Negotiations to buy a used car?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

What price point do people use for negotiating a used car? With a dealer? What do you do? Take their asking and cut it down? With a private party?

[bjl584]

I've used Autotrader to get a price point. Type in make/model/year/miles of whatever it is that you are looking to buy and search out 100 mile radius or so. See what others are selling similar cars for. It will usually be fairly close to KBB estimates.

Dealers always have room to play. The used cars especially. They mark them up alot, especially ones that they take on trade. Figure at least a few thousand depending what it is.

New cars always have rebates and kickback. But the dealer usually only marks up a couple grand if that.

[maynard]

Always negociate up, not down

[snafu]

It's important to know what you need in a vehicle like acceptable brands, automatic, front wheel drive, 4 door, AC, no more than X mileage, quality tires, etc. Add in nice to have leather seats, GPS, Bluetooth etc. If you do some research and make it clear you're not 'kicking tire' and would like to buy TODAY, you will feel confident making an offer close to KBB and go up in 10-% increments r-e-l-u-c-t-a-n-t-l-y. Don't 'fall in love' with any vehicle until the papers are signed.

Check with your insurance agent to make sure your model choice is not fraught with problems. Have financing in place [if needed] but listen carefully to financing proposed by dealership as it can be paid off.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Newer car with more miles or less miles on an older model?