I would like tips for buying a used taco from a dealer

I will be pulling the trigger on a used TRD Off Road package double cab in the near future. Probably an '09 or ''10. Most of the ones I have seen for sale in the past couple of months are being sold by dealerships and car lots (why is that?).

I would love some advice going in. We have a high number set in our minds for the total amount. We are going to pay cash straight out. I'm not in a hurry so I don't have a problem walking out the door.

Specifically, is it worth it to get warranties? Extended warranties? What should I be wary of? My wife is a born skeptic so that helps but any beta you folks could give would be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

Here is my outlook on your questions.

1. Most people are in too big of a hurry to buy a car so they just go to the dealership, get a trade-in value of 3-4K less than the car is worth, on a good day, and buy a new car. No patience to wait and sell the car for what it is worth.

2. What is your "high number?" For a 09-11, you will still pay 20-24K for a DC 4x4. Cash is the way to go but you won't get as good of deal like you used to. Companies make more on the interest than the car. I usually take a loan with the company, get as good a deal as I can and then pay off the car the next month. You usually get more dealer money back deals that way.

3. Companies would not sell warranties if they didn't make them money. No one sells a 2K warranty knowing it will cost them 2.5K to keep the warranty. If you buy a 3 year warranty for 2K, what is the likelyhood of spending that much on repairs? My question to dealers is always, "is your product so bad that I need the warranty? If so, I'll go with another brand." Always throws them off. The anwer is usually, well, you never know what could happen. True, but I'll take my chances.

 

Thanks for your perspective.

I like the idea of taking a loan and paying it off the next month. Is that a bit tricky? Is there anything I would need to be wary of if I were to take that route?

 

What is tricky? I had the choice of 1000 off the price or a 2.5% rate. I chose the 1000 off the price. I think it is "tricky" of a stealership to offer you a price for your car that is 3K below what it is worth then charge you 2K over priced for a used vehicle. Its all about perspective for me.

As far as the loan, nothing to be wary of.

Hope you find the right truck you are looking for.

 

Make sure the loan has a no penalty if paid off early clause, other than that, nothing to worry about.

 

Thanks. Will do.

 

The reason a lot of people trade Tacoma's is the trade values are so high. I do mot think I would ever buy a used one. Best tip I have is buy at the end of the month.

 

My tip is check craigslist for tacomas, private parties are nicer to deal with, no sales tax or fees.

If you go to a dealer make sure you low ball them because you can be DAMN sure they paid WAY less than you think they did for the truck. They have thousands of dollars in profit on used cars, so there is HUGE ammounts of room to negoiate. you have to be a hard ass about it tho, or you will get taken for a ride.

 

Paying a loan off in one month does little for your credit rating. Let it run 6-12 months to get the bang for your buck, if this is of any interest.

Look at the difference between the price of a new and used. These things hold value well. You may be better off new.

Get the truck you want up front. Color, LB/SB, OR or Sport, and DC/AC/SC.

Get all the details about a warranty. Sometimes they are good; sometimes not. Mine was worth it.

Good luck shopping. Looking forward to pics.

 

Hi

I appreciate what you guys are saying but I think we are still going to go used. There are tons of these around and it's just a matter of time before the one I want pops up.

The diff in price is a matter of us spending 7 grand on something like a hot tub. Unless someone can show me some math/logic that its worth it to go new then we are gonna stick with used. We aren't in a hurry so we can bide our time. I am open to suggestions though and that's why I posted this question.

Our credit is good so I might opt for buying her out after a month if we do go the loan route.

 

Best advice given was finance through dealer and then payoff afterwards. Just don't let the salesman know you are doing this, hold your cash in your back pocket and give limited info when asked about down payment, say something like 5K...
Yes, do look for penalties for early termination on the loan, those are rare but do pop up with the less than reputable finance companies.

Take with the listings/printouts of all trucks you have researched and are going to look at. hopefully price qoutes in hand (make some low ones up too). Use these as examples when negotiating that price.

 

1- end of monrh
2- take your time
3- WAY more wiggle room for them on a used vehicle
4- get what you want, I.e., don't settle. There will always be more for sale.

 

as far as the financing goes it will look a little odd on your credit report. that being said, it should not really affect anything just so long as you arent looking at financing anything else in the next few months. sometimes other companies dont like recent inquiries and new trade lines. also, if they are going to finance make sure they dont pull your credit 20 times or something...

 

If the truck is advertised online with a price, print out the ad on the day you go look at it and take it with you. I learned that lesson with my current truck. I printed out the CL ad w/ price from the day before and showed it to the sales manager. He says "Hmmm, let me go online and look at the price for today. Oh it's $2000 higher today because we did a bunch of work to it yesterday" which was total BS. And this was at a supposedly reputable new car dealership. We haggled back and forth for a half hour and I finally ended up with a great truck at a great price so it all worked out in the end but their tactics were pretty shady IMO.

 

used car warranties are bs imo. often, Toyota factory does not honor them (so forget about tsb's). other than that, there is not much that goes wrong on these trucks. on mine with 100k miles, I have not had a single problem that I don't feel I created, aside from the airbag clockspring thing which was covered under recall.

most of these warranties have a deductible of 100$ or so which would honestly fix most anything that may go wrong if you do the work yourself. ie wheel bearings, water pump, etc, etc.

if your truck was well taken care of, as in not run through mud and sand on a weekly basis, warranty is total bs