Next Steps for Buying a Used Car
July 6, 2018 8:15 AM Subscribe
I've narrowed my car choice down to a certified used 2016/7 Honda Fit with mileage <40k costing <$16k. I've test driven it and really like it. I've located dealers in and around the NYC area, where I live. I've emailed them about specific certified cars listed online to ask their best price. All previous Ask threads have been so informative to get me to this point. But I have several simple questions remaining.
For reasons, I'm doing this by myself. My current car is on its last legs. Stress is present. I'm starting to get tempted to make the fa$test decision to be done with it, which ultimately isn't best. Here are my remaining questions:
1. I want my mechanic in NY to check out the car before purchase. How is that done - Can I drive a car located in NJ into NY for that purpose or do I have to find another mechanic in NJ? Or could I ask the NJ dealership to drive it to my NY mechanic?
2. Do I want to avoid dealers in the city because they'll also charge city sales tax? Or will buying in Rockland, Westchester, Bergen, Nassau, etc. come out about the same?
3. I've been reviewing individual cars' carfax records - some (<30k miles) don't have records of maintenance listed. Do I avoid those or is it okay if newer cars with low mileage have had their first year with no formal maintenance?
4. When I am ready to buy, do I just write a check for the amount (from my online bank account) or do I need to get a cashier's check ready?
5. Starting yesterday, my car currently makes some funny noises and won't get much as a trade-in. Is it still easier to go that route or better to list it on craigslist? I'm looking for the easiest route here, not the most lucrative.
6. Several cars I like are listed above what KBB, etc. recommend so I believe there's some wiggle room. If I don't hear back from the dealer about my emails, do I just email again (and avoid dropping by dealership in person only until I'm ready to buy)?
I'd be grateful for any suggestions.
For reasons, I'm doing this by myself. My current car is on its last legs. Stress is present. I'm starting to get tempted to make the fa$test decision to be done with it, which ultimately isn't best. Here are my remaining questions:
1. I want my mechanic in NY to check out the car before purchase. How is that done - Can I drive a car located in NJ into NY for that purpose or do I have to find another mechanic in NJ? Or could I ask the NJ dealership to drive it to my NY mechanic?
2. Do I want to avoid dealers in the city because they'll also charge city sales tax? Or will buying in Rockland, Westchester, Bergen, Nassau, etc. come out about the same?
3. I've been reviewing individual cars' carfax records - some (<30k miles) don't have records of maintenance listed. Do I avoid those or is it okay if newer cars with low mileage have had their first year with no formal maintenance?
4. When I am ready to buy, do I just write a check for the amount (from my online bank account) or do I need to get a cashier's check ready?
5. Starting yesterday, my car currently makes some funny noises and won't get much as a trade-in. Is it still easier to go that route or better to list it on craigslist? I'm looking for the easiest route here, not the most lucrative.
6. Several cars I like are listed above what KBB, etc. recommend so I believe there's some wiggle room. If I don't hear back from the dealer about my emails, do I just email again (and avoid dropping by dealership in person only until I'm ready to buy)?
I'd be grateful for any suggestions.
Just get a new one. Get two or three email quotes. You'll be surprised how little the used ones are discounted relative to new.
Take your old car to a Carmax and get a written quote - it'll be a printout and it'll be good for 10 days or so, and that's your bottom dollar for a trade offer from a dealer. If your dealer offers you less than the Carmax quote, show them the Carmax quote, and tell them you expect a match. Otherwise, sell to Carmax. It's painless.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 8:46 AM on July 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Take your old car to a Carmax and get a written quote - it'll be a printout and it'll be good for 10 days or so, and that's your bottom dollar for a trade offer from a dealer. If your dealer offers you less than the Carmax quote, show them the Carmax quote, and tell them you expect a match. Otherwise, sell to Carmax. It's painless.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 8:46 AM on July 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
1. You'll have to ask the dealership. They are generally OK with it, but time and distance matter.
2. Every city that I lived in that charged sales tax on the car managed to collect that tax at registration no matter where I bought it. Otherwise, dealerships would set up just outside of town and the tax would have no effect.
3. Carfax records are notoriously unreliable. They are accurate enough on what they do show, but the absence of a record could mean they just don't have the record. The carfax on my truck shows no maintenance having been done, and I can assure you that I have been very diligent about it.
4. Just trade it in. You won't get top dollar, but its far less hassle.
5. KBB is.... not that accurate as to prices, IME. If you assume that their margin for error is +/- 3%, on a 30k car that's a ~2000 dollar window. I'm not saying don't negotiate, but a few hundred this way or that way isn't a huge deal if you otherwise like the car.
Honestly - your financing options and costs are *much* more important than the price.
Hope that helps, and good luck!
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:22 AM on July 6, 2018
2. Every city that I lived in that charged sales tax on the car managed to collect that tax at registration no matter where I bought it. Otherwise, dealerships would set up just outside of town and the tax would have no effect.
