Scotty Kilmer: Never Buy a Used Car from the Dealership

[JordanWearinThe45]

This is untrue, dealerships have reputations to uphold and they will at least put some type of service into the car. Buying privately is a double edged sword. If you have the cash,yes you can save a lot of money compared to the dealership but A. You have no warranty in most cases. B. You don't know how the previous owner treated the car and while you can check some things with your eyes, unless you are willing to pay a mechanic to inspect the car, you don't really know what's wrong with it. My nephew purchased a car private sale and ended dumping 2500 of work into the car.

When going private get a car fax and look for good service histories. When you getting used lux more than likely it will be dealer serviced. Buy from the right person too. If the car looks all rough on the outside more than likely they ain’t maintain it.

 

[satam55]

Nope, dealers will lie through their teeths to sell you something they overlooked during a trade-in or auction.

Best cost effective method to buying a used car from a outside individual, set a side a small portion to have the car checked by a mechanic or the car brand dealer. Work it into your asking price. Also what ever car you buy expect/assume in your budget 10-20% will be needed in repairs for the next 12 months. People trade in cars because problems begin to occur unless they are leases.

This is untrue, dealerships have reputations to uphold and they will at least put some type of service into the car. Buying privately is a double edged sword. If you have the cash,yes you can save a lot of money compared to the dealership but A. You have no warranty in most cases. B. You don't know how the previous owner treated the car and while you can check some things with your eyes, unless you are willing to pay a mechanic to inspect the car, you don't really know what's wrong with it. My nephew purchased a car private sale and ended dumping 2500 of work into the car.

Yeah, you should always factor paying for a pre-purchase inspection when buying a used car. YouMechanic.com will do a 150-point inspection & test drive at the home or office of the seller for just under $100: https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/pre-purchase-car-inspection


I wouldn't buy a car from a seller who would let me do a PPI.

 

[MMA]

Yeah, you should always factor paying for a pre-purchase inspection when buying a used car. YouMechanic.com will do a 150-point inspection & test drive at the home or office of the seller for just under $100: https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/pre-purchase-car-inspection


I wouldn't buy a car from a seller who would let me do a PPI.

So many times, I offer to pay because the spec is exactly what I want or close enough. How many times I've heard declines or that is too much work, that I'm doing too much

They want to deal with consignments because no one wants to buy the car off the street/ebay so be it.

 

[Mordith]

What the hell is this idiot talking about? Especially in reference to Certified Pre-Owned cars. He clearly doesn't understand what a CPO is or the protections that provides...

 

[winb83]

What the hell is this idiot talking about? Especially in reference to Certified Pre-Owned cars. He clearly doesn't understand what a CPO is or the protections that provides...

Here's the thing and I'm saying this as someone that just bought a CPO car. You waste a lot of money buying CPO. Sure you get a warranty but you spend maybe $10,000+ more that you'd spend if you bought a cheap used car that you got inspected and it passed a mechanic inspection. In the warranty business companies know the odds are in their favor. Odds are slim you'll need that warranty.

 

[Mordith]

Here's the thing and I'm saying this as someone that just bought a CPO car. You waste a lot of money buying CPO. Sure you get a warranty but you spend maybe $10,000+ more that you'd spend if you bought a cheap used car that you got inspected and it passed a mechanic inspection. In the warranty business companies know the odds are in their favor. Odds are slim you'll need that warranty.

You are missing the point you can't speak in generalities when it comes to topics like this just because everybody isn't a savvy consumer. I bought a CPO'd M3 and I actually paid less than similar non-CPO M3s with similar miles and options because I had a motivated dealer who was willing to deal and I ceased the opportunity. Anyone who over pays for a car does so because they are either desperate or stupid.

We live in an age where you can buy a car from the other side of country because of the internet, so if you do the research you know what you should pay for a given car before you even step foot in the dealership.

 

[winb83]

You are missing the point you can't speak in generalities when it comes to topics like this just because everybody isn't a savvy consumer. I bought a CPO'd M3 and I actually paid less than similar non-CPO M3s with similar miles and options because I had a motivated dealer who was willing to deal and I ceased the opportunity. Anyone who over pays for a car does so because they are either desperate or stupid. We
live in an age where you can buy a car cross the county because of the internet, so if you do the research you know what you should pay for a given car before you even step foot in the dealership.

Dealerships mark cars up. If you bought a car from a dealership you paid more than you would pay buying from a private party.

Kilmer is a mechanic. He can go out and buy a car for under $1000 and get a far better value than you or I could unless you're a mechanic too. He can buy a car in that price range that would last him probably as long as my 2016 CPO car I bought at fair value.

Lastly if you got a CPO car from a dealer cheaper than a non-CPO equal car then there was something wrong with the car. It cost the dealer to CPO a car and dealers aren't in the business of paying more to sell for less. If they sold it cheaper than they'd have sold a non-CPO car it was because something forced them to do that. Otherwise they'd have just sat on the car longer till they could get what they wanted or they wouldn't have certified it in the first place.

