Used Car Buyers and Sellers Your Opinion Wanted

[Soror]

Dh and I are planning to buy a new to us van , likely within the next 6 months. We have a general price range in mind and a model picked out, Toyota Sienna fwiw. So, with our price in mind we can of course look at older cars w/ less miles or new car w/ higher miles. So, what are your preferences when shopping? Last time we bought older w/ less miles and I think that decision has served us pretty well, although I wish we would have researched about the year and model more as we ended up missing the fact that the particular model we bought had some issues, lucky for us the major work we had done was covered by a recall. We both would prefer to buy at least a few years old to miss the majority of depreciation.

 

Our van is in need of some rather big maintenance work. I'm pondering whether we should go ahead and do this or discount the price accordingly. Dh has said that most people do several other things at the same time as this work as it saves money. My thoughts are I don't want to do anything that is not absolutely necessary as I don't know that we will recoup the cost, which is again why I'm waffling on doing any of the work before selling. Anyone an expert on what is and isn't worth it when selling a car?

[Catwoman]

My suggestion is that you trade it in to a dealership as-is and buy a new-to-you van with a factory pre-owned warranty.

[Tammyla]

:iagree: I wouldn't put money into the old vehicle. 

[Soror]

I had thought about buying certified pre-owned but not about trading in as from what Ive read they quite often rip you off. It would relieve some of the hassle for us having to sale it though. I know that I really don't want to have to put money in the van if we don't have to especially if we likely will get back the money.

[Soror]

Bump :)

[Catwoman]

I had thought about buying certified pre-owned but not about trading in as from what Ive read they quite often rip you off. It would relieve some of the hassle for us having to sale it though. I know that I really don't want to have to put money in the van if we don't have to especially if we likely will get back the money.

Now that people can look up the values of their trades on several websites before they even visit a single dealership, it has become a lot more difficult for dealers to seriously lowball their offers.

 

Don't mention that you'll be trading anything in until after you have negotiated the price on the vehicle you want to buy. Otherwise, they may give you less of a discount on the new car so it looks like they are offering you a higher price for your trade. It may balance out the same in the end... but it might not.

[gardenmom5]

I'd generally go for lower miles than newer, but that's not hard and fast.  it depends.

 

as to doing work - how much will the work cost compared to how much you could sell the car for?   how much difference in price can you get doing the work vs letting a buyer do the work?

if the final is lower than the sale price, we do the work because you will get more people looking.  (and they don't wonder what else needs to be fixed.)

[abacus2]

With used cars, especially from private individuals, the decision is based on availability. Also I would consider the features /problems of various model years. For example, we recently shopped for a used vehicle, and while considering the Scion xB, discovered that when it was redesigned to be less boxy the gas mileage got worse. So for that vehicle, older, low miles is a better choice.

[Soror]

Now that people can look up the values of their trades on several websites before they even visit a single dealership, it has become a lot more difficult for dealers to seriously lowball their offers.

 

Don't mention that you'll be trading anything in until after you have negotiated the price on the vehicle you want to buy. Otherwise, they may give you less of a discount on the new car so it looks like they are offering you a higher price for your trade. It may balance out the same in the end... but it might not.

Yes, I wouldn't mention that we are trading in OR that we are paying cash beforehand. It looks like the value right off the top is 1k less though from trade in to private party sale.

 

Right now though we are looking at 2 models fairly seriously.

 

Same price:

#1 2005- 35k miles- private party- 2 owners- appears to be in very good condition- Sienna- leather, lots of options but not the top of the line

#2 2007-85k miles- dealer- 1 owner- Odyssey- top of the line

 

#1- is about $200-$500 under the Kbb value- depending on the actual condition- as it seems to fall in between

#2- is about $2500 under KBB value

 

We also have emailed about another van as the only detail is the year, model and mileage but no price or trim package info. KBB on the base is about $5k less than either of the above but is a Town and Country.

[Cinder]

We have a 2005 Sienna with way more miles than the one you're looking at. It's still running great though the hinge that keeps the driver's door from flying away when you open it has broken. Dh has looked into it and apparently it's a fairly common problem.

 

Dh recently rode in the back of an Odyssey and was surprised that the middle seats don't flip up the way they do in the Sienna. What I mean is that in the Sienna the middle seat will fold down then you can flip it forward so the person in the back seat can get out more easily. I don't know what year the Odyssey was or if dh just couldn't find the right lever or what. But he was really put out when the seat didn't flip up and he had to climb over it to get out.

 

Do you have a good mechanic that could help? Ours specializes in Japanese cars and was willing to tell us what he liked and what we should avoid when we were looking.

