Non-Toyota dealership and auction

Prospective buyer. I’d prefer to purchase a used 2019-2021 2.5 gen from a Toyota dealership but I’m starting to realize I may need to broaden my options. Should should I have any reservations purchasing from a non-Toyota dealership? Also, should I stay away if a Carfax states purchased through auction?

 

All depends on what you’re buying. Some dealerships are better than others. At times, dealerships send vehicles to auction if they are overextended in it or if they age. If the dealership uses a floor plan they are typically on a fixed turn (45-60 days). You’d be surprised how a few hundred miles changes the demand in a vehicle. When we are buying at auction I typically look for how long it’s been sitting, “lot rot” is a real thing. If you’re an information person, read the NAAA guidelines for arbitration. Vehicles bought at auction always come with some risk.

 

Why not simple private party? Not sure what state you reside in, but many states don't tack on sales tax on private party auto sales. Add that to the fact that dealerships charge much higher prices than private party, I suppose for some false sense of convenience and/or peace of mind that you aren't being scammed.

Search FB marketplace, Craigslist, etc. Find one that checks your boxes and then pay a trusted mechanic to do a pre-purchase inspection. You stand to be literally thousands ahead of the next guy buying a similar truck from the dealership.

 

While I don’t disagree that private party is the best bang for the buck, an out of warranty vehicle is all on you. Most big box dealership take some responsibility if something is immediately wrong after purchase.

 

Auction doesn't necessarily mean a vehicle is crap or was totaled or unsellable by a reputable dealer. The days of vehicles only going to 'auction' once they are crap or when a dealer needs to dump a bunch of < $10k vehicles is behind us. It's just another way to move inventory, and these past few years dealerships have been buying reliable trucks at a premium (at auctions) without batting an eye.

Simply use it as an investigative tools and then do your own due diligence w/research and inspections prior to purchase. Over the last couple of years we've turned Carfax into this sole entity that dictates/validates our purchases... Use it as a tool, but it should be the starting point of your investigation into purchasing a vehicle and then use the information as a way to guide you to asking the right question or looking in the right place for further info...

Regarding non-Toyota dealers... eh, same as above; everyone is looking for good inventory to sell and paying high $$$ for it, so many dealers have some very nice vehicles that are outside of their own brand.

Good luck w/your search, and I'm sure if you are patient and put some work in you'll find the perfect truck at a reasonable price

 

Eh, might want to watch out on that. When purchasing a vehicle out of warranty, a dealer will have you sign a form stating you know the vehicle is being sold "As is". They have no obligation to help you after you take it.
Some will include a limited 30 day or so warranty, but again, you can only count on that so much.

Get one from where ever you want, just be sure to get it inspected before and take it on a very good test drive. I drove quite a few before getting mine from a Honda dealer and it was bought at auction. Doesn't mean its bad, just have to be aware of what you are getting yourself into.

 

I get that, but a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) should rule out anything major that would costs thousands. And so if something really minor comes up that costs a few hundred dollars with the private party truck you're still ahead financially (PPI should catch that too).

That peace of mind you think a dealer represents is mostly a facade, unless you want to buy a Certified Pre-Owned and really get taken to the cleaners. And even then, I've caught numerous dealers taking these trucks in on trade, running them through the carwash and then driving them right out to the front of the lot for sale, labeling them certified pre-owned.

On one egregious example, a friend of mine and I, found a laundry list of obvious defects that easily should've been caught on their purported "250-point inspection by a Master Toyota Technician". For example one was literally dripping from the oil drain plug! And they wanted $49k for that 2019 Platinum with 63k miles all because of this "rigorous inspection" it'd been through, and it's CPO designation. Don't fall for their gimmicks, it's all smoke and mirrors.

 

This ^^^^

Paying thousands extra for a false sense of security that buying from a dealership offers you is just downright silly.

 

Especially because every dealer tells the same made up stories "local guy/gal had it, really loved it, treated it great, i would totally buy it if i could/my manager wants to buy it, etc". It's all lies to get you to buy it. At least with a private sale you actually get to talk to the person who owned/drove it to get a sense how it was treated.

 

Sorry if you’d had some bad experiences at dealerships but I can assure you that is not all that way. I can provide numerous examples when my dealership went far above and beyond. Reputation is everything, tons of good people still in the car industry.

 

I didn't mean to imply that all dealerships or their staff are scam artists, but many certainly are. Furthermore I understand dealerships have to make money, so that means a used vehicle worth say $30k private party, will never sale for the same $30k at a dealer. Instead it'll likely be closer to $33-35k, or more.

In my opinion that extra 10% or more in added price is rarely, if ever, worth it. A couple hundred bucks for a PPI, and some judicious searching, stands to save a prospective buyer thousands of dollars in sales price alone. And that's not even factoring in the extra dealer fees, low-ball trade-in values, and sales taxes that all too can be avoided.

Take home point... shopping around at dealerships only for a used vehicle is silly... Change my mind.

 

Let’s say for example you pay for a PPI and they miss something (not saying those are bad), who’s on the hook for the repair? If the dealership technician misses something obvious, like a safety concern, you can at least go back to them and give them the opportunity to make it right. While I don’t disagree that dealer prices are at times higher, the car market is changing. Covid made prices crazy and it’s almost back to a race to the bottom. As a buyer, you’re more informed now on a vehicle’s value than ever before. If you have realistic expectations and have the facts a good sales manager will make a deal. 2nd gen Tundra is a hard vehicle to acquire (increased trade/ purchase values) and low retail. The spread doesn’t make sense honestly that’s why I hardly buy them.

 

The PPI missing something doesn't seem any more likely, I would actually argue it's probably far less likely, than the dealer missing something. That being said, unless that something that gets missed, rears it's ugly head very quickly after purchase, most dealers are going to charge you to repair it (maybe the good ones negotiate the cost down a bit as an act of good faith).

For example let's say your rear wheel bearing goes out 4 months after buying a 2015 Tundra from your local Toyota dealer... You really think they're going to eat that $1500 repair bill? And even if they do the guy who went private party, saved $5k, so he's still $3500 ahead in this situation.

All that being said, in my hypothetical $30k truck example, I could easily be ahead financially by $3-8k by buying private party. As long as my trusted mechanic doing the PPI isn't Stevie Wonder, I like my chances of him/her not missing $3-8k worth of needed repairs during said inspection.

And one last note, I'm not in the market for used Jaguar, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, products, and that further increases the odds that this gamble pays off with me saving thousands.