QuestionQUESTION: Hello Mr. Alvey
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. I'm having a heck of a time researching used cars. I currently have a 2001 Toyota Corolla with sticking rings that would cost $1500 to have replaced (seems to be a problem with the 2000 to 2002 models). It seems like where one sight has great reviews of vehicles, another has nothing but bad things to say. I can tell you I'm looking for something a little roomier than my corolla, great gas mileage is a huge plus. The thing I'm having a hard time with is price. Some of the vehicles I'm looking at, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima going for between 10 to 13k (my price range) all have close to or over 100k in mileage. I'm looking for something with less than 50,000. Also, maybe more in your area of expertise, financing options. Am I better off having financing before going into the dealership or getting it there. I file bankruptcy in 2007. Credit is good since, no late payments or anything adverse and not a huge amount of credit though. my last loan was through capital one auto financing for 6.9%, but even though I paid off that loan, on my credit report it shows and "included in bankruptcy." Roadloans seems to be another popular option, but I have not seem many good reviews of them. Thanks again for any advise.
ANSWER: Hello Brian thank you for the question,
the very best way to buy a car is with no trade in at all ( You can sell it yourself on craigslist for more money every time) and have your financing in place at your local credit union if possible so you can tell the dealer the interest rate he has to beat in order to gain your finance business. A bankruptcy in 2007 is almost a nonevent provided there has been absolutely nothing bad since then. the fact that you paid your car loan through your old bankruptcy makes you look like a hero. If the auto loan was not really included in the bankruptcy or listed in the bankruptcy then you need to make the credit reporting agencies update their records. I would not consider using roadloans even though my e-mail addresses are: roadloans@gmail.com and roadloans@hotmail.com there are concept is too problematic and you will encounter a very limited number of dealers willing to use them.
The Japanese automakers are all overpriced in my opinion... At one point in time they used to make better cars which is where the Japanese car mystique came from. that was many years ago and now they simply make good cars which are on a par with a lot of domestics. It's not better cars they make right now it's better customers that they attract for their new car products that is the difference. Honda and Toyota new-car buyers have better credit profiles then new domestic buyers, generally speaking. they tend to take better care of their vehicles and change the oil and you recommended services because they generally have more disposable income and are more responsible. If you put the buyers of new Japanese cars into new domestic cars you would have the same caliber of used cars or better when they were finished with them.
So what should somebody who wants a high-quality pre-owned vehicle that gets great gas mileage in the $10-$12,000 price range get: I would buy a Hyundai in a New York second ... The Koreans and their cars have come a long long ways and Hyundai in particular has been gaining market share by leaps and bounds and they have that boomer factory warranty (you won't get the 100k miles unless you buy it new ..but the warranty for the 2nd owner is a long term high miles one as well when compared to the rest of the industry.
You should probably avoid going to a Hyundai dealer because they are the least likely to cheap sell you (or discount as much as they should) because for the last couple years they have periodically had a shortage of available new cars to sell and use the late-model used cars as switch cars for the new car buyers they don't have the right car for ... plus there are much larger profits in used cars than new.
let me know if you would like additional suggestions but this is the way I would go. You can ask as many follow-up questions as you would like until you are completely satisfied with the answer and can give me perfect scores on my ratings survey.
My personal e-mail address is roadloans@gmail.com you may contact me there for the fastest possible response good luck happy shopping Merry Christmas
Roger
The Car Guy
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QUESTION: Hello again and thanks for all the info you gave in your response. It was a pleasure to give you perfect scores for all your input. I have checked out Hyundai and just test drove a 2009 Hyundai Elantra at http://www.kenolsonusedcars.net/. It drove well, was slightly bigger than my Toyota Corolla and my wife loves it, which seals the deal for me. While it is difficult for me to place a value on my 2001 Toyota Corolla even through Kelly Blue Book with the problems it has, they offered me $300 for a trade in, which would bring the price to $10500 plus tax title and license. They were not too pushy being in a small town and the price does sound decent, but they did mention an extended warranty and that someone from out of state was coming to look at and most likely buy the vehicle in a week (sounds weird to me, but that isn't enough to get me to rush into this vehicle. If you would not mind, would you give me your opinion on this vehicle. I have not been able to find one close to this price and mileage. They already work with my credit union (I recognized the person they mentioned). I understand that they have to make money too and I don't want to pass this up and have someone else take it if the price is right.
Answer
09
Brian,
Glad to hear you found value in my suggestions...
I don't know how poorly the corolla runs and drives but if it ran good and the issues you mentioned weren't there your car would have a wholesale value (assuming it's just a no frills, no power anything 125k corolla) of around $3400.00 and you would be able to sell it on craigslist all day long for $4500.00. You can also find a really cheap mechanic who would come to you and fix it for 15-20 an hour on Craigslist too! The moral of this story is DON'T LET THEM HAVE THAT CAR FOR 300.00!! DON'T EVEN LET THEM HAVE IT FOR 1,000! FIX IT AND SELL IT FOR ALL THE MONEY or don't fix it and sell it as is for $1,500.
The Hyundai you are looking at has an MMR (Manheim Market Report) value of $9,289.00 and a Wholesale book value of $10,264.00. It has the remainder of the factory warranty on it that starts at the 'day of first service' ...which means the day it was first registered ...of 5 yrs or 60,000 miles AND YOU CAN BUY AN EXTENDED SERVICE CONTRACT ANYTIME BEFORE YOU HIT ONE OF THOSE ENDING EVENTS! I would never buy it from a dealer and would go to my local credit union and buy it for 50% less there. As far as the price is concerned ... I wouldn't want to pay (as a retail customer) more than the wholesale book figure. These cars and there 35 mpg are hot sellers especially clean ones like this one with low miles...I have attached the book sheet image for you to have for your files.
Looks like a good little car and the dealer seems to have a nice clean well reviewed store ...
Hope this helps!
Roger
short version ...Pay $10,200 or less, DON'T trade your car and DON'T buy the warranty
