Buying used FRS tomorrow.. need some advice.

[RickyBobby]

KBB shows a suggested retail price of $21,862 and a fair purchase price of $21,021.

NADA shows a clean retail price of $20,900.

Just watch out for the bs dealer doc fee.

[olsonpg]

Man while all this is great information on buying a car, I dont think its that complicated. Figure out a price that you want to pay for the car. Go into the dealership and say, I will buy this car for x amount of dollars and no more. This is how much I am willing to purchase this car for period and you'll sign the paperwork today (that parts huge because they always want to sell the car that day). They can whine and grown and do all their sales techniques but at the end of the day you hold firm. They either A) sell it to you B) Don't. Chances are unless they have a huge amount of interest in that car or you low ball them they'll sell it to you.

I know this from experience because i got my white BRZ Premium 11,000 miles for 17,7 in South Dakota. Granted the demand there isnt what its like in say Cali or Florida. But thats what I did. I'll buy this car for this amount of money TODAY take it or leave it. Theres a lot of brz's and frs's around and dont get too emotional if one gets away from you.

Thats my .02, doesnt mean its the best way to do things it just the way i do things.

Cheers and good luck tomorrow!

[lupindub]

Originally Posted by Tromatic

I'd make damn sure I knew about what other mods have been done to that car. I'd be highly suspicious of the previous owner after seeing the "T" on that car. Do they have maintenance records for the car? I'd have the dealer check for a tune as well.

As far as I can tell from the CarFax, no mods have been done to it. Besides the Toyota Badge. It is also a Scion (Toyota) CPO. I don't think Toyota would CPO a modded car. Just sayin'. You never know though. I will definitely ask the dealer though.

http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory...ZNAA12D2724925

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by lupindub

As far as I can tell from the CarFax, no mods have been done to it. Besides the Toyota Badge. It is also a Scion (Toyota) CPO. I don't think Toyota would CPO a modded car. Just sayin'. You never know though. I will definitely ask the dealer though.

http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory...ZNAA12D2724925

Mods would likely have come off before they even brought it in.
Check engine covers for tool marks on the bolts and screws.
Check the braces around the rad for open holes, bolts not holding anything or brackets with nothing on them (could have had SC or turbo)
Check springs and struts to see if they have the same level of visible age and wear as everything else underneath (could have been lowered)
Check the windows for sticker residue. If you fog them with your breath in the "normal spots" people put stickers you could even possibly read what they were. (Stickers don't mean mods but are a good sign)
Check the exhaust especially the clamps to see if they have some rust or are all shiny new looking (just a cat back no big deal but if had a header and tune...)


Even if you find anything keep in mind that some guys that mod their cars take way better care of them then stock. But then there is the other side of that coin.

[Packofcrows]

Id do compression test, look at all fluids cold and then drive it and test when hot. Lift it up and look for holes or cracks that could have been left by mods. Red line that smabtch a few times to test out for noises. Not abuse, just check it out under stress.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Packofcrows

Id do compression test, look at all fluids cold and then drive it and test when hot. Lift it up and look for holes or cracks that could have been left by mods. Red line that smabtch a few times to test out for noises. Not abuse, just check it out under stress.

Ya because everybody has the equipment to do compression tests and lift it. And listening for noises on these things means nobody would ever buy one even new.

[Packofcrows]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Ya because everybody has the equipment to do compression tests and lift it. And listening for noises on these things means nobody would ever buy one even new.

About $80 in equipment or less for compression test machine/kit...etc. I checked the underside of the last truck I bought by raising half of the truck over a sidewalk and driving on it so that there was a big enough space for me to get under it. Don't and Didn't need equipment to lift it. Found exhaust leak and masked gasket issues.

Like this but at more of an angle.

[IMG]http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg62/docmaureen/IMG_0359-001_zpsa7464***.jpg[/IMG]

[SisterBlue22]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Hoooray, I have support on my long standing statement!

Ask me what I do for a living. Go ahead...

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by SisterBlue22

Ask me what I do for a living. Go ahead...

UMMMMM sales maybe?
My wife is the Financing Manager for an RV dealership and comes home with stories every day about some costumer or other that wanted a $50K unit for $20K because they are "ripping people off". In fact they make about $2K mark up but people just won't believe them.
Same thing applies to cars. Since they cost so much people think there is massive mark up so the dealer should give them huge discounts.

[SisterBlue22]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

UMMMMM sales maybe?
My wife is the Financing Manager for an RV dealership and comes home with stories every day about some costumer or other that wanted a $50K unit for $20K because they are "ripping people off". In fact they make about $2K mark up but people just won't believe them.
Same thing applies to cars. Since they cost so much people think there is massive mark up so the dealer should give them huge discounts.

Close...I'm a Revenue Manager for a large hotel chain. It's my job to help hotels maximize their revenue. Every day we come across situations where we'd like to remind our guests that hotels aren't non-profit organizations....same thing applies in other industries.

[BlackJesus]

Originally Posted by FR-Shred

Dont do this. If the price is right and the interest and terms are right the payments will be right.
Cause they can get you $350 monthly but you are paying for something like 8 years and still over paying for the car. Salesman always say "what payments were you looking at?" and "what if we can lower the payments by $xxx a month?"
The only way to have a lower payment is.. 1. lower the price of the car (which doesn't change the payments a lot unless its a huge drop in price / downpayment) 2. lower the interest rate. 3. increase the payment term (more years). So haggling over the payments is the assbackwards way to negotiate the price of a car.

You should look at the price and the interest outside that its just simple math to come up with payment cost. You first work on the cars price (if you want to haggle) and then you see what interest you're getting. If the price is fair and your interest rate/terms is good.. your payment will be good.

EDIT: The monthly payment is really the least important part of buying a car. Its the easy way to trick people into buying cars which is why dealers use it in negotiating. "we can get you driving out of here at only $325 a month" but they arent telling you the length of the loan or interest rate.

ah forgot to clarify that, i meant at the same terms as the 450 @ 5 years when paying the 350. Its alot easier for me to calculate total interest by doing it this way. I guess thats the best way for me to haggle things. OP need to find a way that suits his style. these are just tips