Car buying and Car repair tips.

[someguy 67067]

Hi there I thought I would start a thread on Car's.

With all these members here I thought we could share some knowledge on the topic of buying and fixing cars. I'm sure there are some members here that are car salesman and mechanics. I've bought quite a few cars in the last 30 years and have learnt a bit. The last 10 days, I've had to fix 3 cars, which had one problem after another :(

 

Tips in buying a car.

Do you research.

 

-Buy an hour before the dealership closes, this way they wont' keep you negotiation for 3 to 4 hrs. They will close the deal quick if they can.

 

- Buy the last day of the month. They have quota's to fill and have to pay another month's lease for the car on their lot.

 

- If you want a particular colour, or model of the car and it's not on their lot, they can get it from another dealership, but will have to pay the other dealership a fee. the car I wanted was 900.

 

- be willing to get up and walk out, if they want your money, they will come get you with a better dealership.

 

- They make a huge markup on the rust proofing, extra warranty and rust proofing.

 

- The last 2 car's I bought I used CarCostCanada.com. They will show you the dealer's cost of the car and the cost of the options. You can use this knowledge to get the best price with little negotiation.

 

- Don't tell them you have a trade-in till you negotiate the price of the New car. Otherwise they will play around with the price of the trade in to make it seem like you got a better deal.

 

Car Repair tips.

 

-If it's not under warranty, most repairs will cost you at least twice as much as a independent garage.

 

-The oil change place will try to up sell you on there other products and services that you may or may not need. But fluid changes are much cheaper then the dealer. A cabin air filter will cost you almost half the price and free installation. Services are cheaper at these places. They will do light bulb changes for free, but may cost a bit more for the light bulb. But some times changing a lightbulb in the tail light is a pain.

 

If you can use a independent service garage that is recommended do so.

There hourly rates range from 50 to 90 an hour, Where as a dealer rates is 110 - 130. I can usually get the same job done for half at a garage.

 

I have also found good mechanics and mobile guys that charge as little as 45/hr and they come to your house to fix the cars.

 

Another thing I started doing, is buying my own parts. I buy them from a place called CAPS if you are in Ottawa. Regular customers get a discount and mechanics get a better discount. For example the list price of brake rotors are about a 100. My price is 37 to 40. Calipers are around 50 but you pay a core charge of 75 which you get back when you bring back the part.

So dealers charge you full price and make money when the return the part and charge you a lot for labour. They give you a book rate of 2 hrs. Where I have seen a mechanic do the same job in 45 minutes.

My brother in law used to be a mechanic, and he said if he wanted to, he could always find a problem to fix.

Watching some TV shows, they show how some of these places scam the customers into expensive repairs that are not needed, and sometimes not even done.

 

You can get good deals on parts online or at some part's store.

Some parts you can get and the junk yard. Instead of doing expensive body work, you can sometimes find the body panel in the same colour as your car and just have it installed.

 

Places like Mida's where they guarantee their brakes for life, make their money on the installation of the replacement brakes, They may charge you over a hundred dollars to replace the brake pads that cost them 25 dollars.

 

Get a good mechanic thru word of mouth of friends and neighbours. A good mechanic is worth his weight in gold. An inexperience mechanic may take several tries to find a hard to diagnose problem.

 

This week I had 3 cars to fix, problem after problem. 6 sets of brakes, tire changes, snow tire installation, oil changes, While leaving the garage, my driver side power windows fell into the door. Had to get the window regulator, These I got the indy mechanic to fix with me supplying the parts at very good price. Dealer will charge 400 to 800 to fix brakes. I paid 200 to 250 depending on the quality that I wanted. Brought 1 car to the dealer for the 99 dollar winter special. Ended up costing me 1500, they wanted 2500, but I will bring the brakes to my mechanic. Told my mechanic what they charged and he said he could have done it for 800. Last of all, after all these car repairs, my daughter came home with a flat tire, that I had to deal with. My first time using a jack to change tires :(

 

That's all I have share for now. Hope to get any more tips or interesting auto buying or repair stories.

Anybody been scammed. Please share so that other's will not make the same mistake.

[Talia Ciarra 3360]

The Dealerships are a big rip off. I was taking my car to them because I get a loaner car and can go on about my day without having to take the day off work. I stopped doing that now I recently found a local mechanic and he said My air filter and hasn't been changed in two years, he showed it to me. Imagine all the toxins I was breathing in. The dealer was supposed to be doing this. So I was paying big bucks for them to do basically nothing to my car. The dealer was charging me 160 to put on my winter tires (they arent on rims)my new guy charged me 60 bucks. He saved me 100$. I will be wiser now lol!

[OSaab 574]

+1 for the indy mechanic, but do shop around\getreferences from people you trust. The first one i ever used (2 repairs) dismissively refused to do some preventative measures while doing some other work, which ended up costing me more $ 2-3 months later when the part i had asked to be replaced broke down. I also found out much later that they did not reassemble the engine correctly after a major job, despite claiming to be experts in the car. I got lucky, as the mistake could have blown the engine. I was much happier with the mechanic I replaced them with.

