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Renai -- Honda fan here, and end of November is a great time to buy used; the dealers have quotas they are trying to reach.  Best advice I have (after buying our Odyssey used cash-only from a dealership in 2008) is:

  1. Research on Edmunds.com
  2. Know what you want (make/model/year(s)/mileage
  3. Find matches at several dealerships and determine car's value (Edmunds.com again)
  4. Finally, and this is key: bring along dh and roughly half a dozen children under age 5 for a harrowing 10 hours of shopping.  Rack up a list of potentials from the various competing dealers who have your matches, so that you can play them off each other when you finally find the one you really want.  While YOU don't want to be hungry, be sure the kids miss meals, so that the littles are starving and cranky by 7pm when you finally decide to get down to business haggling a deal for the vehicle you really want.  A diaper blow-out helps, too, especially if it inconveniences the salesman. Just smile apologetically and send dh out the car with screaming poopy children (because screaming poopy children), then each time the salesman heads upstairs to confer with his supervisor about your ridiculously low offer and returns looking sympathetically disappointed that his counter offer can't possibly be as low as you want, YOU then smile politely and inform him that YOU must confer with dh out in the parking lot where he sits with screaming poopy children because, after all, dh is The Boss of All Things. Return with an equally sympathetic look of disappointment and inform salesman that The Boss of All Things can't possibly pay a dime more than his original offer, and really doesn't have much time left to haggle (because screaming poopy children).  Go back and forth like that for a while until battered and weary salesman practically gives you the vehicle to get off his lot.   We got a great deal, about $6000 lower Edmunds.com value (which tends to be lower than KBB).  And a throbbing migraine.  But a great deal.

 

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Renai -- Honda fan here, and end of November is a great time to buy used; the dealers have quotas they are trying to reach.  Best advice I have (after buying our Odyssey used cash-only from a dealership in 2008) is:

  1. Research on Edmunds.com
  2. Know what you want (make/model/year(s)/mileage
  3. Find matches at several dealerships and determine car's value (Edmunds.com again)
  4. Finally, and this is key: bring along dh and roughly half a dozen children under age 5 for a harrowing 10 hours of shopping.  Rack up a list of potentials from the various competing dealers who have your matches, so that you can play them off each other when you finally find the one you really want.  While YOU don't want to be hungry, be sure the kids miss meals, so that the littles are starving and cranky by 7pm when you finally decide to get down to business haggling a deal for the vehicle you really want.  A diaper blow-out helps, too, especially if it inconveniences the salesman. Just smile apologetically and send dh out the car with screaming poopy children (because screaming poopy children), then each time the salesman heads upstairs to confer with his supervisor about your ridiculously low offer and returns looking sympathetically disappointed that his counter offer can't possibly be as low as you want, YOU then smile politely and inform him that YOU must confer with dh out in the parking lot where he sits with screaming poopy children because, after all, dh is The Boss of All Things. Return with an equally sympathetic look of disappointment and inform salesman that The Boss of All Things can't possibly pay a dime more than his original offer, and really doesn't have much time left to haggle (because screaming poopy children).  Go back and forth like that for a while until battered and weary salesman practically gives you the vehicle to get off his lot.   We got a great deal, about $6000 lower Edmunds.com value (which tends to be lower than KBB).  And a throbbing migraine.  But a great deal.

 

 

I'll check out Edmunds. I need to figure out what library checks out children under 5. I only have one. Also, I would only pretend to confer with dh because he knows nothing about buying cars. Nothing.

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I'll check out Edmunds. I need to figure out what library checks out children under 5. I only have one. Also, I would only pretend to confer with dh because he knows nothing about buying cars. Nothing.

 

My dh knows nothing about buying used cars, either.  Nor is he The Boss of All Things.  

 

 

My children are available any ole time you need 'em. 

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I'll check out Edmunds. I need to figure out what library checks out children under 5. I only have one. Also, I would only pretend to confer with dh because he knows nothing about buying cars. Nothing.

Pretense is all that is needed.  Have him stand outside leaning against your current car's bumper looking angry.  It's all a game anyway.  If dh can't go, take a random angry looking dude.

