I am looking at buying my first vet this weekend. I have not had alot of experience buying used cars before. I normally buy new but I can not afford a new c6. To give you some back ground on the car I am looking at.

Year 1995
Miles 45000
Color admiral blue
Auto
air
exteroir 8 out of 10
interior 9 out of 10
car looks really nice

The bad
needs new rear tires
and new rear brakes not sure about the fronts

Seller is asking 13,000 for it with some wiggle room

The question comes down to do you think I can get the price lower if i through the cash down or do you think it does not matter if I pay cash or check.

 

I wouldn't think it matters for price if you have a check or cash. Of course a seller might be wary of accepting a 13000 dollar check. You can always get a cashier's check. Either way, good luck with the purchase.

 

Cash does speak, if the seller hasn't had any reasonable offers...just my opinion though.

 

Back in the day, it used to be Money (cash) talks, bullsh*t(checks) walks. I thinks that's appropriate for what you're talking about.

Car dealerships don't care if you have $1.00 or $1,000,000.00. That's what they have the Finance people for- they get paid immediately either way, cash,check,or loan.

Personally, I'd never take a personal check for that kind of money. Only a bank check made out to me would fly.

It's the same way I bought my current car, the original owner wouldn't take a PC, only a bank check, and he went to the bank with me to make sure the check was good.

 

Try this: (It's not the least bit unethical.)

Go to the seller with 12k in cash, in 100 dollar bills, and say:

"I think you've got a good car here, but my budget only takes me to twelve thousand but I've got it right here," as you pull it from your pocket and start fanning those hundreds.

Most sellers feel that 12000 cash in hand right now is better any day than 13000 and a hassel trip to the bank with a check.

Clip out one of the bills of sale from Wheels & Deals or other local sale rag and take it with you. He'll be glad to fill it out with all that cash putting a warm, fuzzy in his hip pocket.

Try it. (No guts, no air medals.) Good luck.

Oh, yeah: GET A CARFAX before you buy.

 

Don't forget, it's a Federal law to report any cash transactions over $10,000.00. Uncle sam wants to know if its legit or drug money.

 

so buy the car for 9k and the spare tire for 3k

freakin uncle sam, I remember a day when... wait... no i dont I'm 19, but I've seen movies!

 

What part of the country are in? You did not fill out your profile. If you are interested, this guy has the same car and did have it for sale recently. He is an ASE mechanic and specializes in Corvettes. www.rickanthonymotorsports.net
His car has been modded, serviced fanatically and is very reliable and fast. He has also won a Gold Spinner award at ChevyVetteFest with the car. It is beautiful. He may want a little more for it but it is worth the money.

 

First, unless my banker called your banker and verified the check was in fact a bank check, I wouldn't even take a bank check. And that's not a bad place to complete the deal, by the way, at a bank. Why? Because then you can do something even safer than cash: wire transfer.

Once you ok the deal, you can have your bank wire transfer the funds to his bank and his account right as you sit there. All you have to do is set it up in advance at your bank with your manager, to take a call from you and execute the transfer based on A) sufficient funds in your account and B) the seller's account number, bank routing number, etc.

Second, having been the recipient more than once of this, "Hey, I got $1K, $2K or more less in my pocket right now and I'll buy your car as we stand here", I'm not too enthused about that method. You can try it, but if someone gets a bit angry with you, or starts calling you names, don't say you weren't warned.

Finally, do get the car checked over on a lift by a qualified mechanic who knows Corvettes if you don't have those skills/knowledge. And do the CarFax/Autocheck by Experian before you even get to that point.

Good luck.

 

I'll pay whatever method the seller is most comfortable with. As an honest buyer, I don't care if a Bank Check or wire transfer is required to make the seller happy.

80sRule

 

If I were selling the car, I'd take the check. But he wouldn't get the car until it cleared.

 

Good point. Do the exchange at his bank. Bring a tag, get a binder from your insurance company.

 

Yeah and have fun explaining to them why they don't get thier share. Sold your car? yeah right give us our money.