 

The Haynes manuals are a great resource if you can get one for your make\model.

 

I got one for a friend years ago and they was thrilled to be able to change the air filter for the cost of the part and 10 minutes of their time vs the $60+ the dealership had been charging. There are plenty of things that can be done with a few simple tools and not a lot of mess.

 

When buying, do not be afraid to visit multiple dealers of the same brand. The experience will vary between the dealers, and some are more flexible when it comes to negotiation.

[waterrat 1261]

I used APA to get me the best price on a new car. told them what I wanted and they gave me a price. I used that to negotiate with the local dealer (the best price was in Montreal). Wound up getting a better price - end of the month, Friday at 5 pm...

 

That said, Ottawa is a bad place to buy cars. There is very little competition. Basically there are 4 or 5 families that own all the stealerships. Beyond the concentration of market power, they fix prices for service. I once received a fax by accident - they were doing a survey amongst themselves... we pay mechanics x we charge y...

[blacklabdog 3049]

I buy my own oil & OEM filters and get a local guy to do it, partly because I am particular about what oil brand I use and it ends up being cheaper.

 

^ some good tips there. I am a member of a Subie users forum and I plan to see if I can ask what people paid for the cars when I eventually trade in my current ride & buy something more practical

 

Correct me if I am wrong but a 2-5% markup over dealers real cost (includes manuf rebates to them) is fair

[usernametaken 2872]

I worked at a new car dealership for 5 years. Don't be fooled by 0 % financing. 9 out of 10 customers bought from me because they wanted 0% financing. The price they paid for an SUV was 34,000 with 0% financing. The same vehicle could be bought for 27,000 without 0% financing (ie do your own loan or line of credit ) . One year later the vehicle depreciates to 25,000 dollars. For the guy who paid 27,000 thats not bad. For the guy who paid 34,000 plus all the fees and taxes(38,800) if he writes off his car it's worth 25000 and he still owes 32000 it really sucks.

[golfer1948 244]

Just to re-affirm username taken' post. I have a good friend who is a salesman and he told me the same thing - let's face it - nobody, especially car dealers are going to give you money for nothing I.e. 0% - if you think you are getting 0% you're really not.

[Phaedrus 209521]

On servicing: bear in mind that warranties on cars may be dependent on getting them dealer-serviced at the specified intervals, which means you pay too much and do so more often than necessary. You may or may not consider this worthwhile to keep the warranty valid.

 

On finance: last car I bought, I asked whether they'd work with me on the price if I paid outright rather than taking the financing. They wouldn't. I think the reason for this was that in my case the cost of the 0% finance was borne by the manufacturer rather than the dealer, and so it made no difference to the dealer's profit margins whether I took it or not. But this obviously won't always be the case. YMMV, as they say :)

[someguy 67067]

Enjoy reading all these post so far. Learning lot's. Any more info or stories to tell.

I find this interesting. and can save us money :)

[Guest *Ste***cque**]

I'm looking at buying a new vehicle in the next year so this thread is timely for me. My Jeep Grand Cherokee is 10 years old. I may buy a 2016 model as I liked my 2005 vehicle but I'm not looking forward to the negotiations. Anyone have an idea what sort of discount I should request off the MSRP? Can anyone recommend other sites that tell you accurate "dealer costs" on these vehicles. I understand there are services that will lease a vehicle on your behalf at a better rate due to experience and volume(CPSA benefit) but are there also places that will purchase outright on your behalf and pass on those volume discounts for a fee?

 

I also plan on keeping my existing vehicle so no trade-in smoke and mirror games.

 

Thanks! I can pass along one tip when buying a new car. Call your insurance broker beforehand as certain vehicles can be quite a bit more expensive to insure.

[1963Kennedy 10698]

I'm a car guy. I've agreed to buy cars over the phone/internet just by talking with the owner. Money hasn't exchanged hands until I've seen the car but I've flown to Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania to buy. In buying a used car, I recommend starting with the mechanic/garage who will service your car or someone who knows cars very well. Some garages specialize in specific marques; they do excellent work at fair prices. I haven't had a major car repair in well over 10 years.

[blacklabdog 3049]

dont negotiate form MSRP but rather a margin on top of dealers cost

[TorontoMelanieJolliet 4458]

The only info i can offer is if dealership sweetens the deal with something like a extended warranty (maybe covers the years you will be paying the loan), ask if they are going to charge you for it. I didn't find that out until after signing and taking papers home to read them. The cost to extend the warranty until payment in full is like an extra 8 months payment.

 

I can't figure out how that works out, it still could be okay since warranty was originally some amt of km or years, whichever comes first. It kind of makes sense to be covered until car is paid in full, but I would have appreciated the opportunity to figure out the benefits for myself, before signing, and not feel like they tricked me.