 

SIL apparently gave me cranberry sauce (not the gelatin kind) in a foil packet.  So it predictably leaked all over the place.  Seriously?  Foil? 

Nice. :confused1:   This is the one who lost Aunt Bob, no?

 

I ruin everyone's fun! Or so I've been informed.

Spoilsport!

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We abused having a family and cranky children when we got our car. We went back 4 days in a row. The kids *hated* it. On the 4th day the salesman almost died. He agreed to let us look at cars that hadn't been evaluated yet. The second I saw that Toyota I was sold. One owner, 45,000 miles, looks like it's never been sat in. Yeah I want that one. Matt knew that as soon as I picked one he was supposed to hate it. We fought about it for nearly half an hour. In front of the salesman. That hated us. And our kids. He sold it to us. We came back the next day to have it evaluated for legal reasons. They then informed us that we under payed by nearly $2,000, and instructed us to go to the office to arrange the additional payments. We went home instead. They called a few times, but eventually gave up. I'm a wonderful person, but you don't want to sell me a car.

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Pretense is all that is needed.  Have him stand outside leaning against your current car's bumper looking angry.  It's all a game anyway.  If dh can't go, take a random angry looking dude.

 

Nice. :confused1:   This is the one who lost Aunt Bob, no?

 

 

 

Dh is the one who smiles apologetically and then confers with me - because I have the purse strings.  I look stern while looking at our checkbook (as if my blank register would tell me anything) and shake my head at dh.  The salesman feels sympathy for my poor hen-pecked husband and gives us a good deal.  There is more than one way to play a game.

 

 

Her husband is the one who lost Aunt Bob.  I did not have the courage or stupidity to ask him at the Thanksgiving dinner about how he managed to do that. 

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We abused having a family and cranky children when we got our car. We went back 4 days in a row. The kids *hated* it. On the 4th day the salesman almost died. He agreed to let us look at cars that hadn't been evaluated yet. The second I saw that Toyota I was sold. One owner, 45,000 miles, looks like it's never been sat in. Yeah I want that one. Matt knew that as soon as I picked one he was supposed to hate it. We fought about it for nearly half an hour. In front of the salesman. That hated us. And our kids. He sold it to us. We came back the next day to have it evaluated for legal reasons. They then informed us that we under payed by nearly $2,000, and instructed us to go to the office to arrange the additional payments. We went home instead. They called a few times, but eventually gave up. I'm a wonderful person, but you don't want to sell me a car.

 

 

LIKE.

 

(because outta likes)

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Dh is the one who smiles apologetically and then confers with me - because I have the purse strings.  I look stern while looking at our checkbook (as if my blank register would tell me anything) and shake my head at dh.  The salesman feels sympathy for my poor hen-pecked husband and gives us a good deal.  There is more than one way to play a game.

 

 

Her husband is the one who lost Aunt Bob.  I did not have the courage or stupidity to ask him at the Thanksgiving dinner about how he managed to do that. 

 

Also LIKE.

 

Except the part about poor Aunt Bob.  

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We haven't bought a car since 2005ish. But I let a mattress guy get the best of DH (while 4yo DS was distracting us), then we went home and I sent DH back alone to cancel the order unless he dropped the price $200. Worked just fine.

 

Renai, don't you have access to a bunch of kids to bring with you? Field trip!

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I normally just buy private, which is why I'm asking. The car I'm currently driving is a Ford Escort '93 and I paid $400 for it about 6 years ago. It gets me where I want to go, but the transmission is getting wonky and will slightly downshift when on the highway (it's a stick shift). I have to physically downshift, then shift up to get it running the way it should again. Fun stuff to do on the highway on the way to and from church.

 

Dh's Grand Cherokee (95) was purchased from his bil. It's served it's time and I should probably be thinking about buying him a car instead of one for me. But, I actually saved my money to buy a car, so I should get one. Don'tcha think?

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Last time we were looking for a car, we brought all 4 youngers and ds20's double bass. And we walked around the car dealerships looking like a Crazy Parade.

