2009 Ford Flex Limited: A Quick Sale

You were annoyed they offered you 500 dollars less then what you were going to orginally ask for it?

You made 4 grand over what carmax offered, the money came from a company account. And it was beat on by the 'pro's' for 70k miles, yet your were taken aback by the offer?

The self entitled attitude of some of the writters here never fails to amaze.

I think he was annoyed with the buyer stating that she would be bringing a cashier's check, then arriving with a check for significantly less than the asking price, without ever having agreed to a price. It's a bargaining tactic that people sometimes pull. In this case, it ended up being harmless as the buyer's husband also had a wallet full of $100 bills.

I was selling a 1991 Saab 900 Aero Convertible Stick-Shift with 90,000 miles and in good condition a few years back, and Carmax gave me the quote of $75 for it.

I took it the dealer, where it was sold originally, and a mechanical paid me $5,900 for it.

I know Carmax is only there to make a quick buck, but their estimates of 'auction price' are incredibly off.

@Opfreakx-
I have to agree with you. What if they guy walked away? Would Phil have been annoyed then?

They like nice folks and they got a good deal on a fantastic car. Farewell mighty Flex! One of, if not the best long term cars in terms of quality (the Focus was probably the best) in the history of the IL fleet.

^^"the Focus was probably the best in the history of the IL fleet"

Whatever you are smoking, man, it must be strong.

Seems like a decent bargaining technique to me, and not really something to be overly offended about. Obviously someone wouldn't want to agree to a price before seeing the vehicle in person. But they also don't want to show up with $19k in cash. So they got a check for what they wanted to pay and brought cash to make up the difference. Now if they showed up with a check for $14k, then you can be offended. But a starting offer of $18k on a 19.5 asking price should not be unnexpected at all.

"You were annoyed they offered you 500 dollars less then what you were going to orginally ask for it?"

It was actually $1500 less... I don't think Edmunds listed an 8% Off coupon off the purchase of a new Flex*

*discount reflects cash payment only.

This is why I could never be a car salesman. I would have taken the 18K and then got fired by my boss. Anyway, that extra $500 will easily pay for the next oil change on the Mazda2.

@fundango, if he wanted to discuss price before them seeing the car thats one thing, but Philip didn't, he says himself he 'wondered' if the check was going to be full price.

The post doesn't say if it was a cashiers check in the end or not.

But again, its that entitles attitude the writes here have that leads to them being annoyed. Did Philip realy expect to get full asking price? If he did, then he knew he low balled it. But how often are cars sold for 'asking' price?

"^^"the Focus was probably the best in the history of the IL fleet"

Whatever you are smoking, man, it must be strong."

Are you really that ignorant or just a troll? Which is it? In case you werent around the Focus IL had was PERFECT in terms of reliability and to me that equates to quality. It never had ANY problems...is was a great little car...not loved by any means but they described it as a "rock". Either grow up or get informed.

I don't think it's fair to call the seller (writer) "entitled." Did he send the guy packing? Was he rude? Some people just don't like the haggling aspect of private car selling. Now in my experience it would be naive to assume someone would show up with a check for the asking price, but I also have no aversion to the price game that buyers like to play. I know people that, if they were to sell their cars, would rather take whatever a buyer was offering than get into a discussion about the price. The writer here is probably just that kind of seller. Nothing wrong with that. Certainly not entitled. Just a preferred way of doing business.
Anyway, the buyer came with a wad of hundreds in addition to the check. Which means $18,000 was his lowball offer. So, he didn't expect to pay the amount on the check either.

bodyblue says:

"In case you werent around the Focus IL had was PERFECT in terms of reliability and to me that equates to quality. It never had ANY problems...is was a great little car..."

i have an 08 focus sedan w/57,480 miles on the clock and i concur with this statement:D

back on topic, they look like a nice couple. i'm glad she got her wish and purchased a well priced flex. nice christmas present!

