Fine people, Newb here seeking your wisdom. I am going to look at a 2012 with solar roof package in a couple of days. The dealer price is listed as $9,995 and is indicated to be a fair price on *CarGurus. But then I checked NADA and it said that a car is worth significantly less, average trade-in being $6850. What is the middle ground here assuming I wanna make an offer on the car after seeing it? I don't want to low ball so much that the dealer rejects my offer but at the same time, like any sane person, don't want to get shafted and overpay. Did I miss something here when looking at the NADA? Thanks for your guidance! *(sorry made a typo when initially posting, meant CarGurus but had written CarMax instead)
When you buy any car or truck from car max, it’s marked up by a couple thousand. Most of their vehicles conditions are better than most stealership and have a 7 or 10 day no question ask return policy. I bought mine from carmax also, it was in pristine condition with new green x tires. Couldn’t find any prius near by in that condition with FE tires within 200 miles.
I read this as "CarMax" the first time also, and agree that you pay a premium there but get added services and piece of mind. To me,its worth it, but that's a different discussion entirely. But upon reread, the OP has now changed to a "fair price on *CarGurus." This vehicle is being sold by a random used car lot (not a dealership) and is also posted in the Craigslist "for sale" listings. A "fair price on CarGurus" is totally meaningless, as that is an advertising site just for car dealers. The dealers pay a fee to advertise there. Not to be too much of a snob, but the storefront doesn't exactly inspire confidence:
By your own numbers, the asking price is just 320 above the listed retail. That's pretty reasonable. Just ask if they can drop it by 500. It should go without saying that the retail price is always higher than what the dealer pays for the car.
Buying a Prius from carmax gives you a week to run test on the HV battery, giving you time to use techstream + obd2 apps to sniff out significant voltage difference in pair packs and put through other HV bat paces. If it doesn’t check out, refund it without any questions ask.
Agreed -- one of the many benefits in my mind that make the slight price premium well worth the cost.
Thanks for your response. I got thrown off by watching ChrisFix's series on how to buy a used car. He suggested that you want to get the car as close to the Rough Trade-In value as possible but maybe he meant that's the goal when you are buying from a private seller?
correct. look at it this way: there are 3 price levels; trade in, private sale and dealer sale when buying, you're only likely to get a trade in price if you know the seller, or they are desperate, or there is something known wrong with the car. the private seller price is typical when buying from a private party. the dealer price is based on their purchase cost plus overhead and profit. all are negotiable, but will still fall into the 3 ranges.
@Sabu J i think 10% off its price is not unreasonable, but sometimes seller will not agree on any discount or you could get more off. Never forget noone is forcing you too buy it you still can offer 10-20% less and walk away if seller is unwilling, but leave him your number he/she may call you back to negotiate
Thanks everyone for your responses! I got in touch with the dealer the day that I was going to look at the car. Well the dealer texted and said that someone had put a deposit on the car. So I was bummed and went back on my quest for my first car purchase. I looked again at a 2013 Pri Four on CL with the solar roof package. I had previously dismissed it because I thought it overpriced. But I decided to broaden my horizons and be open to this vehicle because my search in the last few weeks revealed to me how tricky it is to find a well maintained car, accident free car with an honest seller in NYC. So I made an appointment to see the CL car and concordantly booked a remote mechanic to come inspect the car while I was there. The sellers were totally cool and honest. The mechanic helped me tremendously. The sellers let us go on a test drive alone during which the mechanic spoke to me frankly about the car. He said it was in excellent condition and that I should go for it. He encouraged me to haggle because he too found the asking price too high. Long story short, the sellers accepted an offer that was 1500 dollars below asking. I'm super stoked because the car is in excellent shape at 64k! It was used for local commuting and has new brakes and tires. It does need a good detailing but the interior is pristine! Now I just have to register the car and get the plates ASAP so I can drive away with the car. Looking forward to be a member of the Prius owner family! Funny thing is the day after I bought this car, the dealer texted about the Prius I was previously interested in and said that the car was available again. His loss and my gain! I found a much better car and I'm happy about who I bought it from.
