Looking for advice on the dreaded haggle (insurance/car sales)

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Looking for advice on the dreaded haggle (insurance/car sales)

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Started 1 year ago by misskitty
Latest reply from GirlfriendinaComaUK

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misskitty
Columbus
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I know we all love to deal with car salesmen and insurance agents right?

Anyway last week a very intoxicated guy smashed my car that was parked in front of my house. Then he drove away pulled over down the street and ran. This happens to me a lot so I am pretty use to headaches. However this time they caught him because he tried to report his car stolen but failed miserably at doing so. So he got sited for reckless opÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and hit skip.
From what my insurance company says he is insured.

This is unusual for me because usually they are never insured. Although I have not personally spoke to his insurance company mine has made contact. They said his side is still investigating because he says he was not driving and they have to look into it more.
My insurance has informed me that my ride is a total loss and they would be willing to cut me a check for Fair market Value. And minus my deductible but when his insurance pays I will get my deductable refunded to me.

So questions maybe some of you have dealt with this fun stuff in the past any advice?

1. I have always been told not to accept first offer from a insurance agent. So should I ask for a little more than FMV?

Second I am going to make a visit to a dealership I need a reliable used car. I hate dealing with all the random that is used car salesmen. I hate getting the four-square and the way they try to jumble numbers.

2. How did you deal with a used car salesmen?

3. Lastly I found the automobile that I would like to own itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s used and listed at 12.9k and that is out of my reach so I offered 7.9k Does it seem to low?

I figured if anything we could use this thread for tips and advice for this type of situation and suggestions on the general topic.

Posted 1 year ago #
KSquared
Literally Hell
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Misskitty, I just has a really good experience buying a used car with Gahanna Auto Sales. I worked with Craig Leitwein, he and his father Steve own the business. I went in with my Consumer Reports information on a fair price for the car, worked with Craig on getting that price and they helped me find a really low rate on financing, better than what my credit union could offer.
PM me if you want more details.

Posted 1 year ago #
Roland
Clintonville
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If you need financing, get it taken care of before you walk on the lot. Talk to your bank or credit union, use a service like Up2Drive.com (based in Columbus!) or another "blank check" approach.

You've got no trade in, so all the dealership has now to work with is car price. They can't play four square with you anymore.

Don't be afraid to be a heartless negotiating bastard. Figure out what you want and then shop by price, not "what can you afford per month" bullshit.

Posted 1 year ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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Points to remember when haggling for a used car:

No offer is too low. The car is worth what someone will pay for it. Not what is listed on the window. That said, having comparisions with you works well for bargaining, shows the guy you are prepared.

Bring a friend. A car is an emotional buy. A friend will help you since he isn't emotional about the car. Bonus for bringing a friend that other people think is an ass. He won't be afraid to speak his mind and confront the salesman. (I'm sure you are all surprised that I often play this role.)

Best time to buy a car is at the end of the month. Salesmen need to hit their numbers and are more willing to bargain downward.

Most important. You can't bargain well for something unless you are willing to walk away from the deal.

Posted 1 year ago #
Lakee911
Clintonville (South)
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I'm sorry to hear about your luck, Misskitty. :(

1. It never hurts to offer a higher price. You've not accepted it until you cash/deposit the check. When they give you a price, make sure you check it against something like KBB and if you've got a super bad ass (not by my standards) stereo that'll tump your neighbors windows, make sure they have accounted for it. If you just put on new tires, make sure its accounted for ... stuff like that can get you up.

2. Never have. Sorry, can't help here.

3. If the offer is too low they won't accept and they might not even counter-offer. Never hurts to low ball and try again.

Posted 1 year ago #
EmZeeGee
Clintonville
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Do not let on hat you are in need of a car fairly immediately. In fact, if you can borrow, or do without a car for a little bit, that's best. You don't want to *need* a car when you walk into a dealership. You want to be able to walk away from an unsatisfactory deal. If the salesperson has any idea that you can't really walk away, that could be used against you. Have an out-the-door number in mind (based on facts and research) and stick to it. Don't let them whine at you about how poor they're getting selling cars at low prices. Don't let them talk you up via undercarriage protective sprays and other late-negotiation crap. This is about endurance; you have to out-endure them.

