Nada Used Car Values

Q.I had always assumed that buying a low mileage, recent year used car was a sure way to save money. I am no longer sure after buying a 2002 Toyota Camry with 10,000 miles. I was originally interested in a 2001 model, but was swayed to 2002 after learning of improvements in that model year. While the car was in excellent condition, I did not feel that I was being offered an obvious savings over a new car. The car had a sticker price that claimed "true market value" with pictures of NADA guides in the background. I became suspicious after not being able to get 2002 used car values on any of the big sites, including NADA's. A few days later, Kelley Blue Book added 2002's and I was able to determine the market value, which was a little more than $2000.00 less than the sticker price. After some dramatic negotiating/arguing, I was able to lower the price to the KBB value. An important footnote is that my credit, while on the mend, is not good enough for the 0% promotions, which would have clearly made a new car a better option. The dealership claimed to be doing me a favor by moving me from special finance (where I had had a very positive buying experience with the same dealership on a new Tundra purchase four months earlier). I was told I was now a "Tier 3", and could finance with Toyota Credit, which was supposed to be "an honor". The finance person advised that the interest rate would be higher without an extended warranty, which I was interested in anyway, and that it would cost more and be for a shorter term because the car was used. I feel that a new car purchase would have come with a lower rate and better extended warranty, which would have made up for the $2500-or-so saved by getting a new 2002 or 2003. Any opinions / similar experiences?

A.next time you're in the market for a used car, shop for cars that are being sold by private individuals, not dealers. You see, dealers have to make a profit. That's why they are in business. Dealers are also more sophisticated negotiators than the typical private individual and dealers also have business overhead to contend with such as fixing the car up, cleaning it, storing it on their lot, etc. These are costs that private individuals do not have. As a result, you're almost always going to get a better deal on an identical used car if you buy it direction from its owner than through a dealer. The down side is that you probably are not going to get a warranty of any kind on the car and you have to finance the entire cost of the car up front.

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