Used Cars: Used car, chevy cavalier ls, 2003 chevy cavalier

Question
The car I just bought from a Chevy dealership for my 17 yr old is a 2003 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport, 2 door.  It has 32000 miles on it. I have bought 24 new cars in the past and only 2 used. Iam not mechanically inclined so I always need a newer car. Plus I just like new cars. Anyway, upon checking out the car as much as the average person would do, I took it for a test ride and looked at things Id be able to find if they were bad. A few visual things were found, and the dealership fixed or replaced it. Of that was a sunroof that didnt work, a horn that was broken, an outside mirror didnt work, and one side of the ground effect below the door was loose. All of this was reraired or replaced. I was very comfortable that they showed me a Carfax report. A report I found out means diddly crap. After possession and papers signed, I found that the car was in an accident. A friend showed me where it was repaired. There is no way to find out how much damage was done. Anyway, all this is behind me, and the real question here, follows:
Knowing full well to never pay what the dealer asks for, the sticker price of this car was a rediculous $11,500. They "ever so generously" reduced it to $10,990. Still too much. So after me haggling and dealing with them, like it was pulling teeth, I finally got them down to $10,100.They made it seem like it was a steal and they were losing their butts. I knew they were making money on it but at this time, felt it was a good deal. So....after all this my question is, did I get a good deal, do you think? I know I could have put all this in one or two sentences but wanted to give you the whole situation. Id appreciat your reply and hope I dont have to regret the sale. Thanks


Answer
Oh I like this question... however I wish you had asked before rather than after... since you gave me all the details I will give you the same... first of all, no matter what your personal baised towards car companies, that 11,000 (after taxes,etc...) could have been much much better spend... cavaliers do not hold resale very well, I actually had a friend purchase a NEW cavalier for 9,999 (it was an 02 wehn the 03's had come out so he got a deal)... that was a base model and obviously cheaper than your sons would have been new.. but it is an example... Lemme see... after some quick research... I would say I would pay... around 8,500 for that car... probably asked that out the door.. the blue book is 8,200 private party... so you figure a dealer would let you get away with 9,000 or so... however.. its a cavalier.. its nothing special, and its not in high demand, they may have gone lower... They probably gave the man who traded it in, or paid, around 5,000-6,000 for that car... In comparison, you could have spent about 10,000 on a used honda civic, had a car with double the build quality, double the reliability and it holds its resale twice as well... I am not baised as I drive a ford, however I cannot deny the quality for price the civic offers.. If your son was willing to go with a cavalier, a civic would have been fine as well,both are equally "uncool" - I hate to say it, but you paid too much... about 1500-2000 too much.. and given the things that were wrong with it initially, should have been a clue as to how it had been kept.. my 93 mustang doesnt have that much wrong with it and its 13 yrs old... If anything you could have used that as an arguement toward the prior owners neglect and tried to get even more off the price.. you should have gotten the blue book (took me 30 seconds) and figured on spending ~500 over private party price - at a dealership... I would have started even lower, told them the car is only worth 8000 and given all that was wrong, probably had been poorly kept & therefore argued for 8000 out the door... If your going to buy an outdated (the cavalier was replaced for a reason), poorly built car.. might as well get it for cheap.. otherwise... shoulda bought a civic, camry, mazda, anything with a better feel/resale/reliability... That is my opinion, I have been in both a 2002 and 1999 cavalier and several civics/camrys/accords/etc... and there simply was no comparison.. you can tell why some hold resale better than others.. I'm sorry to give you bad news, but you did pay too much, especially given the car, and problems, however I wish you luck with your purchase, I'm sorry to sound so negative - I just know your money could have been better spent and that is depressing... Feel free to ask anything else, and if you ever go about it again.. get the blue book, set your price, walk out if they dont get down/up to it (usually best to offer lower and let them work up...) - Also, please teach your son to respect his vehicle, make him pay for some stuff, if his money is into it he will be less likely to treat it poorly.. If he rags/races a car like that it will fall apart faster than a KIA... Good luck, sorry I didn't have better news....
-Rob