Buying used cars at dealerships

[FoxTrot]

Thye always say theyre all certified passing 100 pt inspection yada yada yada. But would you say thats safe, good enough to buy without getting it inspected on your own as well? Do dealers even allow you to take their cars to get inspected elsewhere? Never boughten a car from a dealer before. This would either be airdrie or tnt honda btw. But im looking for a good deal on a lancer.

Another question, they say they give cash for used cars, do you know if they factor in added stuff like HIDs, window tint, Alarm, remote start, 3M on hood, aftermarket rims into their offer price? Basically does it drive the value up on your offer or is all the extra toys money down the drain?

[Hage69]

Just for peace of mind get it inspected at your own mechanic and from my experiences if it's from a dealership they should let you. If they don't let you take it for an inspection, walk away

[FoxTrot]

Originally posted by Hage69
Just for peace of mind get it inspected at your own mechanic and from my experiences if it's from a dealership they should let you. If they don't let you take it for an inspection, walk away

But does a worker come with you? Obviously they wont let you take the car alone. I always assumed dealers refrain from their cars getting inspected elsewhere in case it gets ruined by say another mech and they would take the loss.

[mekeni]

Aftermarket add-ons doesn't add value to your car, you better off selling the aftermarket parts and putting oem back , cars sell faster that way.

[FoxTrot]

Originally posted by mekeni
Aftermarket add-ons doesn't add value to your car, you better off selling the aftermarket parts and putting oem back , cars sell faster that way.

Dumb i know, but i sold the stock rims and stock lights. I could suppose pay to get my alarm/ remote start removed.

[BigDannyCool]

Originally posted by FoxTrot


But does a worker come with you? Obviously they wont let you take the car alone. I always assumed dealers refrain from their cars getting inspected elsewhere in case it gets ruined by say another mech and they would take the loss.

At the dealership i work at the potential customer will choose a place for inspection of their choce and the dealership will take it there for inspection at the customer's cost.

[euro_racer]

From my previous exp working at dealerships if the place has a solid service manager and service team who can not get corrupted by the sales team, then their inspections are legit (given that they are only safety and minor maintenance inspections and won't determine how reliable a vehicle will be. A used car is a used car, dealer or private bought)... Of coarse that is hard for you to find out so if you are most comfortable with your own mechanic, then go for it if you can.

Also something to keep in mind, dealers get their used inventory by either trade ins, lease ends, or dealer auctions. I would personally ask how they got the vehicle you are looking at and personally I would stay away if the car is from a dealer auction from Ontario (very common for most dealers as they are cheaper there) for obvious reasons.

[dj_rice]

When used cars come in from either trade ins, or auctions. It goes through a UVI inspection. (Used Vehicle Inspection). The mechanic does his checklist of what needs to be done for the car to be road worthy.

This list is now presented to the Sales Manager, and he/she decides what needs to be fixed and usually they do the bare minimum so it can get back on the lot and sold. They won't fix every single thing wrong cause then the profit margin is gone.

I believe most dealers make the most money off of used cars since theres more profit there than selling brand new cars.


As for the aftermarket portion, if your trading a car in that has rims/HIDs/etc. Sometimes that decreases your trade in value as the dealer will have to pay to get all this stuff removed and brought back to OEM specs.

[Zero102]

The dealership's inspection just isn't enough. I was recently (last week) shopping for a new van. Along the way I went to 4 different dealerships, 3 of them Dodge dealerships as I was looking for a Grand Caravan. I checked out 5 or 6 different "certified" 2003-2006 Grand Caravans at those dealerships, of them all I felt 1 was actually safe for the road and strangely enough it was the one which had ~$9k in previous body damage repaired. Others had bizarre transmission shudders, horribly loose steering or random clunking/banging in the suspension. As far as I am concerned the used vehicle certification process is next to worthless and buyer beware ALWAYS applies. If the dealership isn't comfortable with you getting an independent inspection then walk away.

As for aftermarket parts, if you are trading it in at a major brand dealership generally they hurt the value, but if it is an independent lot then sometimes they don't work against you. If the mods are mild and tasteful they generally don't have a negative impact, but if they are flashy and annoying......

[leftwing]

Originally posted by FoxTrot


Dumb i know, but i sold the stock rims and stock lights. I could suppose pay to get my alarm/ remote start removed.

Dont get that removed, that adds value. Or at least doesn't decrease value.

[codetrap]

I'm fairly disillusioned with the used car trade in process. I took my fully loaded 06 Jetta Wagon TDI in and they offered me 4 grand for it. It was in absolutely pristine shape with only 118k on it. No marks, dents, marring of any sort. I had installed the upgraded OEM projectors and HIDs, DoubleDin NAV entertainment system. Tinted.. roof rack/box included. My jaw just about hit the floor. The black book value was 11G alone. That was the tipping point for me on not buying another VW. Fucking dealers... I turned around and put it on Kijiji for 18, and it sold in 45 minutes.

So, would I deal with a stealership for a used car on trade in? Not on your life. Private sale all the way.

[jonnycat]

If it wasn't an OEM remote starter, we would always throw the remote start fob in the garbage on trades. Prevented customers coming back if they failed or caused other issues, looking for free warranty work. We didn't pay a dollar more for a coar with remote start.

[FoxTrot]

Well tnt offered me $1000 for my car 2000 civic SI. Its a rebuilt but works good still and only has 154k km on it. I knew it would be low but not that low.

Itd prob cost me too much to pay someone to tke out my alarm and my speakers.

