Anyone have used car tips? I have a family member that wants a CPO Lexus, but I’ve never bought a used car. I’ve heard conflicting things that prices are not as negotiable as new cars but that used cars are big profits for dealers. So which is it? Thanks in advance.
I wouldn’t call used cars “big” profit per sey, they make more money than new car sales much of the time.
CPO Lexus IS a pretty safe bet to go. Lexus is reliable and tend to retain value pretty well. Certified cars will hold a premium on the used car market. You can try to get 500 to 1k off list price, but if you’re looking at the cheapest certified Lexus in your region then I doubt that dealer would discount further.
It’s all too easy to find the cheapest used car using the internet which is why their pricing is so competitive and dealers don’t discount that much on used cars. Be sure to read the fine print with the online ads.
Always take the car to a different mechanic to do a pre purchase inspection, even if cpo.
Yeah, I figured there wouldn’t be much wiggle room on used cars, like you said, maybe 500-1000 at most.
I will need to get an independent mechanic to do an inspection once we find the car we want.
A lot of CPO Lexuses are no haggle in my experience. Some dealers are scummy and don’t include the CPO warranty cost in the online quoted price. Great choice though. Best warranty in the business by a mile IMHO
2 Likes
Cool, I’ll make sure the quoted prices are with the cpo warranty. Yeah, my dad wants a ES350h.
Just call the used car factory and tell them what you want
3 Likes
Yelp page says they’re closed, link to website doesn’t work.
3 Likes
There’s new ones made daily. 
1 Like
Room to negotiate on used cars is not a set number or percentage. Not by a long shot. The typical markup from auction value is $4k-$4500. CPO is often more. I have seen anywhere from $1500 to $10k markup on used cars. My personal goal is to pay no more than $2500 markup. CPO maybe a bit more, depending on how much value I feel it adds for any particular manufacturer.
Any way I can figure out how much a dealer is paying at auction? Probably hard to determine.
It doesn’t matter. They’re aiming for max profit or at least market value. Just because they got a bargain at auction doesn’t mean they’ll pass any savings on to you.
If they overpaid at auction, would you overpay at retail?
1 Like
How would you convince a dealer to tell you how much they paid at auction or trade-in so that you could offer them only 2,500 markup?
Also, we don’t know what the dealer’s refurbishment fees were. Usually that 4k to 4.5k markup is meant to cover costs associated with preparing the car for retail. Not all cars that come into a dealer are problem free.
2 Likes
This is unrealistic and borderline unreasonable. They don’t budge very much on used cars anymore bc it’s so easy to compare prices online. It’s typically the best price and you have $1000 of wiggle room IF you’re lucky
1 Like
Not to mention reconditioning or repairs after they purchased it…
A lot of stores also seem to have gone to a carmax model as well and pricing metal to sell, best discount off sticker you’ll see is likely if a nearby dealer is lower than them or if they remove certification off a CPO.
That’s true, best we can hope is paying a little bit under market value.
Lol! Guys, I have been doing this a long time. Take my advice and info or don’t. I’m happy to have others overpay.
As to one of the points, no, we don’t know if the dealer had to put more into it. That does not change its value, however. When buying a house in a depressed market, would you pay someone more money just because they bought when the market was higher? Trust me, I have had a number of discussions where a dealer claims the “car owes us more than that,” to which my reply is “I’m sorry you overpaid, but that is not my fault.” If they won’t come down to the number I have come up with based on the market, I move on.
1 Like
Where is this info of which you speak?
1 Like
No idea what you are confused about. I’m referring to the info that $2500 over is my target.
I’m not confused. That’s not info. That’s your target/opinion. Information often comes with a source, at least valid information.
1 Like