Where should I buy a car?

[gingerbabe]

I'm looking to buy a used van (3-5 yrs old) ASAP. Does anyone have suggestions for a reliable dealership or another source to help in this? I've only lived in Utah for a year. I will search KSL a bunch but think I want to go with a dealership this time around.

 

[pELYgroso]

why a dealership? You'll pay more money, and MOST of the time, they just buy them from auctions and re-sell them. You rarely know the history of vehicles bought from a dealership. yes, people off ksl can lie about the history but you can usually tell when somebody has taken good care of things and is telling you straight. If you need it ASAP, and paying a couple thousand more isn't a big deal to you, a dealership might be your best bet though because they'll have multiple vehicles to choose from on one lot.

 

[blznnp]

what type of van are you looking for? i can ask my landlord where they got their van. i took our van in for oil change to stockton honda in sandy, they were good to me but that was the service department and not the sales.

 

[blznnp]

why a dealership? You'll pay more money, and MOST of the time, they just buy them from auctions and re-sell them. You rarely know the history of vehicles bought from a dealership. yes, people off ksl can lie about the history but you can usually tell when somebody has taken good care of things and is telling you straight. If you need it ASAP, and paying a couple thousand more isn't a big deal to you, a dealership might be your best bet though because they'll have multiple vehicles to choose from on one lot.

i would hope that most of the bigger dealerships would only keep the good cars they get at auctions. my buddy back home does all the buying for his dealership, but ever vehicle that doesn't past their inspection, they sell to used car lots so that they only keep the good stuff and sell the good stuff.

 

[Cascadia]

I'm with Tyler on this one. I have only bought from a dealer once and I won't do it again. On top of the higher price of the car you have all the dealer fees. I drove a few cars for a dealer buddy from back east from an auction. Every single vehicle had some sort of problem. Whether it be body damage, shattered windows, or mechanical issues, they all had them. Most likely the dealer will just fix it and not ever discuss it again and act as if there was never a problem. I like dealing with private parties. They are cheaper, you can tell who's being honest, and most of the time you are helping someone out.

 

[pELYgroso]

I'm with Tyler on this one. I have only bought from a dealer once and I won't do it again. On top of the higher price of the car you have all the dealer fees. I drove a few cars for a dealer buddy from back east from an auction. Every single vehicle had some sort of problem. Whether it be body damage, shattered windows, or mechanical issues, they all had them. Most likely the dealer will just fix it and not ever discuss it again and act as if there was never a problem. I like dealing with private parties. They are cheaper, you can tell who's being honest, and most of the time you are helping someone out.

Yep, and (do I dare say this?) especially in Utah....I feel that you'll find more folk that aren't trying to cover up problems. They're out there though. I once bought a jetta that immediately had huge problems. paid $5500 for a piece of scrap metal. sold it for $3k to a guy that wanted to fix it up, 2 weeks later. The guy that I bought it from moved (back home-go figure) to Cali right after he sold it to me. I should have given more thought to the small antifreeze leak after I test drove it.

If you're not mechanically inclined, find a friend who is to help you test drive a few cars.

 

[airmanwilliams]

we have a couple of 2009 honda odysseys here at willey honda in bountiful.

 

[JL Rockies]

For the record, private parties can be bigger liars and cheats than a dealer could ever be. I am a manager at Jerry Seiner / Christopher Imports and I can help you get something you'd like. Used is still tough because of cash for clunkers taking a lot of options off the market and people are holding onto vehicles longer. In this market family vehicles are in demand and you might find the gap between new and used to be smaller than you think. Give me a price range and I'll go to work for you.

 

[DevinB]

I'm with Tyler on this one. I have only bought from a dealer once and I won't do it again. On top of the higher price of the car you have all the dealer fees. I drove a few cars for a dealer buddy from back east from an auction. Every single vehicle had some sort of problem. Whether it be body damage, shattered windows, or mechanical issues, they all had them. Most likely the dealer will just fix it and not ever discuss it again and act as if there was never a problem. I like dealing with private parties. They are cheaper, you can tell who's being honest, and most of the time you are helping someone out.

I had the exact opposite experience. We bought a '02 Grand Cherokee Overland from Nate Wade Subaru a month ago and couldn't be happier. I told the guy I had xx amount in cash in my pocket and that's what I would pay. I ended up paying a couple hundred more than I brought with me, but I think I got a better deal there than if I had bought it privately. They detailed it, changed the oil, and took care of licensing it all for around the same price of comparable ones on ksl. I'm not saying I'm going buy exclusively at dealerships from now on, but I'm not going to rule them out.

 

[Spork]

We got our van from Beehive auto, I think they just get their vehicles from auctions but the price was right.

 

[MOODY]

Jason04 works at Car Town in Lehi, right off of main street. All used, extremely fair prices. Plus, he is the only sales guy there so you help out a fellow RME guy...

