My Ford Explorer started losing its transmission earlier this year at 268,000 miles. First the reverse went out and I used it only for emergencies as I drove it #ForwardThinking you know park it in the forward position in the parking lots that have 2 parking slots in a row. And later on the Drive went out and I drove the last bit in 2nd Gear then parked it at home where iot has remained since awaiting the day I trade it away. Now I have been using mostly a website called CarGurus.com to find cars since they list multiple dealerships, options and show the comparable prices and compare the price of the vehicle to the current market value of the vehicles and also shows what other similar vehicles have sold for within the area and within the United States. They also tell you how long a vehicle has been at a particular dealership as well as how long it’s been listed on Car Gurus and how many people have saved the vehicles as favorites. Coming into a dealership armed to the teeth with useful information like this really helps a huge amount with negotiations. However lately I have run into some serious weaksauce excuses for why the cars are priced so damned high…
First problem is I need an SUV… yes everyone says that but few really mean it. Most people just want an SUV because they think it will be better for a larger family. But in reality most cars and SUV crossovers these days have AWD (All Wheel Drive) and more comfortably fit a family of 4, 5 or even 6 than most SUVs they also drive smoother than traditional SUVs. The people that really need them are those like me The main DJ for www.djemir.com and www.denversbestdjs.com that have a need to carry serious DJ equipment, speakers, turntables etc… as well as lighting equipment and occasional equipment and passengers at the same time. But with everyone and their mom now looking at the SUV market SUVs have become ultra expensive, yes even the used ones are still crazy expensive for what they are.
It’s easy to find a used car at a decent price. It seems very hard to find a good used SUV at a reasonable price. And when you do if you don’t move on it in fear of perhaps finding an even better deal down the road… well then you might miss out… or if you hold out long enough the price drops and you snatch it up. We missed out on a sweet Nissan Pathfinder that was only $20,000 with only 30,000 miles and was in immaculate shape because it was the end of the day and I just didn’t want to put the guy through one more test drive and let’s face it it looked like a station wagon compared to the Toyota 4Runner LOL but it probably has been the one vehicle we regretted letting go.
Let me break this down:
I have been looking mostly at Honda Pilots and Toyota 4Runners along with a few other makes and models. I started looking at 2013 Range Rover Sport, Honda Pilot’s, Jeep Cherokee Overlands and Ford Explorers but my wife and I kept finding horror stories on certain vehicles and she started pushing 4Runners which initially I thought were BUTT UGLY because of the huge gaping hole in their grill that to me looked like a Manta Ray’s mouth or Hulk Hogan’s Mustache (which he pulls off quite well by the way, but does not look good on a vehicle LOL) It wasn’t until I saw the limited edition with a very different grill and body style that I actually started to look at 4Runners and eventually became obsessed with finding a good one. And together we decide on either a 4runner or a Honda Pilot as they both have 3rd row (standard 3rd Row on the Honda Pilots and Optional on 4runners) But that lead to problem number one:
Excuse 1: It’s a HONDA, It’s a Toyota etc… It is very dependable and so it holds it’s value.
OK that is slightly understandable, but come on, once a car goes over the 100,000 mile mark… that shit is just plain OLD! Stop the bullshit why is a car that hit 100,000 miles listed at $24,000 – $35,000? “But it’s a Toyota it will run forever” “Oh 100,000 miles is just barely breaking a Toyota 4Runner in” More like BREAKING THE VEHICLE!… Seriously, just because quite a few Toyotas have been known to go past the 300k mark does not automatically mean the particular vehicle I am looking at will. I mean at least cover the vehicle for a full year and 24,000 miles… Mosed Used Car dealerships offer AS IS NO warranty and the others offer minimal warranties so you are basically gambling $30,000 on a used vehicle that may need massive repairs in the near future. Even a 1 Year or 12,000 mile powertrain warranty is almost nothing if I end up driving it more often and most have only a 3000 all inclusive warranty, that’s just one oil change away, you really think that is going to save you? Negotiate the damned price down and / or the warranty period up.
Excuse 2: Yes it’s an older car but it has low milage
This one keeps getting used, and it’s used up as is probably the vehicle that is 8 years old regardless of the miles. OK so it’s a 2012 or a 2010 model car but only has 30,000 miles on it and we are offering it at $36,000 what? Seriously? Ok, granted, the vehicle has not been driven that far so there likely is less wear and tear on all the parts overall, but it still may have been susceptible to the changing weather, and who knows perhaps this vehicle just has had a ton of small issues that kept it in the shop so often that the owner just didn’t have time to drive it. Maybe they crashed it but didn’t want to get the insurance involved and therefore took longer to find a good repair shop that would do it on the downlow… also why hence the clean carfax report (accident Free My Ass) Who knows. It also will have older styling and older technology that is now semi obsolete. If a car is 5 to 10 years old it is still 5 to 10 years old regardless of how many miles are on it, get over yourselves, price your cars right people, a 2012 Honda Pilot Should not be anywhere near a New 2017 Honda Pilot price same with Toyota 4Runners. that is why the cars have been sitting there now for over 120 days. and constantly dropping in price… PS Car Gurus also keeps track of the Price Drops and increases over time. So quite the Bullshit and negotiate the car now and sell it now at the price I am asking rather than later at that same price after months of inching the price down over the internet. Which brings us to excuse number 3 and it’s now a biggie…
Excuse 3: No Haggle Prices: We Price our Cars Competitively, so We Don’t Negotiate Prices
LOL, This is the biggest fattest lie yet. And it comes in several forms. I’ve personally heard “We have an internet specialist that prices our cars competitively to sell online” Really? Then why are almost all the vehicles listed by your company showing up consistently as $1400 to $3000 over market value? And then I will personally see a few of those vehicles drop $500 at a time over the course of several months till they are finally $300 under market while other companies are already $1500 below market from the start? And another version was “we don’t have 4000 to 6000 in mark up to drop the price down for you” Oh come on, New Cars have that and they say Used Cars are where dealerships make their biggest profits. Oh wait I forgot the juiciest one “4Runners are hard to get at Auctions we pick them up sometimes at almost the cost we are selling them at” really so you aren’t in it for the profit? Well aren’t you just the sweetest thing, then why don’t you be a dear and DONATE that car to me I’ll gladly pay you 5000-8000 under your current sticker price, thanks, just write the loss off in your taxes. Oh please we all know you didn’t give the best deal to the guy that traded the car in, you know there’s plenty of wiggle room there.
