Agree with others, you have to be willing to walk. No need to fall in love with any particular car or truck, there will always be another one available. Everyone reads Edmunds these days so dealers will try to stay around that figure. I have been fortunate that every time I bought a car (all two times) I had a beater that I traded in that I just wanted to get rid of (inheritance vehicles that weren't worth the insurance) and was able to get a good price just for losing deadweight. Vehicles are depreciating assets - the dealer just wants to move them.

When it comes to dealersip this site I found can help you get the best car that you are looking for, whether new or old one. The site shows all the different car dealerships in places throughout the country that can help you. You can even search for a particular vehicle if you want. At Momentum BMW you'll receive the best car purchasing experience achievable.

carlosE;1584220 wrote:. At Momentum BMW you'll receive the best car purchasing experience achievable.

That sounds wonderful!!!!

I've been following your car search threads, and as a general observation you are kind of in what I refer to "no man's land" of used car buying.

You are spending a pretty good amount for a used car, but in getting one with so many miles already you are going to start having to pump money into sooner than later I suspect.

Ball joints/Shock-struts/brakes/wheel bearings and such are all things that become a crap shoot past 80,000 miles, and are wear items that need to be replaced regardless of what brand/quality of car you get.

I have come to find that while you never really "get ahead" buying a used car, the most cost effective way is to either spend more and get one with low miles, or get one for less money (with a body/interior that's in nice shape) that has a shithouse full of miles for less money and then just budget the extra for repairs that will inevitably come.

My dad went through this recently getting a car that had 73,000 miles on it for about what you are looking to spend and within the first 12,000 miles he has replaced both wheel bearings and ball joints among other things.

It is dishearttening to spend a good amount on a car and then start pumping money into it, but in the mileage range you're looking all the wear items are entering the go zone where they could need replacement at any time.

Subaru's are high quality cars so you likely won't have engine/trans problems, but wear items are wear items.

If you haven't considered budgeting money for expensive repairs as far as what you're willing to pay for the car you should.

Good luck with your purchase. I just wanted to lend a different perspective as I have been through a lot of cars in my life and have done it from every which way (new/used/low miles/high miles) and that has been my general observation.

TedSheckler;1584211 wrote:That won't matter. If you finance though a dealer, your loan will still be through a bank.

I just bought a used CR-V a few weeks ago. I gave them a number that I wanted out the door. It was $1500 under what they had it listed as. They came down to $200 above my out the door number, they threw in a free tank of gas and free lifetime car washes at the dealership. I agreed to it.

The ball was in my court though. I was willing to walk and I was paying cash.

That's a decent deal. Unfortunately dealer incentives like car washes and oil changes won't be of much use for me as the two dealerships I am looking at are both 90+ miles away from home.

Using your CR-V as an example, and using round numbers, say the sticker price was $10k. That means out the door you're looking at ~$11k. You offered $8.5k out the door and they took $8.7 + extras?

rydawg5;1584185 wrote:That doesn't even make sense though. Swap out "car" for "phone". Walk into Bestbuy and say you want an Unlocked Iphone 5s for $300 instead of $699.

This is an awful analogy.

IggyPride00;1584229 wrote:I've been following your car search threads, and as a general observation you are kind of in what I refer to "no man's land" of used car buying.

You are spending a pretty good amount for a used car, but in getting one with so many miles already you are going to start having to pump money into sooner than later I suspect.

Ball joints/Shock-struts/brakes/wheel bearings and such are all things that become a crap shoot past 80,000 miles, and are wear items that need to be replaced regardless of what brand/quality of car you get.

I have come to find that while you never really "get ahead" buying a used car, the most cost effective way is to either spend more and get one with low miles, or get one for less money (with a body/interior that's in nice shape) that has a shithouse full of miles for less money and then just budget the extra for repairs that will inevitably come.

My dad went through this recently getting a car that had 73,000 miles on it for about what you are looking to spend and within the first 12,000 miles he has replaced both wheel bearings and ball joints among other things.

It is dishearttening to spend a good amount on a car and then start pumping money into it, but in the mileage range you're looking all the wear items are entering the go zone where they could need replacement at any time.

Subaru's are high quality cars so you likely won't have engine/trans problems, but wear items are wear items.

If you haven't considered budgeting money for expensive repairs as far as what you're willing to pay for the car you should.

Good luck with your purchase. I just wanted to lend a different perspective as I have been through a lot of cars in my life and have done it from every which way (new/used/low miles/high miles) and that has been my general observation.

