i am shopping for 2-3 yr old car. should i pay less for if i am not trading anything in.? my car now is 8 yrs old with 180k so no dealer would want it. for negotiating purposes should i ask for price with trade and without even tho i dont really plan to trade in car? thanks. robin

Dealing with the Dealer- it's like blackjack in Las Vegas- you got the dealer there, too- short answer- your purchase price will be less if you trade your car in- they will lower the price, but it will only be to the level they would sell it for, anyway- since they are just taking your car away from you (and laughing) they will take anything- a beater, a boat, a motorcycle, a snowmobile, a donkey- if you have the time and the strength, just plan on spending hours in the showroom bartering them down to the lowest price they would give, anyway- it is hard, but this will enable you to sell your car privately and make a few bucks-

thanks jamnblues. seems appropriate you should reply since one of my email names is lovetheblues. i will do my best to hang tuff but i really hate the bullshit

Arm yourself with information. Find the car(s) you want and get the detailed report of it from Nadaguides. com With that, can see what the dealer is trying to do. Understand, a dealer rarely pays more than average trade-in value for a used. Knowing that, you can offer a comfortable (to you) amount above that value as a reasonable price. Let them make a few bucks and you save a few bucks...win win.

that's it- hang tough- the dealers play hard ball- knock it outta the park- like negotiations anywhere, your adversaries actually respect a tough customer- they may grimace, wail, complain, tell you they "can't do that" but you stick to the hard line- at the end, they want your money- now, you must be cool if you like the blues- jamestbaker.net

thanks scot took your advice and checked the value of my car. more than i expected which does give me more confidence