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YouTubeI helped my dad pick out a new car last year, it was a low miles 05 Honda Accord. We also chose to use Immke. Great place, honestly.
I do believe that they sell brands other than Honda in their pre-owned lot.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Shopping
Best Used Car Dealers in Columbus
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communistrobot
Clintonville
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Posted 2 years ago # -
agtw31
columbus
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LBOWACC wrote >>
Lexus of dublin or easton. I have bought 2 used cars from them, and lexus treats you like you bought a brand new 80k car when you go in for service.Lexus's customer service literally forced Acura to totally overhaul their customer service in the early 90's.
Acura was sending sales and service reps to Newport Beach,California to take courses on handling customers professionally and courteously.their instructor was a former Lexus service manager.
Posted 2 years ago # -
LBOWACC
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agtw31 wrote >>
LBOWACC wrote >>
Lexus of dublin or easton. I have bought 2 used cars from them, and lexus treats you like you bought a brand new 80k car when you go in for service.Lexus's customer service literally forced Acura to totally overhaul their customer service in the early 90's.
Acura was sending sales and service reps to Newport Beach,California to take courses on handling customers professionally and courteously.
their instructor was a former Lexus service manager.I believe it. I have also owned an acura, though it was purchase new in toledo, and serviced there. There is no comparisson between the service you get for a brand new acura tl, and a 5 year old lexus. the service alone would make me purchase the used car.
When i get my next new car this fall i will probably lease though, no question it will be from lexus though.
Posted 2 years ago # -
LBOWACC
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I will also say a friend of mine had good experience with that used car lot of foreign cars on west 5th. They tend to sell bmw, mercedes, etc. I will say when i went with him the guys seemed shady, and i wouldnt trust a car from there, but he never had any problems.
Posted 2 years ago # -
agtw31
columbus
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Columbus Acura still blows,service wise.
service guy told my g/f a barefaced lie about her RSX,and got caught.
Acura called her about her service experience,and she tore them a new ass.
she doesnt have to worry about paying for an oil change any more.
Posted 2 years ago # -
cory
Columbus / Upper Arlington
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agtw31 wrote >>
cory wrote >>
I worked in the car sales business for about a year before I started working with CU. Aaron Nadalson or Greg Gee at Toyata Direct on Morse Rd are two great guys. They are both very knowlegable, easy to get along with, and no pressure type of guys (Although Greg is a little A.D.D!) You can check out some of the pre-owned inventory online @ http://toyotadirect.com/used-inventory/index.htm?reset=InventoryListingi suggest looking on ebay locally,or maybe in Cleveland and Cincinnatti.
there is no such thing as a good used car dealer.they will all try to rape you on your trade-in,and waste 4 hours of your time,trying that lame fast track sales pitch.
couple years ago,i went with a friend from Franklin,Ohio to toyota direct to purchase a used minivan.he already spoke to the salesperson and had set an appointment for the car to be seen.
my friend was trading in a $500 POS.he told the salesperson he wanted $600 on trade.
these idiots spent a half hour beating on my friend,offering $300 for his trade.
i told my friend to get up,and let's just leave.
the next day,the same asshole saleperson from toyota direct called him,and told him he'd give the $600 on trade.
what a moron.It's true, it's a pain in the ass dicking with people. The fact is that when you walk onto a lot and want to try to get them to discount their car, you are asking them to let go of money from the store's bottom line, and b) asking them to take less on the salesperson's paycheck. Honestly, I couldn't see $300 on a trade that they are just going to take to the auction stop them from putting a deal together. A lot of the times it just depends on the manager. The sales person's job is to make people understand the company's point of view and still pretend to be on your side!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Parker
Franklinton
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Someone said not to buy on Craigslist, why? How is this different than a private party sale? I'm not trying to argue for it - I genuinely would like to know the cons of cars on Craigslist because I see a lot of them advertised but have not taken the time to make a call.
What do people think about these dealerships that have a "lot price" and a (usually) cheaper "internet price"?
Posted 2 years ago # -
agtw31
columbus
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cory wrote >>
It's true, it's a pain in the ass dicking with people. The fact is that when you walk onto a lot and want to try to get them to discount their car, you are asking them to let go of money from the store's bottom line, and b) asking them to take less on the salesperson's paycheck. Honestly, I couldn't see $300 on a trade that they are just going to take to the auction stop them from putting a deal together. A lot of the times it just depends on the manager. The sales person's job is to make people understand the company's point of view and still pretend to be on your side!
a salesperson's job is to sell a frigging car.if a salesperson is explaining the dealer's point of view,he's not doing his job.
as for the car for sale,that was the ridiculous part,we never even got to the actual price of the vehicle he was interested in.
after the sales manager and salesperson went for a ride and ran the crap out of his trade-in(they all do this),the sales person comes back and went straight after his trade-in,and just would not STFU about it.
as for knocking down the price of the car,it's a fact used vehicles sold by a dealer have as high as 50% markup.
