Question: Buyiung a used car for under Blue bk price at a dealer?
So i found what I think is a good deal but am kinda skeptic since blue book pricing is at 10,999 for a 2000 Toyota Avalon with 120k miles and the dealer im getting it from or wanna get it is selling it for 7,999? does this make senne ? I got a car fax and it does come from Missisipi 2003 as a repo? can this be a car affected by Katrina? eventhough is listed as a repo on car fax? the car looks in great shape for its age. and for the proce its a steal any advice?please

Carfax would have detailed any damage and/or repairs made before the car was resold. I just bougt a car for 1500 under blue book value and its fine. Ge a diagnostic, 49 point inspection and go from there! GOOD LUCK!

If the dealer is honest, they must disclose any damage to the vehicle, including hurricane damage (ie, water). Carfax should know that unless someone didn’t enter the information initially.

The best way to tell if it’s had water in it, turn on the heater and let it run for a while. If it’s been flooded, you’ll be able to tell right away, just use your nose, detailers don’t usually pull out the dash board and clean all the duct work, especially on a car with over 100K on the odo.

Assuming it wasn’t damaged, a repo is usually taken for non-payment and banks/lenders/creditors even if only a small amount is still owed. It’s sent to an auction where a dealer can purchase it at a significant savings and thus can be resold for less than blue book while still allowing the dealer to make a profit.

Don’t be afraid to ask the dealer how long the car has been on their lot. It costs them money every day that car sits, so they want to turn them over fast. If it’s been there a while, the dealer may cut their losses and reduce the price, just to get it out the door.

Hope that helps, good luck.

You don’t state which model the Avalon is, XL or XLS or which options, so it would be next to impossible for anyone to give you an accurate price.

KBB is almost always way off in thier pricing. This is why the dealers use them for pricing used cars. www.Edmunds.com has a somewhat more realistic appraisal tool to help you, check there first.

There are several reasons why the price is low.

1.) Miles. Over 100K miles and a certian number years old, most banks will not loan money on a used vehicle, so the price of the vehicle will automatically drop, since a buyer would have to pay cash, or be financed through a higher interest rate type of financing.

2.) The repo in the title. Most likely, a buyer that had a car repossessed was not taking very good care of that vehicle and performing regular maintenance, so it would be good to be wary of this vehicle.

My guess is that a like this that listed for ,999, the dealer owns for between ,000 and ,000, so he’s got at least K to work with, minimum.

Well, Blue Book is usually completely wrong. That would have something to do with it.

Their figured are based ultimately on data from dealers, who have a financial interest in having the “book value” of the cars they sell be as high as they can get it. They have absolutely no reason to tell the truth to KBB. That way they can advertise their cars at “BELOW KELLY BLUE BOOK!” and people will see that and jump all over it.

Except for some cult vehicles (Jeeps, sports cars, old Toyota trucks), KBB is almost invariably high.

Throw into the mix their geographic variations, which are also bullshit. They are clearly applying some generic formula to account for regional variations in prices, but it doesn’t account for extremes like Alaska (where small Japanese cars carry an absurd premium, and KBB is usually low), or for the seemingly inexplicable regional variations in cars like the Miata (where a car worth 800 bucks in one state might be worth 3000 in another).

That said, KBB isn’t usually off by THAT much.

Assuming it didn’t have some other state in all Carfax entries between 03 and 05, yes, it could be a Katrina car. Make sure that whatever other states it’s been to since are not states commonly used for “title washing.”

Also, there could be other damage or mechanical wear and tear that is bringing the price down, or demand could just be soft either for that car, or for the used car market in general in your area. That would also bring the price down.

Don’t buy the car. Repos are almost always beaten on because the people know they’re going to lose it. Katrina wouldn’t affected it unless it was totalled which wouls show on the Carfax.

Please leave your answer in the comments! Thanks.