snkanth

Hi, Congratulations on the baby Girl. I am also a proud papa of a 4 month old Girl, and I just (Today!) bought a used RX300 (1999) with 79500 miles on it. It was on the lot for $18,988 and I had a used 1998 Chevy Malibu with 80K miles on it. Just a basic car, no bells & whistles. Here is what I did. First I got a CarFax report, and second, I took the RX300 to a dealer and had it thorughly checked out (COst me about $100, but they checked EVRYTHING, including compression etc.) Once I was satisfied, I arranged for financing through my bank. Now the interesting part. I decided that I will only pay $13,700 and my car as trade in. (The book val on the car is about $4k) So I walked in there with a certified check for $13.7K, and said, if they want to deal, we can do it, if not, I am going elsewhere. That was it. So...my suggestion is: First check out the car in great detail. SPEND the $100 to get it looked at, next get your own financing. Offer a vlaue that you think is right, and stick with it. (Go with a certified cashier's check, gives them less incentive to haggle) and as some one else suggested, go on the last day of the month when they will have pressure on quotas. Good luck and congratulations on the new Baby.