Buying from very small dealers - have you?

[addyguy]

The Critcs thread on how far you are willing to go for a dealership got me thinking - I've never bought a car from a large dealership.

My last 5 cars have been bought from tiny, local car lots with less than 50 cars on them. Uusally these types of lots have a horrible rep, but I've had pretty good luck with them.

Anyone else had good luck buying from a very small 'mom-n-pop' style car lot?

 

[AstroTurf]

Are you talking about a new car purchase or used?

Thanks, Jim

 

[JHZR2]

I like small, family owned dealerships. Used car lots are hit or miss.

 

[IndyIan]

We bought one car from a small used dealer, the car was OK with no hidden issues, price was a $1000 less than the fancy dealership.
But last week I went and test drove a 2003 Neon R/T off a small lot and he was asking a perfect condition price of $6k, but it needed new rear struts, and one or both of the front control arms had a bad bushing or two, and a small dent in a rear door. Motor and trans sounded and drove like new though. So it needed maybe $800 in work to make it solid, but I'm sure they were waiting for a clueless person to just buy it and drive away.

 

[HBCALI]

It depends. If you need to pay-off a trade or require financing, then it's generally more savy to stick with a big name dealer.

Price of the vehicle is only one aspect. Remember, big-name dealers have a "reputation" to uphold. They also (usually) only sell cars that have some value left (auctioning trash cars). Big dealers also have more buying power at auto auctions to purhase better vehicles. In the end, smaller no-name dealers usually get the "trash cars" big dealerships didn't purchase at auction.

Ask the "mom and pop" dealer what kind of warranty they provide on the vehicle. For instance, ask if they'll match CarMax (30 day bumper to bumper). Or Toyota (3 month, 3600 miles). If not, why? That would be a red flag to me. Whatever they agree too, get it in writing. It's all about limiting your risk - nothing is risk free.

 

[cmf]

I don't think I'd buy from a very small dealer. Dealerships get good condition trade-ins, small dealers get auction cars that no one else wants.

Personally I would pay cash privately. People generally only ask for a little over trade in value. And people often privately sell cars with more mileage than they should have for the amount of time the car is owned, but those miles are generally highway miles which are easier. Sure you don't get a warranty but if you have some car knowledge you'll be able to discern a good deal from a lemon. And if you don't have any car knowledge you're going to get screwed by anyone selling you a car. No dealer fee as well.

 

[Spazdog]

There's so much variance in how these places operate that there's no real answer.

I would never buy a car from the lot I worked at. Ever.
The cars were junkers, the business was shady at best, they didn't hold up their end of the contracts very well (we went to small claims court a lot)

It got to the point to where I simply could not work there anymore. Everything was designed to trick and fleece the customer. Like it was admirable to fool someone into paying extra. I don't know if that is a cultural thing amongst "Persians" (their term...they never said Iranian) or if these guys were just douchenozzles. I'm betting the latter.

But working there did place me in contact with another lot. I liked the way they ran their business and not only purchased from them but recommended them to others.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I'd never buy from a small "used car lot", no. I typically stay with larger dealerships.

 

[javacontour]

The words "buy here, pay here" should be a warning. They are selling you financing, not a car.

Too many shop based on financing not the condition of the car.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Normally I'd agree with the negatives expressed above. But in Denver I knew one small lot that specialized in used Mercedes, occasionally a BMW or Jaguar, but usually MBs. They normally had about 15-20 cars on the lot at any time, all recent models (5-7 years old, some as much as 20), and all in fine mechanical and cosmetic condition.

I bought 3 cars from them, one an SL that wasn't right for me, the second a W123 coupe. The third was the great 138K-mile W126 sedan that I proceeded to run for 5 years and 60K trouble-free miles. They offered a warranty, 6 months on the older cars, 1 year on the newer, and they made good on it in my case for the SL.

Jim's Valley Motors was well thought of in the MB community. I wish more dealers, large and small, took into account their reputation.