Im looking at a car right now and im going to ask just over trade in value.. Ofcourse its gonna be with the cash trick also... Gonna walking in with 3500 and say i will give you 3500 take it or leave it and see if i can get him to bite theyre asking 4500

I would take a little more than $3500 with you or you are likely to be walking out with that $3500 and getting in your old car but offer it to them and see how it goes

We will see how it goes thats my goal is to walk in with the offer and see how he takes it... really hoping for a rebutle of 4K

Unless its a one of a kind vehicle or has some special quality such as a SSEi one owner-owned by Grandpa and he has all the dealer maintenance records- no need to be in a hurry or overpay.

I overpaid 1k from dealer trade in price last year for my wife'* 1999 Bravada. It was in fact for sale because the 85 y/o guy died. He had the Bravada maintained at the dealer, paid cash for it and had all records. It was 10 years old with 61k miles. I still had to put over 1k into it in parts in the first month, replacing rear discs, calipers. doing the updates to all the drivetrain fluids which is always overlooked and the main reasons Bravada drivetrains fail. The one thing I overlooked was he must of kept the vehicle outside and drove it in the snow- more rust underneath than I like to see. I fell ijn love with the mileage, the Grandpa story (story was true- bought it from the Son in law and had a copy of death certificate to transfer the title) and overlooked the rust that was not seen without looking underneath.

The will always be a great vehicle AND deal out there...... always be prepared to walk away. Your knowledge is the key to how much to pay.

Yeah that is true. And the only way im going to buy it is if my mechanic approves (my mechanic is my best friends dad) So its not like i dont trust the guy looking at it The second he tells me not to buy it just cause mechanical problems im out anyways

Also keep in mind you can do a nationwide Craigslist search. It is time consuming, but getting a Bonny from California, Arizona or New Mexico can be a huge plus because or reduced exposure to salt.

On a CraigsList note, another pattern I have seen, liekly from dealers acting like they are private sellers, is to not list the year in the headline or even the ad, and to also omit the mileage. Every one of these I have checked into were for extremely high mileage, followed by the statement....,. these things run over 300k all the time, and then followed up by- I happen to have a car with lower mileage if that is important to you- whats your budget????

Im not saying dealers arnt snakes... Thats why they are dealers they gotta make their money on those of us who dont research our vehicles. The informed buyer is a dealers worst enemy

The Books always cater to who buys them and uses them the most. Dealers. And it'* that way across the board with things of this nature. Whoever pays for a service or reference is going to be catered to. Banks naturally want a hedge. Can't blame them for running a sound strategy. Knowing all the angles and each'* philosophy helps you in getting the best "wiggle room" all around. When I traded the wife'* Civic in for the new Prius, they offered me "trade in" for the Civic. I countered that I didn't need financing, or the paperwork/motions needed for it, and willing to wait for one they didn't have in stock anyway, so let'* not play games and waste each others time. We agreed for me paying MSRP for a car Toyota won't budge on, and them giving me full retail value for the Civic. We both came away feeling good about the deal.

Did you take delivery on the Prius yet? If so, please share your thoughts. How is the overall reliability on the Prius?

Ya, I've had it a little over a month actually. I have yet to have a misgiving about it. It is true to the reported MPG ratings, roomy, comfortable, great ride, driveabilty, lots of room for for hauling things around, and performance you wouldn't expect w/a hybrid. The Prius GenIII with the Corolla engine pushes 178HP @ 258 Lbs/Tq combined, with consistent 50MPG. The fitment and quality of materials are what you would expect from Toyota. For what I wanted for a commuter/ get around town car, it fits nicely.