How much of a premium am i paying for buying a used car at a NO HAGGLE place?

[JEDI]

ie:
car max
enterprise used cars http://www.enterprisecarsales.com/

 

[SandEagle]

enterprise sells used rentals, right? i'd steer clear of that.
carmax is a ripoff too. you'll be paying 3-4k more than if you were going to buy private.

 

[ballmode]

what sandeagle said

 

[TridenT]

A lot.

I'd go with a private seller. Go with the KBB value as the maximum.

 

[MrCassdin]

I've bought three cars in two years from a national "no haggle" dealer and paid under NADA each time. Some might not consider that good, but I feel good about the purchases. The dealer made money, I paid what I wanted and got the car I wanted each time. Win-Win. There's always someone on the Internet ready to show you up though.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I've bought three cars in two years from a national "no haggle" dealer and paid under NADA each time. Some might not consider that good, but I feel good about the purchases. The dealer made money, I paid what I wanted and got the car I wanted each time. Win-Win. There's always someone on the Internet ready to show you up though.

I agree!! That is how I purchased the wife`s car!! No complaints!!

 

[NutBucket]

A lot.

I'd go with a private seller. Go with the KBB value as the maximum.

KBB isn't the end-all be-all. It's merely a guide. Prices always vary by region and market conditions. When selling a car recently I had people offer X and say "that's what KBB is". Sorry, I don't care since I have other offers. Beat the best offer or take a hike. KBB isn't a bible.

That said, the last time I was at Carmax the prices were astonishing and not in a good way.

 

[KeithP]

enterprise sells used rentals, right? i'd steer clear of that.

Over the years between myself and immediate members of my family we have purchased 4 previous rentals, all from Enterprise. All the cars performed fine.

Did you have a bad experience with a purchase of a previous rental?

-KeithP

 

[TridenT]

KBB isn't the end-all be-all. It's merely a guide. Prices always vary by region and market conditions. When selling a car recently I had people offer X and say "that's what KBB is". Sorry, I don't care since I have other offers. Beat the best offer or take a hike. KBB isn't a bible.

That said, the last time I was at Carmax the prices were astonishing and not in a good way.

This is coming from the guy who said Subaru may be the only company to have heated cloth interior. HAH! Peon advice, I say!

 

[NutBucket]

Then how did I easily find a buyer who paid over KBB for my car?

 

[tortillasoup]

what car was it you sold?

 

[TridenT]

Then how did I easily find a buyer who paid over KBB for my car?

By them being an idiot. Just because you found someone who will pay a lot doesn't mean the OP should pay a lot too.

 

[kitatech]

Buying from such a place should not prevent you from having it independently inspected and any repair estimate can be a starting point for 'reconsideration' of the 'no-haggle' price tag...

 

[NutBucket]

I sold my CR-Z for over KBB. Amazingly the buyer was through Craigslist.

 

[slag]

The fact of the matter is that financial institutions won't lend more than what NADA is on a car, so, even if it only is a "guide", its the thing that banks use to value the vehicle. If you are counting on someone financing the car, you need to be at or near NADA or hope they are using some of their own money as well.

 

[MiataNC]

Carmax in my area is competitive with private sale prices and other dealers in the area. They also ship cars in from other Carmax stores (usually free or for a couple hundred dollars depending on distance). If you want something specific, it makes it a lot easier when what you want isn't available locally.

 

[Zargon]

By them being an idiot. Just because you found someone who will pay a lot doesn't mean the OP should pay a lot too.

KBB is semi reliable at best. check closed auctions/bin at ebay, troll craigslist and autotrader, see what is being advertised and sold

The fact of the matter is that financial institutions won't lend more than what NADA is on a car, so, even if it only is a "guide", its the thing that banks use to value the vehicle. If you are counting on someone financing the car, you need to be at or near NADA or hope they are using some of their own money as well.

some will go x amount over whatever their book says, sometimes its a flat #, other times its a percent

 

[T2urtle]

i still think carmax is overpriced.

But i've been recently shopping for a used car for my parents(09+ camry) and well the JUNK that is out there on craigslist, autotrader, cars.com makes me reconsider carmax.

Most the cars i've seen was in tons of minor damage, fender benders and etc. But listed at nearly full KBB pricing. Some were a COMPLETE waste of my time. So to pay $2-4k for a normal person to avoid the BS and get a clean car (or newly refinished to clean) might be worth the $2k-4k.

Thing is, i like haggling. I find it fun and amusing to see what some places try to pull. It worked for me the past 5 cars i've bought and i dont see a reason for it not to work again. But its a complete waste of my time to go and drive to place only to find that the rear quarter was sideswiped or the back bumper wont even bolt back on the right way. :thumbsdown:

Its what no haggle is worth to you. Kinda like some of us are DIY and some of us are send it to dealership.