I'm sorry to hear about this series of awful events. The guy who hit your car sounds like a real winner.

Posted 1 year ago #
lifeliberty
Here
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go into dealer, get written quote, walk out. go to another dealer, get quote, walk out. i wouldn't buy a car on the spot, I'd always walk out. it at least gives you time to think about it and compare. then you go back when you are certain that is what you want, it takes away them talking you into anything on the spot.

Posted 1 year ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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Don't let them talk you up via undercarriage protective sprays

Good gosh, do they still try and sell this?

Posted 1 year ago #
Analogue Kid
5th by West-Northwest
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misskitty wrote >>

I hate dealing with all the random that is used car salesmen. I hate getting the four-square and the way they try to jumble numbers.
2. How did you deal with a used car salesmen?
3. Lastly I found the automobile that I would like to own itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s used and listed at 12.9k and that is out of my reach so I offered 7.9k Does it seem to low?

Couple things. First, I am of the mindset that you win more bees with honey than vinegar so I don't recommend going in and being a dick to the salesperson. You're not there to make friends but be courteous. Most salespeople don't live to rip you off, they just want to make a living.

Second, I have absolutely no idea if your offer of $8k or whatever was reasonable. Tell us what car it is and we can see. If its a Honda, forget about a deal as everybody around here has/wants one. If its a Toyota, then maybe you can get a bargain as long as you get it checked out for safety.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoeMitchell

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There is no such thing as a high/low offer, it's a negotiation starting point

Why the dealership? At $7-10k you should be able to find a well maintained luxury vehicle from a private seller. A lexus, inifinity, acura, bmw with 100k miles is a far better vehicle than a low mileage econobox.

Edmunds website has a car forum where you can find very valuable information from actual owners, technicians, enthusiast ect. I recently had a friend ask about a 2002 Honda Odyssey, I researched it and found that the transmission has a fatal flaw with the torque converter and is bound to fail. I passed the info along and told him to get a Toyota minivan instead, he ignored my advice. Now about four months later, transmission fail.

There are actually quite a few acura/honda models from 1998-2004/5 with suspect trannies, obviously not well publicized in Columbus, the accord capital of the world.

Posted 1 year ago #
cc

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I would avoid used luxury vehicles (especially near the 100k maintenance mark) if you are on a budget as the maintenance cost is usually fairly high.

Posted 1 year ago #
KSquared
Literally Hell
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Check Consumer Reports for used car data. You can also get a good idea of the car's value.

Posted 1 year ago #
EmZeeGee
Clintonville
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Tenzo wrote >>

Don't let them talk you up via undercarriage protective sprays

Good gosh, do they still try and sell this?

They did when we bought our 2006 Honda.

Posted 1 year ago #
Lakee911
Clintonville (South)
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EmZeeGee wrote >>

Tenzo wrote >>

Don't let them talk you up via undercarriage protective sprays

Good gosh, do they still try and sell this?

They did when we bought our 2006 Honda.

Hey, I have a 2006 Honda too! Accord EX--Silver. You?

I think they preficed my offer with 'You probably don't want this, but I have to ask...'

Posted 1 year ago #
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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+1 on Edmunds. I've been very happy with the info I've found there.

and, most reputable places will run a free car report (I don't remember the real name)

Posted 1 year ago #
Lakee911
Clintonville (South)
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lifeliberty wrote >>
go into dealer, get written quote, walk out. go to another dealer, get quote, walk out. i wouldn't buy a car on the spot, I'd always walk out. it at least gives you time to think about it and compare. then you go back when you are certain that is what you want, it takes away them talking you into anything on the spot.

