Advice on buting a used car

[Crich73]

Was reading jakethedog's thread on him getting a pickup and didnt want to hijack his thread. At some point later this year I'm gonna get a new/used car. I have a Toyota and a BMW. I really dont drive the BMW and only use it when I'm on dates or some other thing that the toyota isnt appropriate for. Anyways, I'm keeping the BMW but the Camry is on its last leg. Was thinking about a 17/18 Mercedes (probably wont) or a 17/18 Lexus.

Should I shop at either dealerships or shop for a used car dealership? What are the advantages or disadvantages of both?

Btw, most likely Lexus since they are super reliable. I'm single, so probably a IS 200 or 250.

 

[ncin29]

Go with the Lexus IS 250 AWD....try and get one certified with low miles.

 

[Long cat]

My dad drove an IS 250 for 250k mikes until my mom made him buy a new car. He got an FPace. He probably should have kept the Lexus.

 

[22*43*51]

*assing

 

[MasturGator]

I’m just gonna get all the bias out front, I was a general manager of two different brand franchise dealerships previously before making a career change in 2020.

I am not completely sure what additional warranty comes with either Lexus or Mercedes if you buy them certified preowned from a franchise store, but generally there is an extended warranty that comes along with that certification. In addition, to get that certification it has to be fully inspected by a manufacturer prescribed checklist at the franchise dealership service department. These are two huge value adds in my personal opinion, because both dealerships I worked for had used vehicle only stores that were separate companies and I saw how that side of the business works. If you buy from a stand-alone used store, the vehicle *most likely* has just been sent through a jiffy lube to have the oil changed and *hopefully* safety aspects (brakes, tires, etc) inspected. They also cannot certify the vehicle. This is to save money. At a franchise store, the used car is inspected by the franchise certified technicians and they charge a higher rate to the sales department than even a customer would pay the service department. Invariably, this is where you will see some differences in price that make the used store look like a better deal. One store I operated was a Nissan store, and a shop bill for a vehicle that needed to be certified and needed easy shit like new tires and brake pads was easily pushing $850 for my cost. A NISSAN. That has to be factored in because we aren’t trying to lose money, unless the piece gets super old on us and we need to free up the cash to buy better product. That’s why stand-alone used stores *often* will just do the bare ass minimum through a third party service station.

 

[RJ2kWJ]

I’m just gonna get all the bias out front, I was a general manager of two different brand franchise dealerships previously before making a career change in 2020.

I am not completely sure what additional warranty comes with either Lexus or Mercedes if you buy them certified preowned from a franchise store, but generally there is an extended warranty that comes along with that certification. In addition, to get that certification it has to be fully inspected by a manufacturer prescribed checklist at the franchise dealership service department. These are two huge value adds in my personal opinion, because both dealerships I worked for had used vehicle only stores that were separate companies and I saw how that side of the business works. If you buy from a stand-alone used store, the vehicle *most likely* has just been sent through a jiffy lube to have the oil changed and *hopefully* safety aspects (brakes, tires, etc) inspected. They also cannot certify the vehicle. This is to save money. At a franchise store, the used car is inspected by the franchise certified technicians and they charge a higher rate to the sales department than even a customer would pay the service department. Invariably, this is where you will see some differences in price that make the used store look like a better deal. One store I operated was a Nissan store, and a shop bill for a vehicle that needed to be certified and needed easy shit like new tires and brake pads was easily pushing $850 for my cost. A NISSAN. That has to be factored in because we aren’t trying to lose money, unless the piece gets super old on us and we need to free up the cash to buy better product. That’s why stand-alone used stores *often* will just do the bare ass minimum through a third party service station.

Great advice.

 

[TJHall1]

Was reading jakethedog's thread on him getting a pickup and didnt want to hijack his thread. At some point later this year I'm gonna get a new/used car. I have a Toyota and a BMW. I really dont drive the BMW and only use it when I'm on dates or some other thing that the toyota isnt appropriate for. Anyways, I'm keeping the BMW but the Camry is on its last leg. Was thinking about a 17/18 Mercedes (probably wont) or a 17/18 Lexus.

Should I shop at either dealerships or shop for a used car dealership? What are the advantages or disadvantages of both?

Btw, most likely Lexus since they are super reliable. I'm single, so probably a IS 200 or 250.

Make sure there's been a soup kitchen in it.

 

[tiderollsonu]

Lexus will be less maintenance, careful buying any of the lower end luxury cars though they are usually not taken care of unless you get an off-lease that had dealer maintenance included when it was purchased.

Usually the peoe buying low end luxury cars can't afford proper up keep and try to shade tree it to save money or get someone that doesn't k ow what their doing.