Can anybody recommend a used F-Type valuation guide that can assist me in looking at these cars used? I purchased a KBB, and have followed Edmunds TMV but the dealers seem to be on the high side and when I make an offer they say they can't sell that low. I don't have access to Black Book. Am I being played or are those price guides off (too low) on this particular vehicle? Some of the cars I have looked at have spent a considerable amount of time on the lot. Should that tell me the dealer is being unreasonable?

 

The problem is that KBB, Edmunds etc don't actually sell cars. Dealers do. I'm sure they aren't masochistic enough to want to keep money tied up on inventory that isn't going to sell and "considerable" time to you may not be eating into their cost enough to warrant a fire sale.

When I was shopping for mine, I looked at iseecars.com for one to get a feel for the average price for the model, options, mileage and location. I bought mine out of state from a Benz dealership who had it at what I considered a fair price. I bought on that basis and didn't bother haggling with them because past experience showed me I was likely to lose the car to another buyer. Is the dealer being unreasonable not selling it to you at the price you want to pay ? I don't know, it's his business...

 

I spent a bit of time following prices on cars.com and autotrader.com seeing where prices where, when prices dropped and when cars were sold. Some dealers are less aggressive in their pricing than others, that will become apparent.

 

It may be easier to get specific feedback on the car you want to buy from forum members. I find true car is not accurate, nor kbb. When dealers tell me they're selling there car at or below kbb, I tell them to buy my current car at the trade-in price on those sites and that usually ends the discussion. Many of us bought 16 f types at 20% plus below msrp. Never saw that number in any guide.

 

I simply hate trading in cars to dealers.....despise it in fact! Why?

1. - They usually use "Galves" which is legalized robbery, set way below market, and what a "wholesaler" would buy it for or a tick better if they put it on their lot's. But Galves is the usual rip off standard.
2. - Trade is used as a way of complicating the deal, and creates a see saw effect on buy vs. trade.
3. - Value is what the marketplace is wiling to buy at. Not what a dealer is willing to buy at. So, with this said....I always suggest if buying a new car,sell yours first privately and you will yield optimum value....., i.e. what the consumer is willing to pay.

F-Type, although depreciates quickly, is still a fine automobile. I didn't buy mine to sell it right away nor worry about the depreciation. I figure that when I sell it down the road, the depreciation will catch up, meaning not be a big factor for me. I will keep it nice, and the price will be more in line with what the marketplace on average can afford...thus I will yield my money from it.

In summary....Price is what the consumer is willing to pay, which defines the value. I suggest staying away from the dealers!

 

Mercedes of Atlanta sold a loaded, perfect Salsa Red 2015 R w/ 4500? miles for $67k.

So far, that is the best deal I've seen on a R from a DEALER.

Mercedes and Porsche dealers don't want a nice car like an R on the their lot making their overpriced offering look bad so many are out to sell then quickly.

 

Wonder if it was a trade? What did dealer give on trade in order to sell at $67k? Do you know if it was a vert?

 

You really need to know the auction prices of the car to have any idea what the dealer has invested in the car. Likely you wont have that information. That is the price the dealer knows it can get if it simply wants to dump the car tomorrow. The dealer thinks it can get more than that number so it invests money in the form of space (each parking spot is worth a rental value), maintenance (the cars have to be washed and the tires have to be pumped up ext.).

These are low volume cars and the don't sell fast. Watch the online advertisements and use the length that a car has been on the lot as a bargaining point. I argued to the dealer that they had been simply dumping money into my particular car for 4 months and nothing would change. I feel like I got it for a steal. Good luck.

 

This information is not exactly Top Secret. You could, with some motivation, find these numbers.

 

Manhiem auction figures are the true value.

 

I was able to get access to Manheim through a friend years ago and that helped me with negotiating the price of the car. There is a value called MMR (Manheim Market Rate) which the average selling price of the car. Those values were eye opening. I've seen some car forums in which you could get those numbers through PMs with certain members. Sometimes you may be able to find them in a google search.
I was able to get a good deal on my car in Atlanta. Bert mentioned a car for 67k at Mercedes dealership earlier in this thread. I was able to use that car price when negotiating the price of my car because it was in the same area of that dealer. There were three 2015 F-Type Rs in the same region. I let the dealer know that I was planning to look at all of them. Dealers don't like for you to leave because they know you wont come back so the dealer dropped the price of may car based on the price of the nearby F-types. Those cars all started around 73K when they were first posted and they dropped below 70 over a month. I had the cars in my favorites in the cars.com app so I was able to see the prices drop. Competition is a good thing.

 

I inquired about that car. Then it was gone a couple days later.

A dealer is more likely to make a deal if they know you're serious and will sign the paperwork that day. Walk in with your credit card in hand ready to place a deposit.

 

Nada, Edmunds, KBB, et al......are just generic guides.....and work best with average, high volume production vehicles IMO. What I do is check out all the similar vehicles for sale in a given market, add them up and average the price and mileage then apply a reasonable factor to take into account asking vs. selling....I think it gives you a much closer idea than the generic guides available out there.


Dave

 

The 2015 R above - not sure if it was a trade-in, but I bet it was; $65k is the going price now for a 2105 R from what I've seen from dealers.

This one has 15k miles, but is also excellent. Typically, Rs are offered at $70k-$75k and then dwindle down to $64k-$67k before they sell.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used...ting=150564167

Like the Mercedes dealer, they will simply keep lowering the price until it sells. With 15k miles my guess is this one will sell for $64k or so.

 

Hi: Another good source for value is Carmax. if you look at their entire US database you can get a feel for what the going price is for a given car and model. They usually have about 15-20 F-Types in the system at any given time. I picked my R coupe up last summer from them and the price point was very good. Car had 5K miles and we had it shipped into Virginia from Florida. BRG with Tan interior and optional wheels, electric hatch opener...CARMAX prices are fixed and so if you see a car you like you can use it as a guide point with local dealers. People just take cars into them and sell them...so if you watch the car you want might just come up. I bought my very rare XKR-S Coupe from them as the previous owners new Porsche had come in and he took it in and sold it to them. Car has been absolutely wonderful. We will take it to Amelia Island again this year for the concours in a couple of weeks.