[rc2002]

Used car dealerships will make money off of you both ways, selling and buying. Sell your car privately and then buy with cash.

Most car inspections are just a waste of money. They usually just check basic things (lights, brakes, tread) that are easy to do on your own.

Unless you want a compression test done or a specific component inspected, I wouldn't even bother.

[kvg]

Sell it private so you will get more for it then buy the car. Dealerships aren't evil, but they are in the biz of making money. They have to incur a cost taking in a vehicle even if the just flip it to a wholesaler.

[FoxTrot]

Well thinking twice now about selling it, i might not bother and just keep driving it till it dies. Im just gonna lose way too much money with all the stuff i put on. I regret it big time getting stuff done like HID, tint,3M, deck, amp, sub, speakers, wiring kit, alarm/remote start cause you dont get any of it back. Its all money down the drain. Even if you sell privately, the average customer doesnt give 2 craps about any of this stuff. They just want the best rock bottom price.

Sure i would easily transfer my amp, sub and wiring, and even remote start and alarm but then ill have to pay to get it all taken out and again to get it installed. PLUS more money to retint my windows and 3M put on and another HID kit put on. Not worth it.

[masoncgy]

I've bought used from a dealership before and ran into problems discovered after purchase with accident repairs that were poorly done and not disclosed, etc. Try and have the dealer actually step up and make it right... CMP... looking at you.

Ever since, I've always dealt privately buying and selling used cars. Dealerships offer you nothing for your trade in and then turn around and sell it for a huge profit. In fact, I understand used sales yield greater margins than new sales do.

Insist on an independent inspection, no question. The dealership's service bays are the last place an unbiased evaluation would come from.

(Edited for spelling... holy crap)

[GT4rally]

I bought a 2001 Volvo XC70 from Valentine Volvo a few years ago... they told me the car had been fully inspected in their shop and it needed a few things fixed to be "perfect"; a leak in the transfer case, brakes, and a couple other things that they estimated would cost around $2000 if I chose to fix them at the dealership.

I bought the car "as is" and fixed the issues at an independent mechanic for half that price.

I went to sell the car about 6 months later and the potential buyer wanted to take it to Valentine Volvo for an inspection. I didn't have a problem with that, since they knew the car well and had basically given it a clean bill of health, aside from the issues which I had fixed. Wrong!

Valentine came back with a scathing inspection report which amounted to over $15,000 in repairs!!!! I was livid, and my potential buyer bolted! I asked the service manager how that was possible, since it had been fully inspected in his shop not even 6 months/4000kms ago! He just shrugged and gave some canned BS answer.

I ended up selling the car to a guy that had it inspected at an indy shop... it passed with flying colours!

Moral of the story is... don't trust dealer service departments as far as you can throw them!!!

[Stealth22]

Stupid question alert...any recommendations on the best place to get a used vehicle inspected?

[MrSector9]

Originally posted by codetrap
I'm fairly disillusioned with the used car trade in process. I took my fully loaded 06 Jetta Wagon TDI in and they offered me 4 grand for it. It was in absolutely pristine shape with only 118k on it. No marks, dents, marring of any sort. I had installed the upgraded OEM projectors and HIDs, DoubleDin NAV entertainment system. Tinted.. roof rack/box included. My jaw just about hit the floor. The black book value was 11G alone. That was the tipping point for me on not buying another VW. Fucking dealers... I turned around and put it on Kijiji for 18, and it sold in 45 minutes.

So, would I deal with a stealership for a used car on trade in? Not on your life. Private sale all the way.

depends on the dealer for sure.

my estimate on trade in for my car was around the $10,000 range, 2006 TDI Jetta, stock. 140,000km. This was at a VW dealer.

[clem24]

Originally posted by Zero102
I checked out 5 or 6 different "certified" 2003-2006 Grand Caravans at those dealerships, of them all I felt 1 was actually safe for the road and strangely enough it was the one which had ~$9k in previous body damage repaired. Others had bizarre transmission shudders, horribly loose steering or random clunking/banging in the suspension.

What are you describing sounds normal for a Chrysler of that vintage... :rofl:

[FoxTrot]

Originally posted by Zero102
The dealership's inspection just isn't enough. I was recently (last week) shopping for a new van. Along the way I went to 4 different dealerships, 3 of them Dodge dealerships as I was looking for a Grand Caravan. I checked out 5 or 6 different "certified" 2003-2006 Grand Caravans at those dealerships, of them all I felt 1 was actually safe for the road and strangely enough it was the one which had ~$9k in previous body damage repaired. Others had bizarre transmission shudders, horribly loose steering or random clunking/banging in the suspension. As far as I am concerned the used vehicle certification process is next to worthless and buyer beware ALWAYS applies. If the dealership isn't comfortable with you getting an independent inspection then walk away.

As for aftermarket parts, if you are trading it in at a major brand dealership generally they hurt the value, but if it is an independent lot then sometimes they don't work against you. If the mods are mild and tasteful they generally don't have a negative impact, but if they are flashy and annoying......

Thats the thing, people assume if i car has been in an accident before and rebuilt or whatever (even in your case 9k worth of damage is just about a write off), that the car isnt any good. Not true.

I dont think ill get anything for mine and if i do, itll be a major pain in the ass selling privately just cause it has the rebuilt title but its in immaculate condition. This thing has been maintained like no tommorow. Its in better condition than a lot of newer hondas i see in the lots.

Im better off just keeping it or trading it at tnt for $1000 cause if i sell privately i doubt id even get that. And the last thing i wanna be doing is dealing with people on kijiji. For $1000 i might as well just give it away geez.