[someguy 67067]

Another trick that they use to negotiate is that they ask what payment amount would suit your budget. And if they could meet your amount would you buy? All they do is change the length of loan to make it fit your budget. What could have been a year loan is now a 7 or 8 year loan. You can afford to pay it, but with the interest charges you will be paying for a few extra years. Negotiate the price of the car with all taxes and fees. Get the price down before you negotiate financing or your trade in. Otherwise they will play around with the trade in value to make you think you got a good deal.

Remember that no matter what deal you make, they will still make a lot of money off of you in the long wrong. If you follow their maintenance schedule and do it at there garage it will cost you more then it would at a independent garage. But I usually stick with there schedule to make sure that they will honour their warrenty, if something goes wrong.

[Andee 220524]

When dealing with mechanics, word of mouth referrals is the way to go.

 

If you don't know anyone who can attest to a good honest mechanic, best to shop around. In the past I always found Gary's to be better over Canadian Tire.

 

I live in Orleans and found my dealings with Orleans Auto on St. Joseph to be honest and fair.

[someguy 67067]

Car Salesman. Most of them are dishonest. They all want to make the most money out of you. They will tell you that they want to make this deal happen and will fight for you with their managers. They want to sell you the most options that they can so that they can meet their quota's or make there commissions. A good dealership is one that will stand by you in after car sales service. How they deal with your car problems and warranty issues is what makes people come back to the dealer for their next car.

[someguy 67067]

I had a problem with my van last week. The keys would no longer turn in the ignition. The tumblers were worn out or something. One dealer quoted me 2.5 hrs labour and 400 for the part which included programming of the transponder keys. Another dealer said one hour and 400 for the ignition unit and 2 keys and programming. Youtube said it could be done in a 30 minutes, but you might need to have a locksmith reprogram the key. You can buy the ignition replacement for 150 at the auto store, This would still cost at least 300 dollars. I called this locksmith and he said he could find a ignition cylinder that could be changed to match my keys so no programming needed. This would be about 60 dollars. plus 45 for service call and 65 per hour. Well he came today and charged me half an hour. so total cost was 145 dollars. This just shows how much the dealers have been ripping us off. You should always get a second opinion from another mechanic. I am sure you will save hundreds of dollars this way.

[Meaghan McLeod 179664]

The first car I bought from a second hand car dealer was 7,778.00. My credit was approved, and I drove the car off the lot. About a year later, I was going to buy a house. I went to a mortgage broker, and he told me that with my interest, by the time the loan was paid off, I would have paid over 28,000 for the car. The dealer didn't search for a better loan, just gave me the first one (probably his uncle lol). The mortgage broker told me I had good credit, and was able to drop my car payment down to less then 150 a month and saved me a lot of money on a car that was probably only worth 3000.

 

So, if you don't have credit to get a bank loan or similar, go to a mortgage broker and see if they can negotiate a better loan. Don't go with the loan from the second hand dealer. They don't make their profit from the sale of the car, but in fact on the loan they get you.

 

Also, if you are planning on getting your first mortgage soon, wait to buy a car until after you buy your home. It's easier to get a car loan AFTER you buy a home, but mortgage companies get weird if you have car loans when deciding to grant a mortgage.

[someguy 67067]

be careful of these quick oil change places. They try to up sell you on a lot of there products. Such as a Engine flush. I read that most car manufacturers don't recommend an oil flush. I've been told the same thing from several mechanics? Any mechanics here can verify this?

[Helena D'Orville 33237]

Argh... don't talk to me about cars today! Had to bring mine to the repair shop because of a weird noise and they found that the front wheels hubs are the issue so they have to be replaced and voilà a beautiful bill of 700$ ! :-( I barely drive this car!!! Again another mystery with this car... Never had a car that makes me spend so much money!

[Manluvsex 13731]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commuting/does-my-car-really-need-a-complete-engine-flush/article9624076/

[someguy 67067]

Just bought a new car. Used car cost canada, they gave me the listed invoice price. 500 loyality credit. So negotiation was easy, didn't get much for my trade in, but it was 14 years old and rusty. lol but low mileage and running well, as I had just fixed up a lot of things last year. So we got close to 3000 off. But during the financing, they try to sell us extended warrantee, which we declined. We were going to decline the 10 year rustproofing package at 1799. But then that included 10 years of free oil changes and he canceled the 299 admin fee. But we still said not, then he took off the taxes on it also. So at 1799 with the ten years free oil changes it made it worthwhile I think.

So use Carcost canada to buy your next vehicle. And keep saying know to any options they give you. Because they will sell them at a discount if you keep saying no long enough :)

[someguy 67067]

Keep learning as I talk to mechanics and find them on kijiji. How much the dealers overcharge us. You can buy the parts yourself at the various part warehouses in Ottawa to get up to 50% off some parts. On kijiji. there are mobile mechanics and other mechanics that work from 40 dollars and up Cash. Get your keys made at locksmiths or Mr. Remote. Dealers will charge a lot to program your remote keys and programmable car keys.