3. Carfax records are notoriously unreliable. They are accurate enough on what they do show, but the absence of a record could mean they just don't have the record. The carfax on my truck shows no maintenance having been done, and I can assure you that I have been very diligent about it.
4. Just trade it in. You won't get top dollar, but its far less hassle.
5. KBB is.... not that accurate as to prices, IME. If you assume that their margin for error is +/- 3%, on a 30k car that's a ~2000 dollar window. I'm not saying don't negotiate, but a few hundred this way or that way isn't a huge deal if you otherwise like the car.
Honestly - your financing options and costs are *much* more important than the price.
Hope that helps, and good luck!
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:22 AM on July 6, 2018
*IF* you have good credit and can get the 0.9% promotional rate Honda is offering, a new one will not cost appreciably more than used at what seems to be the market rate of 4% for used cars, or may even work out cheaper.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:32 AM on July 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:32 AM on July 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Do get a quote/ offer from Carmax for the old car.
I would look for a local person to inspect the vehicle. At under 40K miles, it's likely to be ok and you'll spend a lot of time and money driving to your mechanic.
I find car dealers to be incredibly haphazard about email, most don't reply or reply only after days. And they keep silly hours and aren't open when I can shop. Be persistent.
I check pricing on Edmunds, Cars.com, and kbb.com.
You should always negotiate price. Be willing to walk away. Every used car salesperson has pressured me to buy. I never make a big financial decision quickly, so I always say I'm going to sleep on it, and have gotten a better offer.
Or get what you want with limited hassle on Carmax, Cars.com, Edmunds, Autotrader.com, etc.
posted by theora55 at 9:39 AM on July 6, 2018
I would look for a local person to inspect the vehicle. At under 40K miles, it's likely to be ok and you'll spend a lot of time and money driving to your mechanic.
I find car dealers to be incredibly haphazard about email, most don't reply or reply only after days. And they keep silly hours and aren't open when I can shop. Be persistent.
I check pricing on Edmunds, Cars.com, and kbb.com.
You should always negotiate price. Be willing to walk away. Every used car salesperson has pressured me to buy. I never make a big financial decision quickly, so I always say I'm going to sleep on it, and have gotten a better offer.
Or get what you want with limited hassle on Carmax, Cars.com, Edmunds, Autotrader.com, etc.
posted by theora55 at 9:39 AM on July 6, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks for everything so far. Not to threadsit but here are a few more pieces of info:
I have cash to pay up to about $16k. A new car would cost ~ $19-20k. Unless I can finagle it down slightly.
My credit is great. If I were to get a new car, as everythings_interrelated suggested, which would be easier on a few levels, I suppose I could finance the $3k balance? Do dealerships do that for such a "small" amount? I would be loathe to put it on my credit card because I couldn't pay it off in full for several months.
posted by MCMLXXXIV at 9:51 AM on July 6, 2018
I have cash to pay up to about $16k. A new car would cost ~ $19-20k. Unless I can finagle it down slightly.
My credit is great. If I were to get a new car, as everythings_interrelated suggested, which would be easier on a few levels, I suppose I could finance the $3k balance? Do dealerships do that for such a "small" amount? I would be loathe to put it on my credit card because I couldn't pay it off in full for several months.
posted by MCMLXXXIV at 9:51 AM on July 6, 2018
Regarding the trade in of the old car, it depends on how much the extra cash from a private sale is worth to you. I upgraded to a used Fit from a very old Accord earlier this year. The Accord had some issues, but was still a deal for basic transportation. I was offered $300 trade in, ended up listing it for $1500, and accepting $1300 in a private sale.
The private sale was only one afternoon, but was a lot of additional stress at a time when I was already stressed about car related stuff. I learned a lot about private car sales and pocketed an additional $1000, it was worth it for me. YMMV.
posted by ethical_caligula at 10:04 AM on July 6, 2018
The private sale was only one afternoon, but was a lot of additional stress at a time when I was already stressed about car related stuff. I learned a lot about private car sales and pocketed an additional $1000, it was worth it for me. YMMV.
posted by ethical_caligula at 10:04 AM on July 6, 2018
The great thing about all of the autoloans that I've seen is they have no pre-payment penalty, and no finance charge based upon size of the loan. So even if they won't do the great interest 0.9% loan, ensure that there's no prepayment penalties, and then make your first payment however large you want.
