Posted on: 08-09-09 06:55:48
The Corolla has a new design 2009 onwards . Either new or 2 yr old less mileage , Corolla to me is an obvious choice ..... Elantra is not a bad car and is less priced as well ....
A 2007- 2008 model low mileage Corolla should be selling at the same price as a brand new Elantra (minus taxes) ie 12K ...
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Fido.
Yes I do understand that a Corolla has a better resale value than Elantra - but the original purchase price has a difference of about 3 K - so after four years, if the difference in resale price is 3k, it hardly makes a difference - though the difference would look much bigger in terms of percentage.
By the way, a brand new Elantra is now a much better car than two years ago, and sells for about 20.5K on the road.
I have been looking at 2008-09 Corolla and I do not find anything below 16K. I am surprised to know that it can be found for 12K or so according to Fido. Any links?
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Chandresh
Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-Toyota-2008-TOYOTA-COROLLA-CE-W0QQAdIdZ154188712
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/cto/1347682207.html
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Fido.
Need some advice:
Am going to see/test drive a couple of used cars - one being sold privately, and the other one by a dealer (NOT a Toyota dealer) this evening.
Any tips on what I should be looking at and asking for? The one being sold by the dealer seems to be of comparatively low price. What could be the snag?
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Chandresh
Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!
having just bought a used Honda Odyssey from a Mitsubishi dealership, here are a few pointers
1) Do your research. Take print outs of representative cars from both dealer and private users from 2-3 sources, craigslist, autotrader, kijiji etc. this will help you to justify your offer.
2) The salesman will try to add things like administration charges, safety packages etc to the sticker price to inflate the price. Be firm in demanding a "on-road" price (inclusive of taxes) and let them workout all the ancillary costs on their own. Hear the salesman out and quote a price that you think is "fair". If you try to lowball too much in your first offer, they will think that you are not a serious buyer and will not negotiate in good faith.
3) The salesman will act shocked at the price you have quoted and will lapse into theatrics and say stuff like "You are killing me" "Can you do something more" "I need to speak to the manager" etc. If he is a desi, he may even try to emotionally blackmail you saying that he is on your side and will try to get you the best deal, but your price is too low.
4) You are the buyer and have the upper hand. Your first offer should be around 5% lower than your final price. Do not raise your offer more than twice and the second time should be your final offer. Be prepared to walk away if the dealer does not come to terms with your final offer.
5)When it comes to used cars, these guys have plenty of margin as they have obtained the car from auctions or trade-ins.
Thanks for your post freakoutguy.
However, I realize that my post might have been misunderstood in the manner that I am asking for ways to bargain on price. No, I have already done the comparisons for price and that is why I wrote that this dealer's price seems to be (much) lower than all others, including private sale, and that is a bit confusing.
What I am trying to get at is what to see in the car itself - like engine, boot, condition, accidents and history or whatever, and how to do that. So basically:
1. How to judge the condition of the car itself (self test and or test by some agency - and how much would an agency cost)
2. Once the above is done, then how to put a price to the condition of the car (assuming I find the car to be acceptable - because I am looking at a really good condition car, rather than looking for a bargain on price compared to the condition of the car). Do the testing agency also advise you the acceptable price?
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Chandresh
Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!
Hi Chandresh
The dealer will have to sell you the car with a safety certificate and emissions test. That will ensure that the car meets the minimum standards and is road worthy. Here are the additional things that you can do -
1) Demand a CARPROOF (as opposed to CARFAX which is US based) report which will show you all the claims made on that particular VIN number. This will give you a good idea of accidents etc
2)Since the car is only one year old, it will be under warranty for the next 4 years or whatever mileage (80K/100K) is offered by the manufacturer. This will ensure that any mechanical or engine failure is taken care of by the dealers.
If you are disconcerted by the low sticker price as compared to the market rate, it could be a ploy to bring you in the dealership and the final price quoted to you will include other charges that will bring it closer or even higher than the market value.
Bottom line is that if you are buying a one year old car which is still under warranty, and everything else checks out, you have mitigated your risks to a large extent.
Do let us know your experience when you finish te process.