Excuse 4: Prices on the Old Models Won’t Drop near The End of The Year
Now this one came straight out of Peter’s mouth out in Stevinson Toyota West In Colorado when we said will the 2017 models start dropping in price to make room for the 2018 inventory? He said “Here’s what really happens at the end of the year, everyone that was waiting for a price drop start coming in as the new 2018 models come out then they see the new prices are higher and they start calling all the dealerships to find any remaining 2017s the dealers only have a few so they don’t discount them at all, people simply see the price is still lower than the newer ones and so they start buying all the old ones as fast as they can and then the rest call looking for old models and it;s supply and demand everyone want’s them but there aren’t that many left around so they never get discounted.
Don’t be fooled, they still have a hard time selling them, New Cars are New Cars, there is no difference from one to another other than the color or the price, whereas a used car has many variables that can make one car better than another. Mileage, accidents and service care of the vehicle as well as interior maintenance and detailing can all make a difference in a used car and can drive prices higher or lower accordingly. On a new car the main factor will be the price, negotiate harder or walk and head to the next guy.
Excuse 5: Natural Disasters Are Now Spiking A Demand For Cars. It‘s Supply And Demand
I literally heard this one for the very first time today when I tried to negotiate a car that had been in the Phil Long Ford parking lot for over 3 months why? Because as usual it’s overpriced. It was a 2014 Honda Pilot that I test Drove that was $33,500 a few months back, I have watched the price fall steadily over a few months till it reached $31,000 my wife was like hell no, not without a warranty, we are not buying a Used vehicle without a warranty over $25,000 when we could get a new one near $35,000 with a full warranty. So I have waited on a few vehicles a few have dropped a few when we looked at them closer in person just didn’t stand up to our scrutinizing eyes and noses. Yes a few vehicles looked amazing but stunk like hell or as my wife put it “Did someone die in this vehicle” Now this particular Pilot was clean in all respects but it still is the older body style and is still 3 to 4 years old. I told the guy, you can keep reducing the price slowly over time or you can just sell the vehicle to me now at $25000 to which he retorted, actually with the Hurricane’s in Texas they are now looking to replace over 2 million vehicles so we are just selling vehicles and transferring them down there. This one has a bid offer at 31,000. Well isn’t that just “Convenient” for the dealership. Way to HELP them out with your wonderful charity. TEXAS, Colorado and everywhere else… NEGOTIATE for your best price… same with Housing, stop taking offers at full value and negotiate hard. I Know marijuana is legal now in Colorado bust must you buy a house or a car when you are high? Negotiate people! Well I hope losing a potential customer is worth the price of selling one car especially since We probably will need to replace my wife’s car soon as well. Now the guy had called me several times within the past few months to see if I was still interested in the vehicle, hell yes I’m interested in the vehicle, hell no at that price. And they of course try to play the numbers game trying to find another vehicle in the price range I’d like to be in.
Excuse 6: We Can Keep You At The Same Car Payment
This is one of the biggest, ugliest, most bullshit, fucking lame ass ways of manipulating numbers and manipulating customers I have found so far. And I have been hit with this one at just about every dealership in Colorado. Stop hiding the car’s ultimate price with the financing games. Stick to your guns! I want the car at $25000 … I don’t feel comfortable paying so much for a used car. “what if we can keep your car payments the same” You mean “what if we charge you $35,000 for the car even though you just told us you weren’t willing to pay more than 25K but instead we extend your finance period so that you pay the same price monthly but pay for another 2 extra years” NO Thanks…. Give me the car I want at the price point I asked for at an interest rate that is affordable.
Excuse 7: If I Sell You The Car At That Price Then I Won’t Be Able To Feed My Kids
Don’t give me this bullshit excuse, we know damned well that this is not a charity, it is a for profit company, and we know damned well that there is a hefty profit to be made in car sales. And it is very clearly visible in the retail space you pay for to store and sell these cars and trucks. You can see the profits in the marble floors, the etched glass windows, the High vaulted Ceilings and Artistic display gallery. Let’s face it the only kids I should be worried about feeding are my own and If I buy the car at the ridiculous price you are asking… I won’t be able to feed my kids for years.
Excuse 8: It Has A Clean Carfax with Zero Accidents and Passed a 190 Point Inspection
LOL, how many times have I heard this one and then pointed out how the bumper is cracked, the sides have been obviously touched up, the bumper or side panel is misaligned, has a huge dent or gouge and or there are scrapes on the side or scrapes on the alloy wheels… Obviously it’s been in a few accidents… They obviously didn’t report any of them on the CarFax… or they just traded it in that way rather than deal with insurance. How thorough was the inspection if you missed these few things I found within seconds of “Inspecting the Vehicle” either lower the price or fix that shit, detail the car right, come on man.
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