 

[pELYgroso]

I know Jason at cartown, he is a good guy! And they usually have a few vans!

My reasoning for not using a dealer is one thing: price. I've purchased from a dealer in the past and the car (corolla) was and still is a fantastic car that has given us absolutely 0 problems, but we did pay way too much for it. I always shop around, and I feel that there are better deals to be found through private partys. If I were to buy from a dealership again, I'd probably recruit the help of somebody off RME that works at a dealership to help me get a little better deal.

 

[Venture13]

KSL car classifieds..

 

[JL Rockies]

I'm an RME guy too... just sayin....

 

[glockman]

I have bought 28 used vehicles. About 8-10 of them from dealers. You just have to know what you want and hold your ground. If the dealer tries to pressure you just walk away. You don't owe them anything. I have had good and bad experiences with both. Don't do financing through the dealership though. They get a cut for selling you a higher loan rate just like a mortgage broker. I didn't know that until I bought my last car. Luckily I had just bought my jeep and knew what current rates were. He tried to say the credit union approved me at 10%. I got 2.7%. That is just crooked.

 

[MOODY]

I'm an RME guy too... just sayin....

Yes, J Co. Not trying to minimize that. It is just that Jason is small time and relies on -all- of his income from car sales.

You need to update your signature now...ExPo approved 97 4Runner with stuff

 

[gingerbabe]

For the record, private parties can be bigger liars and cheats than a dealer could ever be. I am a manager at Jerry Seiner / Christopher Imports and I can help you get something you'd like. Used is still tough because of cash for clunkers taking a lot of options off the market and people are holding onto vehicles longer. In this market family vehicles are in demand and you might find the gap between new and used to be smaller than you think. Give me a price range and I'll go to work for you.

I would love to check out your online inventory before I head down, could you send me a link? Or I guess you could just tell me if you have something I'd be looking for. I'm leaning towards a Dodge Caravan, year is not as important to me as mileage. I would like something under 80k miles for sure. I'm open to other makes/models, I would just need to drive it to see if I like it. The husband and I are thinking we would love to only spend $10,000 or less, but I'm realizing that it may be hard to stay in that budget for a low mileage minivan. I'm also considering a Toyota Sienna or Highlander, but I'd have to go over my ideal budget and it'd be an older one. Let me know what you have.

Thanks to all for the replies. I've been looking up every dealership mentioned, to see their online inventory. I've also been searching KSL. The search continues, thanks!

 

[pfinder]

just stay away from a brent brown dealership.. i bought a nice car from them only to find out i didnt own the car i was driving for a month.. after 2 other cars i ended up with a 4100 exploder and somehow my trade in car that they gave me 3800 bucks for never was put into the last paperwork.. so they claimed i owed them 4200 for a 91 p.o.s. with my trade in i should have only owed 1400 bucks.. yeah i hate brent brown... i dunno if i can trust another dealership now...

 

[SAMI]

I too had a run-in with Brent Brown.. No shit, they ran my credit 12 times when we stopped in there to look at cars. I authorized what I thought was a one-time credit history report, but they felt the need to run a report for every freaking bank that they talk to.

I've come to really like Ken Garff Nissan, mainly due to how no BS their service department is.. No run around as if they know more than I do. I hate sneaky dealership folks, and IMO there are honest ones out there. Not all dealerships are created equal.

Gingerbabe, I actually know a guy who will locate car options for you by you criteria, be there for the test drive after his market research, and be the negotiator for you at the time of making a deal and signing. He saves his clients a lot of money off car purchases from dealers. He's good dude and could help you if you are interested. LMK.

Oh, one more recommendation, Henry CLay Motors. My bro bought a car from them recently and they were awesome to deal with.

 

[Toad]

I had a run in with Brent Brown Dodge in Provo. I went down to look at a 7.3 powerstroke. I got down there later in the evening. The truck was parked right up front with a big puddle underneath it. The salesman does not know what is going on. In our phone conversations I had told him that I ran a repair shop. He said to me I figured you were a "grease monkey" you can probably fix it. I thought wow really I just drove two hours to fix this truck. I wanted to floor the kid. So I figured im here lets look and see what is going on. The idiot that serviced the truck double stacked the o rings on the fuel filter.

So we left on the test drive. I did not get out the parking lot and the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. The brake light on the dash is flashing. The master cylinder was shot. So we left anyways the truck ran great. Tons of power. The truck had been modified a bunch. That is not a bad thing. Not knowing what had been done to the truck did not sit well though.

We get back to the lot and the sales manager is there and I told him the problems. He starts telling me that I can fix the problems. Buy it as is and fix the problems. Is this guy for real? I dont want a project. I fix cars all day long. I split. I was pissed. I really thought about calling back the next day and bitching to some one higher up the totem pool. I figured they had already wasted enough of my time and just let it go.

The old saying goes if you screw me once shame on you. Screw me twice shame on me. I will never go back