# Advice on buying a used car for Uber and Lyft



## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

Going to buy a used certified hybrid Lexus (40/42 mpg) with 50k miles. Price is 16k, but wanna get it down to 14.5k or less. Gonna do Lyft and Uber probably 5-10 hours per week. This is at a Lexus dealership, but the used car section, any advice on dealing with car salesmen and getting my car price as low as possible?


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

Only Hybrid Lexus that can be priced as low as 16k certified from a dealership is probably the CT200h. 40/42 is also the MPG on those particular model. If you're going to buy a Lexus, which will come with higher maintenance costs, why not. I checked Boston, they really don't have Select up there?

Well, I suppose then that doesn't matter but the CT isn't approved for Select in Atlanta. Some markets allow it, it's basically a Prius. Same frame, same engine and same transmission.

I'd rather own a CT then a Prius, it's a nice looking car.

Car salesmen aren't as bad as they once were. Check KBB and the dealership website before you go to the dealership. Many times, dealerships will sell a car on the lot for $16k but may have it listed on their website for $14k. Also get the average KBB price and if it's lower, offer that.

Do you have a trade with equity? If so, then most dealerships may not be able to low on the price of the vehicle, especially internet pricing, but they can give you $500 more... $1000 more for your trade, etc.

Are you financing? Every $1000 is basically $20 in monthly payments, on average.

When negotiating and wanting to get that extra $1000 off, and say their calculation is showing $310 a month. Write at the bottom of the sheet "$280 a month, will buy today (smiley face) signature". You're basically asking for $1500 worth of discounts somewhere, however way they can get it. When a salesmen takes a soft commitment like that back to his manager, they may be more inclined to actually find a way to make that sale. If the salesmen just goes back saying "they want more on their trade" then it becomes a battle and the salesmen will just look weak to his manager. Just don't go backing out of it to try to get more, you'll just piss them off and unless they're desperate for a sale, they may tell you to go pound sand.


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## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

steveK2016 said:


> Only Hybrid Lexus that can be priced as low as 16k certified from a dealership is probably the CT200h. 40/42 is also the MPG on those particular model. If you're going to buy a Lexus, which will come with higher maintenance costs, why not. I checked Boston, they really don't have Select up there?
> 
> Well, I suppose then that doesn't matter but the CT isn't approved for Select in Atlanta. Some markets allow it, it's basically a Prius. Same frame, same engine and same transmission.
> 
> ...


You definitely know your cars, lol. Yes, it is a Lexus CT200h. I'm not looking for anything fast or luxurious. Just want a decent-looking car that is functioning properly and smoothly with great gas mileage. It does have some other perks as a bonus, but I'm not gonna mention that to them. On kbb.com, the fair market price range from 13.5k to 17.2k, and they're selling theirs for 16k. I checked the dealership website and it's 16k, no sale or savings. The 16k is listed as 'smart price.'

I'm planning to get a loan at a credit union, then paying in full to the dealership the day of purchase. I wanna get down to 13.5 to 14k with full payment, is that price I want a pipe dream? Even lesser if possible because I have to pay taxes and fees after.

Yeah. I researched this car for a week and it's basically a Prius with just a Lexus sign on the exterior.


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## SEPA_UberDude (Apr 18, 2017)

Go in on the 30th about an hour before the dealer closes and make your offer with a check in hand for the price you want to pay. They'll probably resist, but the later it gets the easier it is to wear them down because they want to go home, but they also want one last sale for the month. Stay firm on your price and let them know you'll walk if they can't meet your price. Money talks, and it'll be one less car on their lot on July 1st which will make management happy, and even they're not making as much on the car as they hoped to, they're not losing money and monthly sales has a big influence on a dealership's incentives from corporate.


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## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

SEPA_UberDude said:


> Go in on the 30th about an hour before the dealer closes and make your offer with a check in hand for the price you want to pay. They'll probably resist, but the later it gets the easier it is to wear them down because they want to go home, but they also want one last sale for the month. Stay firm on your price and let them know you'll walk if they can't meet your price. Money talks, and it'll be one less car on their lot on July 1st which will make management happy, and even they're not making as much on the car as they hoped to, they're not losing money and monthly sales has a big influence on a dealership's incentives from corporate.


If a car is 16k, what is the realistic offer I can give them that they will accept based on the info I wrote for you guys?


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## Spotscat (May 8, 2017)

I'm presuming that you're looking at the gray 2011 CT 200h at Herb Chambers Lexus in Sharon.

Look on Google for a website called CarGurus.com, and do your research there. CarGurus will tell you a lot about the car before you go to the dealer's lot - it should list what options are on the car, give you the VIN so you can run a Carfax (assuming the dealer doesn't have one), and most importantly, it will tell you the number of days the car has been on their lot, and what price changes there have been. If you have a particular model in mind, you can play with the search parameters and see what is in your immediate area, 150 miles, 200 miles, 500 miles, etc... 

In your case, there's a gray 2013 CT 200h at Infiniti of Nashua for $400 more with 3,000 less miles. It's been on their lot for 4 months, and they've dropped the price by $4,200.

Knowledge is power!


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## dolllarchaser (Oct 12, 2015)

Be sure to check carvana.com. They usually cut the dealer markup on used cars by 50%or so. If car retailers for 16, dealer has about 3k in profit less 50%will get you to your 14.5 with no haggling and a 7 day trial period. It is worth a look. YMMV...


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