I'm about to Purchase a USED CAR from a Dealer, how should I approach this & avoid getting ripped off?

[Madcowz]

I'm about to buy a relatively inexpensive used car from a local dealer (under $6,000) and was wondering if you guys could offer some tips on how to deal with the salesmen at the dealership. You see, it's a relatively high mileage luxury car @ 149,000 miles, but seems to be running fine. I don't know too much about cars though, so should I get a mechanic to take a look at it?

It's being sold as-is without warrantee, I was told all used cars under 130k miles get offered a 6-mo warrantee, should I push for that, or at least 3-months? What are some angles I could use for bargaining power? I don't think they will budge too much considering, it's already marked down quite a bit. I just hope it's not priced so low for reasons they are trying to hide.

I've never dealt with a dealership before, will they probably try to add on extra hidden fees? How do I avoid getting swindled?

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Passions]

Be prepared to walk. If salesman gives you a hardtime and tries to push anything on you, just tell him you're tired of his games and walk away. He will come running after you.

Also, run the VIN through carfax, here is a hotdeal for a free carfax,

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=40&threadid=1317965&enterthread=y


Good luck!

 

[shuan24]

Heres a tip:

DONT DO IT.

 

[shuan24]

Steps to avoid being ripped off:
1. Check or run VIN number through CarFax. Even if it costs money, its worth it.
2. Drive the car to your mechanic. If you dont have one, theres a company down here (Austin, TX) called Lemon Busters, who runs diagnostics and checks the vehicle for damage or defects. Usually runs about 50-75 bucks. (Used to run $100, I guess competition drove their prices down)
3. Never buy a used car from the dealership . Just not worth it for a used car. (They overprice the vehicle because of overhead (like paying salesman salaries, rent, etc..)

my .02

 

[Madcowz]

Ya, I'm very hesitant to buy from a dealership, but it is a good price, and I haven't found any good deals on this car from private sellers, so I might just have to give in.

I did a carfax report, it had 1 previous owner, and nothing bad was found

 

[shuan24]

Originally posted by: Madcowz
Ya, I'm very hesitant to buy from a dealership, but it is a good price, and I haven't found any good deals on this car from private sellers, so I might just have to give in.

I did a carfax report, it had 1 previous owner, and nothing bad was found

It doesn't mean that nothing bad has happened.

Sometimes cars get damaged but are never reported, that why you will still need to proceed to step 2 of my avoid being ripped off process.