry.

#3 of 1678 SUV Trade-in question by lhubber

Nov 20, 2003 (9:50 pm)

I am interested in trading my 97 Ford Expedition XLT with 88450 miles. I checked the trade-in value on three sites here and have the figures it should trade for from 8400-9500 with all that is on it, but they low-balled me with an offer of $6900.00. The SUV I am interested in also used, a 2003 Buick rendezvous AWD that has been on this buick lot for over a month and they have knocked the price down $2k already.
 
My question is why would they make such a ridiculous offer even though they knew I had done my homework-which I had with me?
 
I know that used cars are tough right now, but does that also go for these type of vehicles?
 
I priced them used, and similar Ford Exp. are going for $10.5-$13.0 asking price.
 
Help! The used-manager wants to speak with me again, but I am stalling as I was so mad with his sorry first offer.
 
Advice? Was thinking of making an offer outright, low, the day before thanksgiving to see what they say prior to trade talks, and have thought of trying to sell myself but is their no market out there for the Big rig?
 
Thanks for any in advance for any input!

#4 of 1678 whoa.. by driftracer

Nov 20, 2003 (10:01 pm)

"My question is why would they make such a ridiculous offer even though they knew I had done my homework-which I had with me?"
 
First and foremost, it's not a ridiculous offer, and books and websites don't buy cars, people do.
 
Your rig has almost 90,000 miles on it - that makes it ineligible for any extended warranties or financing - no one will touch it, the dealer would have to get a cash buyer.
 
Also, regardless of how well something is maintained or how good it looks, the dealer is taking a chance by retailing the vehicle.
 
It has to be wholesaled, in most cases.
 
$1500 under trade-in? Not bad at all for a 90,000 mile, 8 model year old rig.
 
Double check with CARMAX, if you have one in your area. I say it looks good, but it's your money.

#5 of 1678 SUV Trade-in question by lhubber .. by rroyce10

Nov 21, 2003 (6:41 am)

...... Depends on a lot of things here .. is it a 2wd .. 4wd ...?
 
        Options ....... ? condition ..?
 
       is it a 4.6 or a 5.4 V8, leather, slider .. ? do we have any repaints, any invasions from the K-Mart crowd, can you see the air in the tires ... ?
 
          These are all the things that the books can't answer ...
 
                    Terry.

#6 of 1678 answers to questions... by lhubber

Nov 21, 2003 (8:01 am)

It has 5.4L V-8, 4WD, it has been completely maintained with no accidents, scratches, etc. Condition is outstanding inside and out, new tires, and really the bottom-line is that I can drive this easily another 70+ miles as this engine has had no problems whatsoever.
 
Hey driftracer, you expect me to believe that $1500 below fair-market value is a good thing. I am in the wholesale business myself, and know a very bad deal when I see it as business overall is too tough for them to walk a customer right out of the box with a 'joke-of-an-offer' like they made. My real question to you is what is the purpose of KellyBlueBook or edmunds or the black book as a source for pricing used car trade-ins, if you tell me that $1500.00 is a good thing for an SUV in my area which happens to be SE Pennsylvania. The bottom line is that they tried an old-school trick which may work on the Geritol crowd, but not on this young one-get real please!

#7 of 1678 So, lhubber... by isellhondas

Nov 21, 2003 (8:15 am)

Why not just sell it yourself if you think it's worth more?
 
I don't doubt it's in nice shape but it's a Ford with nearly 90,000 miles on it!
 
People are afraid of it and for good reason.
 
You think you can drive it another 70,000 miles without major expense?
 
You really have no way of knowing this.
 
"I priced them used and similar Exp are going for 10.5 - 13.0 asking price"
 
Going for...and Asking Price may be totally different from one another.
 
These are a good example of a car that runs "back of book".
 
I would run an ad in the local paper. Who knows?

#8 of 1678 options... by lhubber

Nov 21, 2003 (8:39 am)

I really have three options: sell it, keep it or dicker on the deal which is what I am pursuing right now! And, with this coming up on the end of the month with a bad car holiday with christmas shopping on most people's mind-who knows what can happen-right?

#9 of 1678 answers to questions... by lhubber .. by rroyce10

Nov 21, 2003 (8:44 am)

.... Ok, so we have a 97 EB 4x4 Expedition .. and you say it's it has been completely maintained with no accidents, scratches, etc. Condition is outstanding inside and out, new tires and 90k .. right .? - and you live in SE PA ...
 
        IF, and the word being here is "if" it's as clean as you say it is, deep rubber, service is 110%, looks, drives and feels like an 00 with 30k, no click clicks in the 4x4 and no science experiments in the interior .. then I would agree with you, it's probably not worth $6,9 ... "sounds" more like a $7,5ish vehicle come trade side .. "could", "maybe" "might" be worth $8,0 on a Huge giant push, but it better be "jam-up" glow in the dark and need -0- ...
 
        Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds, black book gives you a "ballpark" figure, a zipcode to work in .. in your area, the Black book will be the most accurate and if you are looking at one right now, it says (on the far right) ~ RGH = $8,000 ... the 90k will flat kill ya .. anyone can ask anything they like for a vehicle, it's their vehicle .. but if your gonna sell em', ya gotta know what they "sell for", not what folks are asking ...
 
        Down Retail Rd, $10,9 "asking" and the first Cashola of $9,5/$10,5 sends it packing ...
 
               I hope this helps ...
 
                      Terry.

#10 of 1678 Wholesale values, by landru2

Nov 21, 2003 (7:30 pm)

I can't say for the other sources, but the wholesale figures published by the black book do not account for any reconditioning that will be needed for a dealer to resell the vehicle. On an Expedition like that I would expect a shop bill of $1500-$2000 easy.
 
But as isell said, if it is such a nice unit why waste time stalling and complaining about what a dealer wants to pay when you could sell it privately for a lot more?

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