 

First off....Congrats for choosing one of the most AWESOME colors the Vette came in 95&96. Admiral Blue is a GRRRRREAT Color!! Overall the car sounds like a Cream Puff...but are the rear tires balding because the owner beat on it.....or raced it??? As far as the brakes go.....unless he had the front brakes done.....it is likely they too need to be looked at if the rears are gone. GET MAINTENANCE RECEIPTS!!!!
If it is a private seller you have a better chance of negotiating price with offers of cash.....if it is some slime-ball used car saleman....cash or check won't make a difference. If you really like the car...really like it...talk with the seller for a while...build up a rapor with them...tell them how you like the car and how you have been looking for a Vette this nice..that you are looking to really take god care of it....baby it etc.....sometimes you can hit a sentimental bone with the seller and may feel like they owe you a couple a bucks off the price.
This is no guarantee....it happened with me when I bought my 87. I hit it off really well with the seller....told him I was lookig for a Nice Vette...and had intentions of restoring her and showing her (which I was & did). He was so relieved that I was not some teenager looking to run the car into the ground . We ended up Bull****ting for hours....after that that I ended up saving $1200 off the price...as well as tax savings with the bill of sale price...if you know what I mean. We actually became friends while he lived in Jersey...but has since moved to Florida.....anyways...you catch my drift?? Doesn't hurt to shoot the Sh%T wth the seller without sounding like your hustling them. As for the seller of my Vette...he was genuinely a good guy....I got lucky...he had a good personality and was willing to negotiate.
Good luck ...I hope you can make a deal with the seller...she sounds like a really nice Vette!!!

 

If you need help, ask someone on the forum, or if you know of a local Corvette club, ask if someone from there will go with you to look at the car.

Good Luck

 

When I bought my '96 CE five years ago it was a spur of the moment thing as we went to see the CE shortly after I caught an incurable case of "Corvette fever". I had no intention of buying the car as I was set in my mind that I wanted a red vert. I told my wife after seeing the CE in the local paper that we should go see the car basically to learn more about Corvettes so we would be better informed when we did find the one we wanted. She agreed to go along with me to see the car. We got out there (about 20 miles away) and we both fell in love with the CE "COUPE" LT1/automatic. Well, my wife wanted the car badly so I told the owner I could write him a check right then and he said OK if I had ID. I wrote the man a check for $19,900.00 got the title and bill of sale and off we rode. I must either have a very honest looking face or he was just very trusting. The car was a one owner and was immaculate and had mostly cruise control mileage on it as they had used the car for several long trips and it was never a daily driver.

By the way I sold the CE two years ago for $17K to a guy and his wife in Pensacola who bought the Vette without even asking to drive it. They asked me to meet them at their bank after I had emailed them a few photos of the car and they were so impressed with the car when I drove up they spent 10 or 15 minutes with me as I showed them all the details of the car and reviewed the maintenance records with them. They then took me inside the bank and got me a certified check. I asked them if they wanted to test drive the car and they declined and said they could tell by the immaculate condition of the car that it was also in perfect condition. They did get one beautiful and great running Vette.

Good luck in your search! I do think that price is a bit high for a '95 unless it is a Vert.

 

As a minimum!

 

I bought mine with a loan from my bank. They gave me a check and I gave it to the seller. Its the personal checks that people should be weary of, could bounce you know. Good luck

 

$13k sounds a bit high, I saw a similar car locally for $10,500.

Anyway, you have some negotiating room with the tires and brakes. Both those will run you about $1400-$2500 depending on what brand of tire and how much of the brakes need replacing.

Good tires will run a minimum of $1200 and brakes can be just pads(less than $200) or a complete replacement of rotors and pads.(stock rotors are around $200-300 depending on where you shop, after market is $500-1200)

You can get cheap tires, but why? Same with brakes.

Offer the guy $11k cash, he just might take it.

 

Here is what I did. I got a $1000. cashiers check from my credit union. I did not know if I was going to buy the car or not, at this point, but I was ready, in case I liked it.I had run a carfax on it and it came back clean. I gave the seller the check and a letter of credit from my banker on bank letterhead stating that I was qualified for the loan. I then asked the seller to let me take the car for a couple of days. I had to leave him my car as it was a 2 hour drive from where I lived. He agreed,as I must have looked honest enough. I took the car for a week and then made arrangements to pay him the balance we had agreed upon. My wife went with me to drive my car back with us. I gave him a cashiers check for the balance and he signed over the title to me. It has been by far the best car I have ever owned.(knock wood)
Would I be as trusting as the seller? Probably not.