most large dealerships have buyers that go to auctions and buy the inventory for the dealer.
dealers do not put trade-ins on the lot,unless they are nice,or they stole the trade in from the buyer.
used cars are where dealers really make their money.they crush people on used cars,lots of profit there.
selling new cars is just job security for the service and parts dept.which is income for the dealership,as well
btw,dealers don't take trade-ins to an auction,that's a waste of time and money.
they are sold to wholesalers who flip them at auctions or on ebay,craigslist,or they have a buy here/pay here lot they sell the junkers at.Parker wrote >>
Someone said not to buy on Craigslist, why? How is this different than a private party sale? I'm not trying to argue for it - I genuinely would like to know the cons of cars on Craigslist because I see a lot of them advertised but have not taken the time to make a call.
What do people think about these dealerships that have a "lot price" and a (usually) cheaper "internet price"?nothing wrong with buying a car on Craigslist,you just need to know what to look for on a car,and never go see a car where you're not familiar with the surroundings.
i always tell people to meet me at a police substation to check out a car.as for internet sales from a dealer,there is no difference in price,it's all dealer bullshit.
Posted 2 years ago # -
columbusfoodie
West Side
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Now, I'm not a Christian, but I have to heartily recommend Miracle Motor Mart on Morse Rd.
Back in 2005, I had a windfall, and decided to buy a car for my sister who has 3 kids and had a car that was quite literally dangerous to drive. When I told them the story of what I was doing, they took $3,000 off the price of the car (which brought the price of it well below blue book value) and just told me to pay it forward.
They were so upfront and fair in their dealings, and the car worked well for quite a while (she got a new one this past year), and they still have it as a backup vehicle with no need for repairs other than regular maintenance. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again, if I were in the market for a used car.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Mercurius
First Avenue
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I can't believe no one has said anything about Auto Auction on S. SR 104. That is where most of the dealers are getting their cars.
http://www2.manheim.com/locations/OAA/eventsPosted 2 years ago # -
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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JonMyers wrote >>
I've never used them, but it seems that a service like CarFax, which allows you to check the history of the car would be useful when buying a used car.You know - I always thought that too... I got a CarFax report on a car, on a dealer's lot, that was still under standard manufacturer's warranty (barely) - because it seemed strange to me that a year old car would have more than 30K miles, and be back on a lot (and it was a car I was having trouble finding decent used, period). I bought it, and was quite happy with it until....
Drove it to NY for the holidays. The car had a stupidly low airdam on the front, and driving thru an ice rutted parking lot, it got scraped/bumped... pretty hard, but not hard enough that it would have done anything to it. Long story short, it loosened the whole underside of the airdam, and when I got over 40mph, the wind would push it against a tire. Fortunately, my extremely-good-with-cars-brother was visiting, and he took a look at it (eventually fixed it with racing "snaps") and told me that the car had been wrecked - that the whole front end had been off it. He showed me what to look for, and it was so clear he was right.
I was then getting my oil changed at the dealership (I got coupons - it was cheap) where I'd bought the car, and the receptionist asks me if I'd bought the car there.... and turns out, it was the car of another person who works there.... and it all started to make sense; how the car could have been in an obviously serious wreck, and yet have a clean CarFax.
That was too long... but, basically - the CarFax isn't the whole story of a vehicle.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Roland
Clintonville
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Mercurius wrote >>
I can't believe no one has said anything about Auto Auction on S. SR 104. That is where most of the dealers are getting their cars.
http://www2.manheim.com/locations/OAA/eventsDamn. Excellent call.
Does anyone have a dealer's license and willing to work with CU members?
Posted 2 years ago # -
agtw31
columbus
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jon,
carfaxes are nice,but some dealers forge these,so you have no choice but to get your own.
dealers don't like offering carfaxes because they don't really want to know.here is why:
most buyers for major car lots buy cars at auctions through 2 different rows at the auctions.
you have a guaranteed car row(car is guaranteed by the auction house to be free of defects),and then you have the as is row.the guaranteed row is the good stuff,and what's kept at the major lot's used car inventory
the as is row is what you see on buy here/pay here lots like JD Byrider
they are nothing but high mileage rental cars that have had the shit run out of them.they are one tank of gas away from blowing up.these usually sell for $300-$400 at the auction,and are total junk.
they stick these on the lot for $1000 down,and $75 a week,and dealers make a killing on these pieces of shit.
buyer signs the purchase contract for $75 a week,car lasts a month,and blows up.
buyer takes the car back,and they put them in another POS,and it starts all over again.every major car dealer in Columbus has a buy here/pay here lot,it just doesn't have their name.
the profit margin is too high for them to ignore.Posted 2 years ago # -
Analogue Kid
5th by West-Northwest
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Although I don't really have any intention of doing so, I'm wondering if I could go to a "buy here pay here" type place and just buy a car outright or if they would force me to play their game.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Analogue Kid
5th by West-Northwest
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