Last Sept I got a 0% loan offer - that's about $3-4k in interest at the prices I was considering - that pushed me into a new car instead of lightly used. Be aware however that some dealerships won't have in stock, or will greatly drag there feet to get a relatively minimal car. I walked out of hyundai after wasting an hour of back and forth sales relaying to manager when the prices I'd earlier talked about weren't available because of mud flaps, window protection numbers, and a secondary non-vin number ingraved into the frame for ~$2k in total. I did not have that problem at Mitsubishi.
posted by nobeagle at 10:11 AM on July 6, 2018
Last Sept I got a 0% loan offer - that's about $3-4k in interest at the prices I was considering - that pushed me into a new car instead of lightly used. Be aware however that some dealerships won't have in stock, or will greatly drag there feet to get a relatively minimal car. I walked out of hyundai after wasting an hour of back and forth sales relaying to manager when the prices I'd earlier talked about weren't available because of mud flaps, window protection numbers, and a secondary non-vin number ingraved into the frame for ~$2k in total. I did not have that problem at Mitsubishi.
posted by nobeagle at 10:11 AM on July 6, 2018
I think a financially prudent approach would be to put something like $5k down and finance the remainder at what should be a pretty low rate. This has the advantage of allowing you to use your cash on hand for something else - emergency fund, investment account, what have you. A lot of the car-buying wisdom - always buy used, never finance - is from a time when there was faster depreciation and higher interest rates. Today there is slower depreciation and lower interest rates, making the new vs used a little less clearcut.
You can use a car-payment calculator to determine how much total interest you would pay. For example, for an $18,500 purchase price, with $5000 down and $500 for trade-in, with a 2% interest rate for 60 months would result in ~ $700 in total interest paid over the five years. At 1% and $1000 for trade, it's a total interest cost of $325 over five years.
So, for $325, you get to keep ~ $12k on hand. And in my opinion, you're getting better value by purchasing new.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 10:24 AM on July 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
You can use a car-payment calculator to determine how much total interest you would pay. For example, for an $18,500 purchase price, with $5000 down and $500 for trade-in, with a 2% interest rate for 60 months would result in ~ $700 in total interest paid over the five years. At 1% and $1000 for trade, it's a total interest cost of $325 over five years.
So, for $325, you get to keep ~ $12k on hand. And in my opinion, you're getting better value by purchasing new.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 10:24 AM on July 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
I have cash to pay up to about $16k.
My credit is great.
I don't know a thing about car loans because I bought my car outright, so no advice on that part. But for the part you can pay in cash, don't do a check. Put that shit on a rewards credit card and pay it off immediately. (IMMEDIATELY.)
I made several hundred dollars of "free" cashback moneys because I paid for my car on a* rewards card.
(*Well, technically two rewards cards, since my credit limit wasn't high enough to do it all on one, but there was no problem breaking it up into two smaller transactions.)
posted by phunniemee at 10:42 AM on July 6, 2018
My credit is great.
I don't know a thing about car loans because I bought my car outright, so no advice on that part. But for the part you can pay in cash, don't do a check. Put that shit on a rewards credit card and pay it off immediately. (IMMEDIATELY.)
I made several hundred dollars of "free" cashback moneys because I paid for my car on a* rewards card.
(*Well, technically two rewards cards, since my credit limit wasn't high enough to do it all on one, but there was no problem breaking it up into two smaller transactions.)
posted by phunniemee at 10:42 AM on July 6, 2018
Most car dealers will take a credit card but charge 1-3% for the privilege. But checks are fine. Someone with good credit is not going to try to run off with a car.
posted by wnissen at 1:54 PM on July 6, 2018
posted by wnissen at 1:54 PM on July 6, 2018
1. Have the used car checked out by a local garage to the dealership. It's unnecessary and inconvenient to get the car checked by your own local mechanic. Almost all garages will do a fine general inspection for under $100.
4. You need to ask the dealership in advance what type of payments they prefer.
5. I agree that KBB is not accurate/real world. Cars sell for less than shown.
If I'm reading you correctly, it sounds like you'd prefer buying new, selling your present car to the dealer. This is the more expensive plan...but less work & risk.
To save money, buy used and sell privately.
posted by artdrectr at 3:24 PM on July 6, 2018
4. You need to ask the dealership in advance what type of payments they prefer.
5. I agree that KBB is not accurate/real world. Cars sell for less than shown.
If I'm reading you correctly, it sounds like you'd prefer buying new, selling your present car to the dealer. This is the more expensive plan...but less work & risk.
To save money, buy used and sell privately.
posted by artdrectr at 3:24 PM on July 6, 2018
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It may depend on the dealer but in my experience big ones have no problem with checks.
Starting yesterday, my car currently makes some funny noises and won't get much as a trade-in. Is it still easier to go that route or better to list it on craigslist? I'm looking for the easiest route here, not the most lucrative.
As long as it's still rolling, they'll probably offer you at least $500 for it. They're just going to punt it to a broker anyway so they don't care that much but they won't offer you top dollar. I personally prefer to do so because selling a junker on Craigslist can take time with people flaking out on you but it'll depend on whether you have more money than time.
Several cars I like are listed above what KBB, etc. recommend so I believe there's some wiggle room. If I don't hear back from the dealer about my emails, do I just email again (and avoid dropping by dealership in person only until I'm ready to buy)?
Calling generally gets better results than email in my experience but then have them follow up with an email if you like the price so you get it in writing.
posted by Candleman at 8:40 AM on July 6, 2018