So I bought a car...

[gwendolyngrace]

But I'm not sure if I did as well as I thought I did when I walked out of the dealership.

My major mistake was in allowing them to factor the trade-in price as if it were an allowance instead of a fixed and separate price, essentially.

Though etakyma says I did fine and should stop worrying.

It's a silver 2004 Subaru Impreza, 26,500ish miles, AWD/Auto transmission. They were asking $12,890 and I got them do make the deal so that the total cost, inclusive of taxes, fees, and my trade-in, was $12,174.

What I *should* have done was got them so that the total cost *of the car*, inclusive of (taxes and) fees, was $12,200, so that the *trade-in* came off of that total (making the cost to *me* $11,200), instead of being included in the total instead of in the overall cost.

A argues that I would never have got to that total.


Nonetheless I feel like I got fleeced a bit. ETA: It's a difference of about $450...in their pockets. Yup. I lost out a bit on that deal. Sigh.



Reassure me? Or tell me that I'm right and I should have pushed harder.

Oh - and name suggestions? Has to be someone who is Reliable, Long-Lived, and Selflessly Sacrificial. Remember that my current car's name is (Eric) Ashley-Pitt, Ashley for short, based on David McCallum's character in The Great Escape.



On another note - FA's servers are down, affecting the Park, and need a part that they won't be able to put in until tomorrow.

Comments

[chrystie69.livejournal.com]

OMG! the car is gone :( LOL that car got you through a lot and I hope the new one does as well. Sounds like you actually got a really good deal. Subaru's tend to run forever if you treat them right.

[visrose.livejournal.com]

I love my Impreza, so I think the price is great for a car that awesome!

[hedwig-snowy.livejournal.com]

Well, usually it's preferable to work from the premise that you don't have a trade-in and get the best deal possible there and then work from a low blue book value for your trade-in and maybe bend a bit there but it sounds like they didn't give you much for your trade-in and, if it was running, it was probably worth at least $1,000. It looks, from your explanation that it was what? About $400 difference that pretty much just paid for the taxes and fees???

A slight fleece, IMO.

A.P.W.B.D...and paint it pink....or just call it Wulfric....

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Pop in and speak to the manager and try to walk out with a slew of 50% off repair-and-mainenance coupons that would equal 400-ish or so?

car name

[bosvyle.livejournal.com]

Suggestion: Bob Hope. Sturdy performer, looooong life, gave and gave and gave, and he could sing a little. :)
I've never bought used, but buying a car, pretty much any car, is a gamble. The odds always favor the dealer.

[briony530.livejournal.com]

Didn't get here first, but I join the chorus of Subaru owners. I LOVE my Subaru, and would gladly never buy anything else at this point. AWD = great in winter. Mine is 10 years old, 120,000 miles and still gets 30 mpg or more on the highway to Pennsic. Barely ever a problem with it. Damn thing drove with one cylinder busted for a week before we could get it looked at and I barely noticed.

[irinaauthor.livejournal.com]

Reliable, Long-Lived, and Selflessly Sacrificial

Um...Moses?

Congratulations on the car!