I'd like to buy a certified pre-owned vehcile

[Anonymous]

Can you please tell me all your tips?

This is my first time car shopping as I am getting a divorce.

[jsteele]

If you know what car you want, go to:

https://www.kbb.com

and check what they say is a fair price. There will also be a price range for local prices. Use that info to base your price on.

Generally there are three factors dealers will consider:

1) the value of the car;
2) financing;
3) value of a trade-in if any.

All three are negotiable. A dealer may lower the price of the car if you are going to finance because they can make up the difference with finance charges. It sounds like you won't have a trade-in, so no need to worry about that. If you are going to pay cash, some people say it is better to tell them you plan to finance and try to get a good price. Then, when you meet with the finance folks, change your mind and pay the price you have agreed on in cash. I don't do that approach personally.

What I would do is spend a few days looking at cars that interest you and not buying one. When you have found one you want, use KBB to find a good price. Then, go back as close to the end of the month as possible — they will be more willing to deal then — and tell them you are serious about the car but only at a fair price. They will probably not offer much off. Get up and leave. The sales guy will call the next day and you can tell him he has to make a better offer. Eventually, if he really wants to sell the car, which after all is his job, he will come down. Even after his best offer, if it has not reached the price you have decided on, tell him that is your bottom line and be prepared to walk away. There are always other cars. More than likely he will take the deal. Don't worry about any complaints that they won't make money or so on. They always do. The sales guy should be near tears and insulting your heritage by the time you conclude the agreement. But, he will still be fine.

[Anonymous]

To my way of thinking, the Certified Pre-Owned designation is a way of saying (1) the dealer has run through a bunch of prescribed checks and (2) because of this they provide a certain level of extended warranty.

About 8 or 9 years ago I was looking at 3 year old Lexus CT 200h models. The magic number there is 3 years because a lot of cars come off lease after 36 months. I scanned the area dealers (VA and MD) and could compare the CPO market to the non-CPO market for what appeared to be otherwise nearly identical cars. My takeaways, based on advertised prices, were (1) you are charged a premium for the CPO designation and (2) some dealers added a substantially higher premium for their CPO cars than other dealers. Again this was based on advertised prices. My recommendation is to look around at the prices for the year/make/model of interest to see if you find similar patterns.