Used Car buying help

[daytonacane]

Looking @ local toyota dealer car for $11,500 - for a 2017 toyota corolla w/50,200 miles, precert, & one-owner. I was given Out the door price of $13,740.23. Sales mgr. stated he waivered $995. Cert. fee & $850 Recon fee which is a bunch of bunk!!! They are going to bring the car to my home to try out, but the sales mgr. wanted me to immediately put down a deposit. At this, I exploded & told him I would not deal with any high pressure & would definitely not put a deposit down now.

I expected addition of Sales tax of 6.5% plus registration fee I asked for a total breakdown from $11,500 to out the door cost of $13,740.23 & was told following:
In addition to the vehicle cost of $11,500, $999 dealer doc fee
$299 3rd party doc fee
$ 50 doc stamps
$100 tag transfer
Comments/advise appreciated. I hate buying cars.

 

[LagoonGator68]

There are a zillion Camrys and Corollas to chose from and Hertz is about to flood the used car market with 700,000 cars from bankruptcy...take your time....set YOUR drive out price!...walk as needed

 

[g8r.tom]

$999 dealer doc fee is bunk too. Goon gave good advice.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

We just bought a very well maintained 2013 Corolla w/ about 85,000 miles for my kids to use. We bought it from a lady down the road who had it in front of her property with a For Sale sign. We paid $8,500. (Our mechanic at AAA, who gave the once over, thought it was a good deal for whatever that’s worth. )

 

[soflagator]

@daytonacane If you give me until Monday, I could provide a much better answer for you, as I have family that owns dealerships. In short, there will be a dealer fee to some degree. Rarely if ever will you leave with a full discount and no fees. It’s a business and they are going to make a profit. The additional fee of 299 is an extension of the dealer fee, nothing more. Doc stamps would indicate that you’re financing and the state is charging to record the lien. Can’t get around that. Tag transfer is what it is. Any overage will be returned, making it fairly moot.

As I said, you may or may not be getting a great price. I could give you a better answer after the weekend.

 

[jeeping8r]

Any charges for recording the lien are in the tag fees (tax,tag,title), Any Doc fees are pure profit to the dealer. I've never paid a "dealer fee", nor have I paid for any 2nd sticker items (paint sealers, scotchguard interior, etc). I worked at a dealer for 13 years.

 

[daytonacane]

@daytonacane If you give me until Monday, I could provide a much better answer for you, as I have family that owns dealerships. In short, there will be a dealer fee to some degree. Rarely if ever will you leave with a full discount and no fees. It’s a business and they are going to make a profit. The additional fee of 299 is an extension of the dealer fee, nothing more. Doc stamps would indicate that you’re financing and the state is charging to record the lien. Can’t get around that. Tag transfer is what it is. Any overage will be returned, making it fairly moot.

As I said, you may or may not be getting a great price. I could give you a better answer after the weekend.

The used car sales mgr. was having the salesman I am dealing with (who is family-related) bring a car to my home to test drive & asked me to make a down payment (sight unseen, etc.). I exploded & told him in no uncertain terms my thoughts on that idea & told him I would not deal @ all if he came up with another stupid idea & that aggressive sales totally turned me off. I didn't like the car; thus am still looking. Going to DeLand & Winter Park tomorrow.

 

[LagoonGator68]

The used car sales mgr. was having the salesman I am dealing with (who is family-related) bring a car to my home to test drive & asked me to make a down payment (sight unseen, etc.). I exploded & told him in no uncertain terms my thoughts on that idea & told him I would not deal @ all if he came up with another stupid idea & that aggressive sales totally turned me off. I didn't like the car; thus am still looking. Going to DeLand & Winter Park tomorrow.

if you have a connection, go to the Orlando Mannheim Auction

 

[Concrete Helmet]

Going to DeLand & Winter Park tomorrow.

I bought a used Camry from Auto Nation in Winter Park for our office staff to use about 4 years ago and they were pretty decent to work with. The car was 2 years old and only had 12K miles on it at the time but was a base model. Office never drove it(I think they thought I was going to buy something nicer) so we ended up giving it to my son in law..

The deal was smooth but they didn't come off the price very much, maybe $500-$600, but the car was a deal and had brand new tires, oil change and serviced. The only thing that didn't go well was when I left it there for them to detail all day and when I came in to get it they still had not detailed it.

 

[URGatorBait]

if you have a connection, go to the Orlando Mannheim Auction

They are OVERFLOWING with vehicles right now.
Never seen so many, at least at the one they own in Ocoee.

 

[TheDouglas78]

Hertz is already starting the liquidation, moving their rental cars to their sales company... the sales center near us just increased their inventory 50%. We bought the wife a back and forth from school car in '18, a little Hyundai 2016 beater with 37,0000 miles on it. They gave a extra year warranty and it was still under the 5/60,000 warranty. It was clean, but we had a buddy of mine who is a mechanic come with us to tell us which cars to take and not take. Have to be selective, but there were some decent options.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Basically look up the car as if you are trading it in. Use all the research sites you can, Edmunds Kellys etc. Offer them trade in plus maybe 200-300 dollars.

In Fla, they must charge the same "doc fee" to everyone. No sweat. If they demand a $1000 doc fee, and Blue Book says the tradein value on the car is 10,000, your final offer is $9000. They will have less than the actual trade in value in the car, GUARANTEED, no matter how much they whine and lie.

This is the biggest buyers market in my adult life. Lots of great one owner, Carfax perfect cars for about half what they would have been last year. Im thinking about refreshing the fleet myself.

 

[LagoonGator68]

Hertz bankruptcy has changed the used car game. Buyer’s market!

 

[LagoonGator68]

 

[daytonacane]

Finally got a car Sunday @ Seminole Toyota in Sanford, FL) 2014 toyota corolla with 48,302 miles on it previously owned by a 45 year old lady who was in the Navy. Plus, she put on new tires and battery in late Oct. of last year - about 7 1/2 months ago & totally clean carfax. The car had just been traded in on a new one Sat. nite & had not been detailed, but it was spotless inside & outside. She received some sort of bonus & decided to buy a new car even though nothing whatsoever was wrong with this car. She had bought the car new there & brought it in for each & every recommended maintenance check. Not that I care but it has all the bells & whistles - sun roof, backup screen, GPS, satellite radio. White with black interior - sharp and sporty looking vehicle. My son did a test drive on hills and bumps and stated no rattles and that it was a tight car. Paid a little over $11,000 cash out-the-door cost. She had a sticker on the back window "UCF Mom"....I told them to leave it as I was a UCF Mom also. So now have this sticker & my new Miami "U" tag. Okay, I am now ready for some football....