How to 'negotiate' cars for sale?

[tivoom]

long test drives with the seller and a mate and get your mate to chuck in a "oh i can here a clunking back here or men there is a bit of a wine in the diff ect ect ect" read the seller to if they start to smile your going the wrong way if they start to look lost and flat faced your doing it well good luck and let us know how you go

 

[Ace_VP]

It all depends what you are buying, if its a rare car then the seller has the advantage, if its a commodore then the buyer has the advantage because there are always heaps on the market to choose from. Many people will price a car based on what they think its worth, not what the market says its worth.

A person might buy a car for $4000 and then put $3000 in bits an pieces into it to make it nice, that doesnt make the car worth $7000 but some people think it does. They might get lucky and find a buyer who wants exactly what they have on the car but for most people there might be things that they dont like so arent prepared to pay for.

I always do heaps of research find out what a high km model is worth and then what a low km model is worth and then i can have a gauge of price range for vaying km's, then you factor in the condition. Is the paint peeling, is it faded, are there heaps of carpark dents and scrapes that will need touching up etc. Most people will take these issues into account and price accordingly, like buying a hail damaged car. Some people dont, so tell them whats wrong and haggle accordingly. People always add a few hundred onto the price and all people will have a minimum price that they want to achieve in their mind. Your job as a buyer is to offer a little bit lower than this price and then have them come back with a counter offer, if they accept your offer first up well thats a bonus. And then as Junny said have the cash with you, people loose their sense of value when they see a wad of $50's and the thought of getting all those 50's in their hand now makes some people accept stupidly low offers. Matt

 

[HamaTime™]

Pick out all the negatives on the car, pick out stuff that needs to be fixed etc etc etc.

When you go and look at cars, take someone who knows alot about cars with you, obviously let them test drive it since you don't have your license and also don't have the experience to discern and find smaller problems with a car when you drive it as opposed to someone who has been driving for longer and has more mechanical and car knowledge/sense.

Also, try and find something a little 'less' modified, half the time when you go and look at cars exactly like that VT, you will find that they would have been abused, thrashed etc.... Sure you might have to spend the extra money to get the car to where you want it to look, but 9 times out of 10 you'll get a better car, and have the fun of 'modifying' it to your taste over the year(s) that you own it.

At the end of the day, you don't want to pay good money for a car that only 'looks' good and will give you the shits for the rest of the time you own it

 

[JAKE-26]

Yeah i know exactly what you mean about it highly likely being thrashed as its been modded. Of course that wont always be the case and some people might treat their cars like its worth million dollars, but more than often itl be thrashed lol.

I'm mainly looking for vs or (if i can afford it) a vu ute, at 9k or so at the most. There's so little out there in manual that the rare manual ones i find are always overpriced! but ive got some good tips here, and im always looking with my dad who seems to know his fair share about it. I just want a car a rediculous amount and its so hard not to rush into the first one i see!

 

[HamaTime™]

There yours problem, you need to be impersonal with the car your looking at. Yes, appreciate the car that your looking at, but look for the things that are bad about it more than whats good about it! Because then you know exactly what your getting that is going to cost you money, going to cause you stress and annoyance.

Good luck getting a VU V6 Manual Ute for 9k, ute's hold their value alot better than sedans, manuals even more so. One of my mates from high school had a VU ute which he bought for $17, still only sold it for $16,500 or something last year.

1996 HOLDEN COMMODORE Base VS Private Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au

1998 HOLDEN COMMODORE S VS III Private Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au

1998 HOLDEN COMMODORE Base VS II Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au - carsales.com.au

1998 HOLDEN COMMODORE S VS II Private Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au

1995 HOLDEN COMMODORE S VS Private Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au

 

[JAKE-26]

I'l be on the lookout for the bad points from now on, thanks mate!

And i have a bookmarked carsales search thats all manual vs v6 manual utes in vic so ive seen all those except the last one which is a bit pricey.
Im actually gonna drag dad down to have a look at the 3rd one down if i can this weekend, seems my best bet for price and its not far which is pretty necessary for me

Although its a 3 seater, i think il get over it in time

 

[Ace_VP]

I made the mistake of the excitement getting in the way of sense when i went out looking for my first car. Dad came with me and I was keen for a ford escort, still love them but you just cant get good ones today that arent full of rust and stuff.

We went and looked at one, it was the first one, price was right. I got excited and just wanted it, in the end dad bargained him down a bit but if i could have the time over again I would do it alot differently. The motor was rubbish, someone had rebuilt it very badly, it had alot of hidden rust and a few other things. In ther end i had it mint but it took me time and money to get there. Shop with your head not your heart, as mentioned above you dont want to buy a bad car that gives you nothing but trouble because it has been poorly modified and repaired. Get a nice clean blank slate that is unmolested and do it yourself slowly.

 

[JAKE-26]

That sounds really unlucky mate! Although i do get my heart set on some i've seen, i'm no way gonna buy one before its been checked out by a racv or similar.

And i guess you cant really tell, but that 3rd car down that Hamatime linked which im keen on actually looks quite stock, mainly as it still has stockies. but it could have been thrashed and then had the wheels taken off for sale. guess you dont know until you see it!

 

[Ace_VP]

That sounds really unlucky mate! Although i do get my heart set on some i've seen, i'm no way gonna buy one before its been checked out by a racv or similar.

And i guess you cant really tell, but that 3rd car down that Hamatime linked which im keen on actually looks quite stock, mainly as it still has stockies. but it could have been thrashed and then had the wheels taken off for sale. guess you dont know until you see it!

you will find a good car, just dont be afraid to walk away from a a few first. All good if you find the right car first up, its possible, but dont be let down if you dont find the perfect one straight away, there are plenty of commodores out there.

 

[HamaTime™]

Second one down is the best of that bunch