Belt Auction

Buying a specific car; Is this a prudent way of getting the best deal?

My wife and I are going to be buying a used car. We're determined to get a Crystler Pacifica, but we don't care about the year. It's more important about the mileage, as the years are too similair to matter. Also, trim matters very little. So, we found a few models in town, of comparable condition, and plan to email the dealers with the year, mileage, trim, and sticker price of the other models. We're keeping the dealers' name and e-mail confidential, and asking them to quote a competitive bid. Should I expect them to cooperate, or get pissed off and not bid? Please either be either a car dealer, or experienced in purchasing a car yourself to answer. Here is the e-mail I plan to send them... My wife and I stopped by your lot yesterday to inquire about your Chrysler Pacifica. We also visited several other lots in Corpus Christi and found a few comparable models. We’ve become very set on getting this particular vehicle, and have received the “okay” from my wife’s trust company to purchase one of the four vehicles we looked at. Unfortunately, it is up to the trust company which one of the four they will pay for, which puts us in this situation. If you’re receiving this e-mail, I was very pleased with the overall condition of the car and service that you have extended to us so far. We’ve visited every used dealership in town, and there are many that I would not recommend, and am choosing not to do business with. Since we like this car so much, we spent nearly an hour over the phone convincing them to extend our limit from $10,000 to match the best deal we can get. Since I know that every dealership works differently in pricing, I’ve asked them to give us the chance to give you the opportunity for this sale. The conditions they will be looking at (in order of importance) are Price, then mileage, with little emphasis on year and attributes. Of course they understand that a model with fewer miles may cost more, but will still be a good investment. To give you an idea of the competition, I’ve included some information about the other vehicles. I hope that you are able to place a competitive bid, and I truly appreciate the open friendliness that I’ve experienced while at your dealership. I've actually seen these cars personaly, and I did give them my number and e-mail (just excluded them from the post, of course) They are all pretty much the same as far as visible condition

Public Comments

1. Don't know if it's the most prudent way, but I'd be curious to know the outcome.
2. DO IT , BECAUSE I HAVE DONE IT MANY TIMES AND FOR THE MOST PART THEY RESPOND AND FOR THOSE THAT DON'T JUST FORGET THEM.
3. WOW...This a new angle I have not seen before, lol , there is nothing wrong with your thoughts, however after having received several thousand emails over the last few years prior to retirement ,any email without a phone # went right in the garbage as these proved a waste of time 99.9%., and my guess is you did not include a phone # for the simple reason you dont want the salesperson to drive you nuts ? You will recive some reply's that will miss lead you to make contact, and from there the dealership will work you over However I like your effort , the best deal out there something many consumers cant find the time and end up with the short end of the stick.. Just an observation, I know you mentioned mileage is more important than year, to me CONDITION becomes the main factor, you can come across a vehicle with 100K in much better condition than one with 65K. Dont shop price, shop value for your bucks, you can test drive two model years the same and the one being $800. more with higher K's is a better buy. Go to this web page on my website http://www.usedcartips.org/TESTDRI.html its how I appraised vehicles for value., I dont expect you to become an expert over night, but pick up a few pointers will help you along getting your bucks worth...good luck