[Soror]

Thanks for your thoughts and info Cinder. I've heard that the Sienna lasts forever. We have an Odyssey now and I know on our model the middle seats don't flip up but w/ car seats that doesn't matter for us much right now. Dh has pretty extensive mechanical experience both at his job and at home. I looked at some other Models but the Odyssey and Sienna are rated the best from everything we've read. The Chrysler Town and Country does have good safety ratings though. We are both pretty decidedly for leather as well, with 4 kids and knowing that we are going to likely keep the vehicle awhile it is much easier to keep it looking decent if it's leather. I've also looked at the VW Routan and have found one that is 29k miles 2010 but it is a bit more and the Routan is just not as nice.

[Catwoman]

Yes, I wouldn't mention that we are trading in OR that we are paying cash beforehand. It looks like the value right off the top is 1k less though from trade in to private party sale.

 

Right now though we are looking at 2 models fairly seriously.

 

Same price:

#1 2005- 35k miles- private party- 2 owners- appears to be in very good condition- Sienna- leather, lots of options but not the top of the line

#2 2007-85k miles- dealer- 1 owner- Odyssey- top of the line

 

#1- is about $200-$500 under the Kbb value- depending on the actual condition- as it seems to fall in between

#2- is about $2500 under KBB value

 

We also have emailed about another van as the only detail is the year, model and mileage but no price or trim package info. KBB on the base is about $5k less than either of the above but is a Town and Country.

 

I would be concerned that #2 might have hidden problems. Dealers don't usually sell cars for $2500 under book value unless there is a good reason for it -- often it's that the car has been in an accident but it didn't show up on the CarFax (LOTS of stuff doesn't get reported on CarFax, so while it's helpful, it's not foolproof) or that they know a major mechanical repair is needed, or will be needed very soon. Unless the car is certified pre-owned with a good warranty and you can buy an extended warranty for it, I would probably pass on that one.

 

I don't buy from private sellers, so I have no advice for you on #1, as I wouldn't feel comfortable buying any car (new or pre-owned) without a factory warranty.

 

Regarding the trade-in, I would gladly give up $1000 for the convenience of not having to sell a vehicle on my own. If you can get rid of it without doing any repairs and only end up getting $1000 less for it, I think it would be the best course of action. If you pay to fix the vehicle, and end up having to sell it for less than you think you get for it, you could end up losing money in the end. And if you sell it as-is to the next buyer, they probably will give you a lowball offer for it anyway, because they won't know exactly what's wrong with it or how much it will cost to repair it.

[Soror]

Regarding the trade-in, I would gladly give up $1000 for the convenience of not having to sell a vehicle on my own. If you can get rid of it without doing any repairs and only end up getting $1000 less for it, I think it would be the best course of action. If you pay to fix the vehicle, and end up having to sell it for less than you think you get for it, you could end up losing money in the end. And if you sell it as-is to the next buyer, they probably will give you a lowball offer for it anyway, because they won't know exactly what's wrong with it or how much it will cost to repair it.

There is nothing mechanically wrong w/ our current van, fwiw, it is just time for some routine maintenance that can get expensive. We would never sell it or trade it in without being entirely up front w/ any and all repairs and maintenance that have been done and need to be done. Cosmetically our van has seen better days, when we bought it we went for newer w/ less miles over other models that were nicer.

 

 

Our last van was bought used at a dealership. We've bought from individuals before as well. Dh always takes whatever tools he needs to thoroughly check out whatever we buy. Dh's dad used to rebuild cars in the side so he always checks them over for those tell-tale signs of a rebuild, he is very familiar with how it is done.

 

I know you are not a fan of buying used cars, lots of people aren't.

[Catwoman]

Sorry -- I misunderstood you and thought the van needed repairs, not scheduled maintenance. Definitely don't do the maintenance, aside from maybe doing minor stuff like changing the oil and filter. You won't get your money back out of it.

[plansrme]

No way would I do scheduled maintenance. Other than changing the oil, I never do scheduled maintenance, period, and I have never had something break that scheduled maintenance would have prevented. I drive my cars forever.

 

As for the Sienna, I drove mine for almost 200k miles with no engine issues. It was a 2004, and at the end, the a/c got sluggish, and the electronic sliding door motor went out, and those were pains, but I LOVED driving a Sienna. It was wrecked 5 times (none were my fault), and no one ever had so much as a sore neck. When it was time to replace it, I nearly got another Sienna, but even I could not bring myself to drive essentially the same car for 15 years. I bought a piece of junk Enclave instead and hated it. I just sold it and bought another Toyota (Venza this time--we are about to outgrow our need for a third-row seat), and I love it as well. Toyotas are awesome!