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You mentioned the local dealer Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Thu, 5 Jan 2006 06:27:16
In Reply to: Thank you, Mike. That's a real help., Noel, Wed, 4 Jan 2006 05:44:08 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I live in Connecticut, and I have the luxury of having seven Saab dealers within a 45 minute drive from my house. Just like people, all dealers aren't created equal. That increase to 10 if I'm willing to drive a little over an hour.
One dealership advertises the lowest prices on their CPO cars, and have the largest stock, by far. But it's quite obvious that they aren't particularly picky about what cars they pick up. Many had cosmetic damage, from minor dents to carpet stains and upholstery rips. Mechanically, many had obvious problems (considerable smoke on startup) that the salesperson waved off (literally!) as 'no big deal.' How these cars pass the CPO is amazing to me.
Another had very high prices and equally poor quality cars. I was looking at wagons, and it was quite common for the rear cover to be missing. This dealership had the gall to tell me that they could provide one for an additional fee, at list price.
Others apparently selected their CPO cars carefully, and although they had fewer CPOs on the lot, they were of uniformly high quality. I'd rather have a small selection of nice cars than a large selection of pigs. There was also a small but significant price spread ($2K or so) between cars in in the 'good' dealerships.
What it boils down to is that if you can get to multiple dealerships, it pays to shop around. Different dealerships have different philosophies in how they choose cars for their lot, and how they will price them. Some ask a lot of money and if the car doesn't sell after a while, mark them down, willing to take the hit on lot space and cost of money. Others ask lower prices and move them faster.
In the end, I found a few dealers that obviously were as careful as I would be in picking cars to put on their lot and CPO. Of those, some were the 'price high and wait', and others were 'price reasonable and move.' Interestingly, one dealer with the nicest cars and the lowest prices was in a very ritzy town. Go figure.
If we hadn't come across a very clean 9000 (my wife's dream car), we would have bought a wagon at that last dealership, a full 45 minutes from my house. I have a dealership 10 miles from my house (and two miles from work) where I'd get my warranty work done. That's the joy of the CPO warranty.
I know the CPO process is supposed to add some order and confidence to the selection of used cars. It reduces Caveat Emptor some, but in no way does it eliminate it. I strongly suggest that you shop around, and reward the dealer that takes cars as seriously as you do.
posted by 192.249....
, Tue, 3 Jan 2006 17:33:49, Thu, 5 Jan 2006 06:27:16 <-- Viewing This Message
, Mon, 2 Jan 2006 23:59:24, Mon, 2 Jan 2006 15:39:07, Mon, 2 Jan 2006 20:16:40
, Mon, 27 Mar 2006 13:49:29
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