It's time. But there's no money for it.

Gonna see if insurance will take some of the bill before I go forward.

Got a little credit available on my HELOC, if insurance will take $5k, I can swing it. I got estimates a year or two ago. They were all around 11k. I'd do it myself if it was 10 years ago, but I'm lazy now.

My chilli sucks royal this time. I unknowingly used a can of Italian tomatoes. It's too sweet. I salted it up and added some vinegar, but that still didn't take away the sweetness. Pissed off.

75K for a 2016 seems high mileage !?!


Keep trying Robert......

tell them you'd get it off their lot for 18.
if they say "no", get up and walk out laughing.

if they chase you, hold firm. keep repeating 18K. you'll get it for 19K

if they let you walk, keep walking. there are a million others out there. never allow them to make urgency on your part an issue.

never give them your keys. never allow the talk to include trades or finance. force the issue to be the price for the purchase, then talk trade, then financing if needed. they are three separate negotiations that are mutually exclusive

don't tell them you like it. it's one of a million you'd consider owning for your price.

helped one of my daughters buy a new vehicle a few years back.
I worked with her to narrow down the car she wanted, found out the invoice (what the dealer paid) and what incentives they would receive before deciding if we should pay any more than the invoice..sometimes it is not necessary. some times pay less.

dumped the sales person within minutes, worked with the decision maker/sales manager. Told him I wanted to do this new school, not old school. give me your one price and live with the consequences. I'll say yes or no.

walked a couple of times.

two weeks later he called, we went back, got the real deal. The one I knew was real.

while she was being shown all the stuff her new vehicle did, the sales manager asked me what I did for a living.

Per usual, I said, "why do you ask?"

He said it was cuz even though I had insisted on "new school" methods, I was the most "old school" he had ever confronted!

some things never change.

and I was a one call closer for 20 years many years ago.

Welcome back to Monday fellas.

75k in 3-4 years could mean it's been used highway. I'll have to check the hour meter when I test drive it. I bought mine 8 years old with 80k miles, but 4500 hours on the meter. Which equates to 18 mph average speed over it's life. It was likely worked hard as a landscape truck. Which the transmission failure at 120k confirms.

I suspect this was someone's camping truck. A work truck wouldn't be so well optioned, and nobody daily drives a one ton pickup. Probably a retiree that winters at a southwest campground. Wasn't used for super heavy towing as the receiver wasn't hammered (mine is/was).

I'll find out tomorrow or Tuesday what the hours are. 2000-2500 hours would confirm my suspicions. If it's 3000+ hours, I walk. That would indicate it was worked. Hard to find a used HD pickup that wasn't, but I'm hoping for the best.

I'd be fine with a half ton truck too, but the used market on them is so good for sellers that the one ton truck is significantly cheaper than an equally equipped half ton. Id be looking at 45k for the same truck in half ton trim. Would give me better mileage in a half ton but not 10-15k savings in fuel over the life of the truck. Similar argument in gas vs diesel truck. I'd much rather give up daily driving comfort and fuel economy than sacrifice towing stability and safety.

A new week starts.

No Big C for rfenst.
Drier attic for Danm.
More fish for MACS.

ok, so here are a couple things to consider. anyone can do this.

-before you set a price in your head, remember: there is no such thing as MSRP. Every time they start there and then knock off $$$, it is meaningless, the numbers are amazing...but meaningless. Why not say MSRP is a million, but today only (urgency to act!) we can save you 970,000, making it 30K?

Ask (as though you are educated and being nice) to see the invoice. If they are legit, the invoice will be what they paid.
You can then offer a few HUNDRED more, or if feeling good, ask what incentives they will get from the manufacturer. If it's a few hundred, offer the invoice price and hold on to that. They may counteroffer just a few hundred over that and now you can meet in the middle...but increase slowly.

This may be different for used, but ask anyway. ask to see how long the vehicle has been sitting on the lot. that costs them every day. You can help them stop the bleeding.

-they need the sale more than you need the vehicle!
they could lose their jobs, and may have to change careers if they can't/don't sell enough.
you could lose a car you want, but you can find similar nearby.
more pressure on them, they are just better actors. but these facts should bolster you.

-the confusion comes from negotiating three separate deals at once...something they do every day and you do like never.
it's why I said 3 mutually exclusive negotiations, and maybe two if you don't need financing.

"how much are you looking to spend a month?"
answer: let's figure the walk out the door price first...
or,
haven't decided if I want to finance yet. we'll get to that...
or,
does that change the price? let's do the walk out price first. I haven't even decided if I'm buying that car yet.

-the reason you never give them your keys is so at the point of wrestling for control, you may need to do a fake walk out.
there's a good chance they will call you back at the door. tell them you don't want to waste their time but you need a serious bottom line out the door price.

-if the sales person pulls the old "let me talk to the boss, firmly yet nicely say, Better yet, bring him/her here. If he is the decider, I should be dealing with him...no offense.

You can do this Dan. Just remember, in any interview, job interview or sales situation, the person asking the questions is the one in control.

don't know about your area, but some of the new car dealers around here have non-negotiable prices on used cars.
then it's simply a matter of checking sources for typical/average sales figures for that same vehicle near your zip code.

the further down the food chain from a dealer you sink when looking at used cars, the worse shape that car is in. A sleazy car lot is almost always offering the left overs from the auctions or the discards from trade-ins of new car dealers.
All the wax and carpet shampoo in the world won't extend the life of a poorly maintained vehicle.

so, this is me shooting off my mouth. guys in the car biz may pick apart my methods. But my goal is not necessarily to pay less than anyone else has ever paid, but I do not want to be the sucker. And knowing the facts before purchasing allows me to not be swayed by stories, magic, and the beauty of the car.
a gorgeous can of tomato soup should cost the same as any other can of tomato soup, and you know what that price range should be before you go to the store.

Good luck with the results Robert... keep us posted...

Frank, good stuff. I'll let jespear take care of the rest...

thanks.
now I wish I could help you!

Just add a bottle of v8 and serve it cold as a chunky gazpacho...

Hello my fellow posters...........





Frank you be the man, Robert best wishes all will be fine, dan good luck with what you decide.



The rest of the gang enjoy the day & keep pushing this along to the finish.

You go with the possum n' cheddar or the Gopher-Q deluxe?

Pork tenderloin and potatoes.

Just got back from the doctor. Unlikely the big "C". It is likely merely a bit of anemia (not a bone marrow, kidney or liver problem). Some more blood work and a kidney ultrasound because I take a daily anti-inflammatory. He'll let me know the results this week. He thinks that Hematology may still be in order for consideration of a transfusion or other treatment of the anemia. Thank you for sharing your well wishes=d>

Thanx

So I went to the tranny dude to collect the truck. He said they reprogrammed the computer since there was a TSB on it from 2010 and tacked on another 6 months to the warranty.

It's shifting perfectly right now.

Gonna hold off on trade in as I need to figure out what's gonna be done with the roof, if insurance covers it, I can do the truck. If it's outta my pocket I gotta hold off. Adjuster sposeda contact me in the next day or two.

See ya'all in the new "500"................

rfenst good luck with the blood work.

Started showering a couple of times this morning then rain around 3 PM drove me out of a yard project. Warm out and humid, but much better than the weekend heat.

I'm staying out of it... Prolly just be a regular old boring one shot 500...

Let's bury this thread.