Car shopping

The wife wrecked her town and country last week. Out looking for cars instead of watching espn. I hate car shopping.

How many of you actually enjoy going to lots and talking to salesmen?

I have a couple of salesmen that I know and like. Outside of them I hate talking to others or trying to deal with them.

Car shopping in my opinion, is nowhere near the difficult experience it was 20 years ago. The internet has allowed you to do the vast majority of your shopping online. I pretty much have found the car I wanted, secured financing (which I may or may not use, depending on if the dealer can beat it, which they almost always do), do a quick test drive and then get the deal done. The days of hard negotiation and wandering the lot to find the right vehicle seem to be gone. We just bought a new car a couple weeks ago, and just like the last 3 or 4 times over the last 7 or 8 years, the experience has been extremely pleasant.

Check out Carvana.

I simplify it by telling the salesman that I will make one offer on a vehicle if I like it, and that's it. No haggling or negotiating. Accept my price or don't. If you accept, that's great. If you don't, no big deal.

Check out Carvana.

Bought a car for my son last January from Carvana. It was a great experience.

I actually enjoy car shopping, and on occasion will be ask to go with someone. I sold cars for a little while in Florence after I retired from my regular job and enjoyed it, just to many hours. My wife on the other hands hates it. We have leased for years, I never go in telling the sales person I am leasing.

Bought a car for my son last January from Carvana. It was a great experience.

Can you give details of your experience? Did you finance thru them, have it delivered or pick up etc...I don't know if I could buy a car online without a test drive in person.

It depends on which salesman you get and how good they are at listening. I bought a car on Black Friday and knocked off 3k without really trying.

End of the month, today is the perfect day to go out. They have monthly metrics and December and January is brutal for car sales typically.

Good luck!

Can you give details of your experience? Did you finance thru them, have it delivered or pick up etc...I don't know if I could buy a car online without a test drive in person.

Really, it's no different than buying any other used car from a dealership, except they bring the car to you. The process is really simple. Go on their website and find a car. Again, this part is really no different than using any other dealers website to shop for a used car. They do give more details and point out any blemishes the car may have, and at least in my experience, most of the blemishes they pointed out weren't noticeable. You can either finance through them, arrange your own financing, or pay cash (which is what we did). I wouldn't finance through Carvana, because they use a subprime lender, Bridgecrest. You'll then get a phone call to discuss everything you'll need to do and have ready when they deliver the car...again, it's pretty much like buying at a dealership..insurance etc. You'll also set up a delivery time. You could also arrange to pick it up at one of their vending machines (I think they have one in Newport). When they deliver the car, you'll get a chance to inspect it, and take it for a test drive. If you like the car at that point, you'll do the paperwork, which not sound like a broken record, is exactly like what you'll do at a dealership. You then get 7 days or 400 miles to decide for sure if everything is good. If at any time in those 7 days (or 400 miles) you don't like the car, you call them and either pick out another car for them to bring, or you walk away. We got a 2015 Ford Focus in excellent condition, with 10k miles for a little over $10000. There was an issue with the cars description...they said the car had Sirius/XM and it didn't, and for that mistake, they refunded us $250. I know others that have bought from Carvana who experienced a similar issue in the description being slightly off, and the car not having an extra the description said it did. Could be a problem if that particular extra is a neccesity that you want. Two tires were also missing valve stem caps. So not perfect, but not at all bad, and not something you wouldn't possibly see with a traditional dealer. The other small problem we had was since they were new to Kentucky at the time we purchased, there was some confusion in how we would receive the title and tags. We expected the title to be mailed directly to us, but it instead was mailed directly to the County Clerk. Not a huge deal once we figured out what was going on.

You're really not buying sight unseen, or without a test drive. The only real difference in using Carvana is you get to do everything in your own home. It's kind of like CarMax...there's no negotiating, so you do have to do your homework, and you have to move quickly if you see a car you like, because while there are good deals, they don't last long. We had one fall through because we waited a couple days. Overall it was very easy, and super convenient, and very nice to do all the paperwork, etc from your kitchen table rather than at the dealership. I will definitely consider them again the next time we are in the market for a used car.

It depends on which salesman you get and how good they are at listening. I bought a car on Black Friday and knocked off 3k without really trying.

 

End of the month, today is the perfect day to go out. They have monthly metrics and December and January is brutal for car sales typically.

 

Good luck!

The week between Christmas and New years is typically the busiest week of the year for Car dealers. You may get a good deal, but be prepared to wait. As a buyer, you're better off going a week or two BEFORE christmas. Not as crowded, and you still can access deals on leftover new cars while the dealers are still very motivated to move inventory prior to the end of the year. Like I mentioned before, we bought a new car 3 weeks ago, and just like you, got a nice discount right off the top without even trying on a leftover 2018 loaded Honda HRV.

The week between Christmas and New years is typically the busiest week of the year for Car dealers. You may get a good deal, but be prepared to wait. As a buyer, you're better off going a week or two BEFORE christmas. Not as crowded, and you still can access deals on leftover new cars while the dealers are still very motivated to move inventory prior to the end of the year. Like I mentioned before, we bought a new car 3 weeks ago, and just like you, got a nice discount right off the top without even trying on a leftover 2018 loaded Honda HRV.

Hmm that’s interesting, trying to clear inventory for the New Year? I’ve always found that car dealers clean up in the spring and summer, when people want to walk around in good weather.

I’m surprised people have money left to buy after Xmas, unless forced.

Hmm that’s interesting, trying to clear inventory for the New Year? I’ve always found that car dealers clean up in the spring and summer, when people want to walk around in good weather.

 

I’m surprised people have money left to buy after Xmas, unless forced.

I used to do digital marketing for auto dealers, so I have a little insight into this. The week between Christmas and New Years dealers are making that final push to hit numbers, and qualify for bonuses and make room for the new stuff. Remember, people do the majority of their shopping now via the internet and know exactly what they want when they head to the dealership, so most car buyers aren't spending a lot of time wandering around car lots so weather isn't that big of a deal. Many dealerships will do as much this week as they do some months, and it's typically all hands on deck. That's why it's better to go earlier in December before the last week...dealers are still motivated and the good deals are still to be had, but it's not nearly as crazy. As far as people not having money, so many people nowadays buy with no or little money down, and with longer terms, you really don't need much money to buy a car, even if your credit isn't perfect.

Hmm that’s interesting, trying to clear inventory for the New Year? I’ve always found that car dealers clean up in the spring and summer, when people want to walk around in good weather.

I’m surprised people have money left to buy after Xmas, unless forced.

That could be part of it, but I've always associated the spike in sales with folks getting large chunks of cash from tax returns. At the very least that's a nice down payment for a lot of folks.

I used to do digital marketing for auto dealers, so I have a little insight into this. The week between Christmas and New Years dealers are making that final push to hit numbers, and qualify for bonuses and make room for the new stuff. Remember, people do the majority of their shopping now via the internet and know exactly what they want when they head to the dealership, so most car buyers aren't spending a lot of time wandering around car lots so weather isn't that big of a deal. Many dealerships will do as much this week as they do some months, and it's typically all hands on deck. That's why it's better to go earlier in December before the last week...dealers are still motivated and the good deals are still to be had, but it's not nearly as crazy. As far as people not having money, so many people nowadays buy with no or little money down, and with longer terms, you really don't need much money to buy a car, even if your credit isn't perfect.

Good info and yes you’re right, people don’t fear a $400 car payment somehow.