Also we need to be clear that CPO cars are just used cars. The only thing CPO gets you is a partial manufacturer warranty. To Scotty's point if you buy a reliable car from a trustworthy manufacture and you get it inspected by a trusted mechanic you don't need that warranty and you can get that car for many thousands less especially if you deal with private parties. If you bought a CPO car you overpaid for the car by the definition of what CPO is (which is paying for a warranty). CPO inspections are not legally enforceable. They technically don't even have had to happen. The name CPO is a marketing gimmick for selling used cars with a sort of warranty.


I took my CPO car to a independent mechanic and got it inspected but I'm willing to admit I paid for than I had to because I wanted the CPO warranty. I knew I could go private party and get one cheaper without that.

 

[Mordith]

I'm an idiot

You're an idiot breh. Because there's this thing called the internet that allows me to compare retail PRICES of vehicles up for sale in REAL-TIME...

So I don't need to guess whether or not I am getting a good deal on a car...

 

[MikelArteta]

i bought my 08 accord accord used in 2010 from a honda dealership still driving it

 

[winb83]

You're an idiot breh. Because there's this thing called the internet that allows me to compare retail PRICES of vehicles up for sale in REAL-TIME...

So I don't need to guess whether or not I am getting a good deal on a car...

If you bought a car at a dealership you paid more than you had to. Go look on any of your internet sites. Go to any place that values cars and check the dealer price and check the private party price and tell me which one is always lower. Please show me 1 car with the magic on the internet that's valued lower at a dealer than on a private party sell.

You aren't smarter because you have access to a computer. Whatever deal you think you got on a used car at a dealer if you negotiated with a private party for an equal car can be beat.

You calling me an idiot yet I knew what I was getting into. You've convinced yourself because of the internet you made out like a bandit. Nobody that's car savvy is gonna tell you to walk into a dealership and buy a used car if you want the best deal possible. Nobody but apparently you. Everyone else in the world, even people that aren't car savvy, knows that if you negotiate with a private seller directly you can get a better price cutting out the middle man dealer.

Dealers mark up cars. They buy low and sell high. Buying from a private party you can buy higher than the trade in price but lower than the price the dealer would sell the car for.

Furthermore CPO is bullshyt. It's still just a used car it just has a baked in partial warranty.

 

[Rice N Beans]

Kilmer ain't shyt.

Get an inspection prior to buying.

Dealers are better than the low brow places, but you get the idea. If you're serious, inspections are worth the investment. Anyone who won't let you do an inspection is NOT worth buying from.

This is untrue, dealerships have reputations to uphold and they will at least put some type of service into the car. Buying privately is a double edged sword. If you have the cash,yes you can save a lot of money compared to the dealership but A. You have no warranty in most cases. B. You don't know how the previous owner treated the car and while you can check some things with your eyes, unless you are willing to pay a mechanic to inspect the car, you don't really know what's wrong with it. My nephew purchased a car private sale and ended dumping 2500 of work into the car.

Also to add to this, with a dealer, you have an entity responsible with command chains that would be easier to fight if there was something afoot with the vehicle that was not disclosed.

I hate dealer prices too, but you'll usually have something more sound more times than not.

 

[winb83]

Also to add to this, with a dealer, you have an entity responsible with command chains that would be easier to fight if there was something afoot with the vehicle that was not disclosed.

I hate dealer prices too, but you'll usually have something more sound more times than not.

None of what you're saying is upholdable in court unless it's on your purchase agreement. The contract a dealer makes you sign will typically say you're buying a used car "as is". You could buy that car and the engine could explode as you drive it off the lot and if you signed the paperwork it's yours the end. There's usually a list of things that can go wrong with a car they give you as well and on the back of a purchase agreement it will say you read that and understand it.

New cars at least have lemon laws. Used cars in the United States are mostly as is. The only power you have at a dealer is before you sign a purchase agreement.

 

[Rice N Beans]

None of what you're saying is upholdable in court unless it's on your purchase agreement. The contract a dealer makes you sign will typically say you're buying a used car "as is". You could buy that car and the engine could explode as you drive it off the lot and if you signed the paperwork it's yours the end. There's usually a list of things that can go wrong with a car they give you as well and on the back of a purchase agreement it will say you read that and understand it.

New cars at least have lemon laws. Used cars in the United States are mostly as is. The only power you have at a dealer is before you sign a purchase agreement.

Well yeah, but who's going to really let the dealer/seller roll them over like that? I've always haggled out some sort of warranty. The ones who don't agree simply don't get the purchase. The ones that do have been the honest sellers.

I think the only cars I have been involved with on a super pure as-is was an F150 pickup which had unlisted problems.

 

[winb83]

Well yeah, but who's going to really let the dealer/seller roll them over like that? I've always haggled out some sort of warranty. The ones who don't agree simply don't get the purchase. The ones that do have been the honest sellers.

I think the only cars I have been involved with on a super pure as-is was an F150 pickup which had unlisted problems.

I'd rather have a manufactures warranty than anything with a dealership. A dealership isn't gonna give you anything worthwhile in terms of warranty unless you pay a good penny for it.

 

[-DMP-]

I bought my car off Craigslist. It was only a year old and had 12k miles. Took it to the Honda dealer ship to get it inspected and they said it would’ve been a CPO if they had it.

would definitely do it again.