 

We seriously had to have the bass with us, though, because we had to buy a vehicle that it would fit in. It's not at easy as it sounds - we struggle to get it in our 12 passenger van and have it sit in such a way that the neck is not in danger of snapping.

 

Slache, you should hire yourself out to go car shopping with people. I would seriously hire you.

Edited by Susan in TN
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Last time we were looking for a car, we brought all 4 youngers and ds20's double bass. And we walked around the car dealerships looking like a Crazy Parade.

 

We seriously had to have the bass with us, though, because we had to buy a vehicle that it would fit in. It's not at easy as it sounds - we struggle to get it in our 12 passenger van and have it sit in such a way that the neck is not in danger of snapping.

 

Slache, you should hire yourself out to go car shopping with people. I would seriously hire you.

 

Okay, this is really weird.  (the double bass thing) :lol:

And, I'm picky. I want a stick shift. Do you know how hard it is to find a stick shift?

Forget the stick shift. Yes, I understand the appeal.  Truly, I do.  But you need to broaden your search at the level of cars you are looking at.  The last stick we had was dh's, and we paid twice to have the clutch replaced. Not cool.

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Last time we were looking for a car, we brought all 4 youngers and ds20's double bass. And we walked around the car dealerships looking like a Crazy Parade.

 

We seriously had to have the bass with us, though, because we had to buy a vehicle that it would fit in. It's not at easy as it sounds - we struggle to get it in our 12 passenger van and have it sit in such a way that the neck is not in danger of snapping.

 

Slache, you should hire yourself out to go car shopping with people. I would seriously hire you.

I've gone car shopping with 2 girlfriends. ;)

 

And, I'm picky. I want a stick shift. Do you know how hard it is to find a stick shift?

No.

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Okay, this is really weird.  (the double bass thing) :lol:

Forget the stick shift. Yes, I understand the appeal.  Truly, I do.  But you need to broaden your search at the level of cars you are looking at.  The last stick we had was dh's, and we paid twice to have the clutch replaced. Not cool.

 

Ours has a new clutch that we only paid for parts. Because neighbor is mechanic who will do things for meals. :D Now we know how to do it.

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I ruin everyone's fun! Or so I've been informed.

Well, at the time I was listening to music on my iPad and dd wanted to make videos. I said no, I wanted to continue listening! She got mad! But that was small potatoes compared to the latest "ruining of fun", which is making the boys return all the junk they plundered from a homeless encampment down by the river. "But Mr. M (neighbor kid's dad) said it was abandoned!" "I don't care if it was abandoned, it's someone else's stuff!" Ewwww!
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Well, at the time I was listening to music on my iPad and dd wanted to make videos. I said no, I wanted to continue listening! She got mad! But that was small potatoes compared to the latest "ruining of fun", which is making the boys return all the junk they plundered from a homeless encampment down by the river. "But Mr. M (neighbor kid's dad) said it was abandoned!" "I don't care if it was abandoned, it's someone else's stuff!" Ewwww!

 

Not cool taking the homeless' stuff. Btdt.

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Well, at the time I was listening to music on my iPad and dd wanted to make videos. I said no, I wanted to continue listening! She got mad! But that was small potatoes compared to the latest "ruining of fun", which is making the boys return all the junk they plundered from a homeless encampment down by the river. "But Mr. M (neighbor kid's dad) said it was abandoned!" "I don't care if it was abandoned, it's someone else's stuff!" Ewwww!

We have sunk to a new low here on ITT, stealing from the homeless.  Also, fleas, lice, and bed bugs.  No, just no.  So many reasons why no.  Maybe the homeless were just out to lunch at the shelter or something.

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I was just checking dealer prices on craigslist and found another Aveo. The dealer I was at earlier said he ran the bank price of the car on his lot and his price is $200 dollars lower ($3290). He also said he ran a check for the same car and didn't see one in that price point. Craigslist has one at a dealer, 2 years older, for $1950. Do prices really drop by that much in two years? I'm comparing a 2007 vs 2005.

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