Sometimes I can't get them to give me a written quote or it is hand written on a sticky note. When I bought my Accord, they verbally told me a price and it wouldn't write it down. They said that if I come back and buy it, the verbal will still be good--this was Immke. Armed with nothing, I went to Performance Honda (Fairfield, OH) and told them Immke offered me XYZ and they still beat it by either $350 or $550 -- can't remember.

My plan was to get written offers all over town and just keep getting it beat until it's super cheap. Wasn't so easy...

berdawn wrote >>
+1 on Edmunds. I've been very happy with the info I've found there.
and, most reputable places will run a free car report (I don't remember the real name)

Rember the Car Fox commercial? I loved that one. ;)

Posted 1 year ago #
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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If you have a wide broadband of used cars you are looking within, you can make a much better deal. I always seem to find that car that is tough to find used, and so I have to give a little on price due to market shortness (exception is my last vehicle, which I bought on the last day of the month, that had been sitting on their lot for 60 days - got a killer deal).

Be willing to walk away - I've found that even in this day and age a single woman on a car lot seems like a target for some of the older-school salesmen. If they have a car I am interested in, I simply come back at another time, and speak to someone else.

DO NOT let them talk to you about monthly payments - this is a TRAP. Do the math before hand - know going in what range you can afford for total car price (don't forget tax and fees), and in general what sort of financing you'll have. I've found that most salesmen want to talk about "what I can afford" - and it's usually in response to questions they can't answer about a car (especially in negotiations where they have to go to the manager 78 times) - by allowing them to run you on monthly payments, you'll never know what the real cost of the car is. Especially true if you end up going with dealer financing (fyi - not ALWAYS bad - I had a credit union deal with my last purchase... walked in with it in hand... and they beat the rate by a whole point, with no fees).

Definitely research - the more knowledge you have going in, the better deal you'll have. Edmunds.com, autotrader.com, carmax.com are all good places to price check and comparison shop.

Don't buy the "extended warranty" - if you feel the car needs it, it's not a good car to buy. If you are really accustomed to having that cushion, you can buy them aftermarket for about half the dealer cost - but really look at the caveats and loopholes, because there are many.

Don't fall in love - this is hard. I love cars and spend a lot of time on my car purchase, before I ever hit a single lot. It's hard not to feel a personal investment, once you start talking with a salesperson about a particular vehicle. If you've done your research, you should have a pretty firm idea of what you are willing to pay, before ya'll even start negotiations. STICK WITH THAT NUMBER. Again, be willing to walk away.

I also like to have the dealer throw in something pretty cheap for them, but spendy for me - truck bed liners, extra dark tinted windows, fog lights, etc. My last purchase, I negotiated in a new auto dimming review mirror with external temp and compass. :oP

Posted 1 year ago #
EmZeeGee
Clintonville
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Hey, I have a 2006 Honda too! Accord EX--Silver. You?

Civic LX (I think, the second-cheapest), dark blue. Not very original, but it's a perfectly cromulent little car. :)

Posted 1 year ago #
lifeliberty
Here
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Lakee911 wrote >>

My plan was to get written offers all over town and just keep getting it beat until it's super cheap. Wasn't so easy...
;)

I didn't mean to play one against another, I just meant to get an idea of what a fair price would be/what the market was like. (shop around)
also, just about every car has a specific forum you can go to. I've belong to forums like ford trucks, bronco, and a grand am forum just to get more knowlege about the cars I have and cars I want to buy. with the bronco forum i learned lots about what was good/bad/different between years and packages. also you can learn what kind of things go wrong with different engines and such through others' experiences.

Posted 1 year ago #
steeleo131

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For the value of your car you can check out what your car is selling for on the internet or car magazines, autotrader for example. If you think you are getting too low of an offer tell them you have found these comparable vehicles and the company will take a look at them. Having settling auto total losses before, that initial offer can be adjusted if there is a reason. Like Lakee911 said, find any receipts for any work that has been done recently. Most of it will be considered maintenance but it does not hurt to try.
You will eventually get your deductible back once the at-fault party pays your insurance company.

Posted 1 year ago #