Price shock with used cars

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How does everyone handle this?

An older truck (2004 Silverado. Reg cab, short bed, 4x4) at the local Chevy dealer caught my eye yesterday. Looked it over, took it for a test drive, and was relatively happy minus the weak AC.

It was 45% above KBB value.
eek.gif
 
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Handle it? You walk.

Go anyplace and obnoxious "MSRP" numbers are spouted, to make the sheeple think theyre getting a good deal when a big percentage discount is given.

Could also be that they had a bad deal and need to eat the loss by not selling it for less than $x.
 
Which KBB value.

Negotiate. Write your offer on a piece of paper with name & phone and give to salesman and walk out. First ask him what his best would be on the truck.

Maybe they just got it and want to see if it draws people who don't know what the price should really be. I am sure there are many things that go on at a car dealership you don't know the reason for.
 
Don't know what the right market price is, and it may very well be below what that dealer is asking.

But I'm pretty sure that the KBB price listings have not caught up to the market and are low.
 
Buying on Facebook Marketplace is the way to go. You will have to weed thru a bunch of garbage and have cash in hand, but sometimes you can find a GREAT deal on a car that is 1 owner with all maintenance records that is in great shape.
 
Eh, all I know for certain is that used truck prices are whack.
 
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Why exactly did you look it over and take it for a test drive ? Was the price a secret ?

Regarding this Chevy dealer, have they been around a while ? They're successful ?
 
Originally Posted by dlundblad
How does everyone handle this?

An older truck (2004 Silverado. Reg cab, short bed, 4x4) at the local Chevy dealer caught my eye yesterday. Looked it over, took it for a test drive, and was relatively happy minus the weak AC.

It was 45% above KBB value.
eek.gif


That's their dream price....
 
For used cars, I review Craigslist to see what's out there and asking prices.
KBB is a number but might be meaningless (high or low) in any given area.
If you need a vehicle right away, your options are somewhat compromised.
"Supply and demand" generally sets the market price. Ultimately the buyer and seller have to come up with a mutually satisfactory price.
Good luck.
 
Last week I sold an older Ford Ranger XL (2004 model 4.0 Liter V6 2WD) with 57k miles on it for $5900.

That seemed to be a reasonable price from where I stand. What you have to remember is that most older trucks have a ton of miles on them. It's incredibly difficult to find any truck with low miles that's in good shape. A same year Silverado or F150 equipped the same way as that Ranger would have easily gone for over $9000 at a traditional dealership. You just can't find them with low miles.

One other thing. KBB is way off the mark. A friend of mine was the EIC and they took an absolute beating on KBB purchases because the 60 day average they used had the effect of overpricing vehicles on KBB during the lockdown and underpricing them when we opened up.

Hope this helps.

Steven Lang
48 Hours And A Used Car
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
For used cars, I review Craigslist to see what's out there and asking prices.
KBB is a number but might be meaningless (high or low) in any given area.
If you need a vehicle right away, your options are somewhat compromised.
"Supply and demand" generally sets the market price. Ultimately the buyer and seller have to come up with a mutually satisfactory price.
Good luck.


This.

The guy in between our posts who sold the 2004 Ranger, with that low of mileage and a clean body it would bring $10,000 up here all day. There are certain vehicles that used car dealers can't keep on their lots, and they know it.
 
Some dealers are nuts I looked at a 2002 Altima that was on the lot of a Buick/GMC truck dealership, it was low mileage, like only 70k or something like that, but it had lots of paint defects, a broken gas cap cover, a wonky seatbelt latch on the drivers side, I think one of the door handles was broken on the back, the rear view mirror was trashed, it was missing the hood prop,etc... I was willing to offer them like $2500, but they absolutely would not go down from $4000 + taxes and their bs fees, No way in I would pay almost 5 grand for a nearly 19 year old Altima unless it was absolutely immaculate and low mileage with service records.
 
Originally Posted by dlundblad
How does everyone handle this?

An older truck (2004 Silverado. Reg cab, short bed, 4x4) at the local Chevy dealer caught my eye yesterday. Looked it over, took it for a test drive, and was relatively happy minus the weak AC.

It was 45% above KBB value.
eek.gif


for this old of a vehicle it should be boaught from a private party. You'll save a ton.
 
New and used truck prices are overinflated like the stock price of Tesla. I just read a big 3 1/2 ton truck comparison on C&D were they had their test Ram 1500 optioned to nearly $70K, that's $70k for a truck that somebody will buy to drive to the office. But getting back to used trucks, many people justify their need for a truck because they need to tow, in that case I'd suggest the truck based SUV's which seem to hold their value far worse and tow just as much.
 
16 year old vehicles are for a different set of buyer and dealers charge what they want. Likely to be sold as risky high interest car loan person not a cash buyer.
 
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