Thanks for this post. You bring up some going points about the on-going maintenance that I've sort of accounted for. The nice thing is I have a mechanic that does the work for free, I just need to pay for parts (and generally buy him beer and/or dinner).

justincredible;1584088 wrote:I think both have only been on the lot for a few weeks. Not sure what the typical used car life is on lots.

Financing isn't done but it definitely won't be a problem to get it. Would it be helpful to finance through the dealer and not tell them that I plan on putting 9-10k towards the loan in the matter of a few weeks?

Some places have early payment penalties.

Raw Dawgin' it;1584249 wrote:Some places have early payment penalties.

I realize that. That is something I would definitely find out before securing financing.

justincredible;1584250 wrote:I realize that. That is something I would definitely find out before securing financing.

Wasn't sure - i only know about them because they told us when we bought our car that we could pay it off early if we wanted without penalty. Honestly - i think it helps you in the long run to put the money from the truck aside and just make consistent monthly payments, but i can see how paying it off as quickly as possible is a concern.

Raw Dawgin' it;1584251 wrote:Wasn't sure - i only know about them because they told us when we bought our car that we could pay it off early if we wanted without penalty. Honestly - i think it helps you in the long run to put the money from the truck aside and just make consistent monthly payments, but i can see how paying it off as quickly as possible is a concern.

Our plan is to apply the cash I get towards the truck to the loan as soon as I sell it. At that point we should only owe $3-4k. Our Fusion only has two more payments left ($394/month) and my new job pays me about $400/month more than my last. Apply that $800/month towards the loan and we should have it paid off before my wife quits her job and we are down to one income.

justincredible;1584254 wrote:Our plan is to apply the cash I get towards the truck to the loan as soon as I sell it. At that point we should only owe $3-4k. Our Fusion only has two more payments left ($394/month) and my new job pays me about $400/month more than my last. Apply that $800/month towards the loan and we should have it paid off before my wife quits her job and we are down to one income.

one income...fuck. God speed.

I'd check out a credit union of you aren't already a part of one. They normally beat everyone else on rates

justincredible;1584250 wrote:I realize that. That is something I would definitely find out before securing financing.

Most banks went away with early termination penalties because they're semi-illegal to charge. I wouldn't worry about finding a place with no early termination fee. If you do find one that still charges, get the hell away.

dlazz;1584259 wrote:I'd check out a credit union of you aren't already a part of one. They normally beat everyone else on rates

I can get 1.99% APR through USAA for a used car. Not sure how credit unions compare but I've thrown around the idea of moving our money to one anyway.

Raw Dawgin' it;1584258 wrote:one income...fuck. God speed.

Luckily I make bank.

/sleeper

justincredible;1584267 wrote:I can get 1.99% APR through USAA for a used car. Not sure how credit unions compare but I've thrown around the idea of moving our money to one anyway.

1.99 is pretty good. Especially for used.

justincredible;1584268 wrote:Luckily I make bank.

/sleeper

Luckily I'm loaded.

/tiernan'd

SportsAndLady;1584269 wrote:1.99 is pretty good. Especially for used.

Yeah, I'm not sure a CU can beat that. I'm pretty sure the financing on my new car was 2.3%

dlazz;1584275 wrote:Yeah, I'm not sure a CU can beat that. I'm pretty sure the financing on my new car was 2.3%

It's normally 2.49% but there is a .5% discount until the beginning of March.

If you are making good jack-why not buy a newer vehicle?

I think you should go with the Wagon Queen Family Truckster. Great for cross country trips as I presume you soon will make a trip to colorado and take advantage of their new law.

and while you are there pick up some girl scout cookies.

justincredible;1584245 wrote:Thanks for this post. You bring up some going points about the on-going maintenance that I've sort of accounted for. The nice thing is I have a mechanic that does the work for free, I just need to pay for parts (and generally buy him beer and/or dinner).

I'll tell you what, I'll work on your vehicle here at our shop for free if you bring me a steady supply of Cincy Craft brews!!!! Great deal for both of us!

Wally;1584287 wrote:If you are making good jack-why not buy a newer vehicle?

Because we are going to a single income in June/July and I don't want a car payment at that point.

thavoice;1584288 wrote:I think you should go with the Wagon Queen Family Truckster. Great for cross country trips as I presume you soon will make a trip to colorado and take advantage of their new law.

and while you are there pick up some girl scout cookies.

We are going to see the Reds/Rockies in August. The new law may or may not have had something to do with my choice of destination.