I'm looking for some info on how car lots price their used inventory. I've been looking at a few different trucks lately and the place I am looking at them will not deal on price at all. That is, until yesterday. I had called on a truck Thursday and offered 16,000 and they said 16,995(listing price)was as low as they could go as they had paid 16,200 for it at auction. Now, yesterday(Friday) comes and they call me and tell me that I can have it for 16,200 and they have to move it by Monday morning at the latest. They have had this truck on their lot since 7-19-06. So, they are going to sell this truck for no profit? I highly doubt it. What gives?

On a side note, I called them back today and offered them 15,500 for it.

 

I think local markets dictate price

 

I'd definitely say that they are outright lying. Going to edmunds, KBB, and NADA will give you a good cross section on the wholesale value of a used vehicle. The dealerships use what they call a "black book," which will almost always show lower than the three mentioned above. They will then try to lowball you even lower than their "book" to get you started negotiating way lower than you would otherwise have. Unfortunately, I don't know of any online refrences to get hold of that particular list.

Go in with all three of the other lists, and figure out what the average is between the three. I did this with the two trades tha I had when I bought my Aveo. I got my price, despite much whining from the salescreature. It will work the same way when purchasing. If the salescreature won't budge - walk.

 

I actually took the trade in value(why would they pay more than this amount) and added almost 1500 to that to come up with my offer. If they don't take it, I'll move on and buy elsewhere. There are many more trucks out there.

 

Do your research and make an offer of what you think the vehicle is worth to you. Price is based on what they think they can get for it. What they paid for the truck (probably untrue anyway) has nothing to do with that it is worth. If they bought it right, they will make a good profit and if they paid more than they should have, then they will suffer a loss. If they have had the truck as long as you said, they need to move it by selling it at retail, selling it to a wholesaler or taking it to the auction. I would make an offer with a time limit on it and leave it up to them.

 

That is what I did yesterday. I will call them one more time on Monday morning on this truck and reiterate my offer. They will have until the end of the day to decide. After that, I will go elsewhere with my business and money.

They bought this truck (as well as all the others on the lot) at auction. It may be going back there real soon.

 

I suggest attending local auctions, and if you have a dealer buddy (including used car dealers, i.e. anyone with a dealer license) who can attend dealer-only auctions so much the better.
The best deals are to be had at salvage auctions. If you are mechanically capable you can get some screaming deals especially because trucks are so easy to fix.

The used truck rule of thumb we go by is we expect to make at least 25 to 30 percent profit.
Big dealers can hold out to protect their overall pricing structure because they do not "need" an individual sale. If you can't do auction, consider private party.

Small dealers are under intense economic pressure to turn over stock, but that means you must be a very sharp customer to avoid getting hosed by paying too much for a repaired salvage vehicle that isn't a good machine. I'd certainly buy a properly repaired truck (as opposed to unibody vehicles) but you need to be a good inspector.
Whatever you buy, wear some coveralls and bring a BRIGHT (tactical lights pay for themselves here) flashlight. Unless you are rich, the time spent to crawl over the whole truck and meticulously inspect it is well spent.
You are already at the right place to post questions, and hi-res digital pics of any suspect body work or other stuff are easy for others to download and zoom.

 

Thanks for the info. I called the dealer lot back on Monday and they said 16,200 was as low as they could go, (which is 500 over what they paid for it, so they say!!)

Now, I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree, but they told me on Thursday(week before) that they paid 16,200 for it, not 15,700(as stated in my latest phone call). I suspect they paid in the 12,000-14,000 range for this truck at auction. Sounds like they want to make a ton of money and that's it. After I told the salesman that 16,200 was not going to work, he hung up on me. That's fine, I'll go elsewhere.

I have a line on another truck that I'll be looking at tomorrow(thursday) Asking price is a bit high and I'll try to talk him down(private party seller)