@opfreakx

In all of the used car transactions I've been in, the purchase price has always been determined before a check was made out. Either the buyer will see the car twice (once to evaluate and once to pay the cashiers/certified check), or the purchase price will be set before the buyer sees the car.

Here, the buyer brought a cashiers check for an amount significantly less than the asking price and her husband brought (unbeknownst to the seller) a roll of $100 bills. You can take this one of two ways. Either the buyer was trying to exert additional leverage on the seller by appearing to come with only a set amount of money, or the buyer was trying to avoid having to make a second trip to see the car.

Personally, even if it was the former, I'd be ok with it because I understand buyers like to play games and that's fine by me, but I can see how Reed may have been annoyed/offended and not be acting in an "entitled" manner.

I can understand him being annoyed, but I'd say Reed just got schooled, which is hilarious given that Reed gives out car buying advice all the time (anybody see his spot on GMA?). Having a pre-filled cashier's check ready is an extremely savvy negotiating technique, particularly when combined with a few Benjamins just in case. Plus, I think it was completely fair for the buyers to cross their fingers & hope that Reed would cave at the sight of a check given the insecurity Reed showed in the ad by ranting about the car's mileage. Add to that the fact that Reed was still fully at liberty to decline the deal, and I say score: Buyer 1, Reed 0.

I believe that IL would commend this if they were speaking in terms of a morning talk show and an IL staffer going undercover to help consumers in the negotiating process. Since they were on the receiving end, it may have stung a wee bit. No biggie.

If you were a buyer, wouldn't you rather have the certified check for $18k and bring some cash to make up the difference, or bring a check for $20k and hope the seller will give you cash back? The latter sounds like the usual "Dear Sir or Madam, I am Prince Alzewalki of the Royal Saudi...."

I liked this post. I think everyone got a fair deal out of it. If these folks would have gave Mr. Reed their check-book and said "fill in a number" I'm sure it would have been easier, but that's not how it works.

I think IL should consign a long-term car to a wholesale auction and run it on a Saturday morning. I'm sure the result will be much different than a nice couple giving a decent price for a high-mileage late model car.

"Anyway, the buyer came with a wad of hundreds in addition to the check. Which means $18,000 was his lowball offer. So, he didn't expect to pay the amount on the check either"

Thats about it.

" In case you werent around the Focus IL had was PERFECT in terms of reliability and to me that equates to quality. It never had ANY problems..."

Wasn't it the Focus where the door pull broke? Twice? Yes. Yes, it was.

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2008/08/2008-ford-focus-ses-coupe-oopsit-did-it-again.html

Obviously it's not the most significant defect suffered by an Edmunds car, but you can't say "PERFECT...never had ANY problems" about a car that wasn't perfect and had any problems.

I definitely would have stood tall on the price. He was ready to give you $19k all day.

I'm gonna say that was a pretty decent technique by the buyers. Talking about how much they loved it was less than smooth.

@jdub53084:
"I liked this post. I think everyone got a fair deal out of it. If these folks would have gave Mr. Reed their check-book and said "fill in a number" I'm sure it would have been easier, but that's not how it works."

The problem with that is a private seller should not be accepting a personal check. One should always make sure the funds are guaranteed, and the only way to do that is a certified check or cash. The only other option here (if the buyer did not want to come with money in hand) would have been for both parties to agree on a price with a handshake, then head to a bank.

Haggling issues aside, does anyone think it is strange to buy a second hand car without first having it inspected by your mechanic? This is universally the most common piece of buying advice for used
car buyers I have seen.

Fairwell, Flex. I'll miss your updates. Perhaps I'll own one like you some day...

$18,500 for a car she uses 6 miles a day. gas...$20 month. Depreciation $400 month.

Get a bicycle for commuting and a beat up 1991 astrovan for hauling needs. then save the $17500 left over for the next 17 replacment astrovans you may need just incase you are worried about reliability. A fool and his money are...always departed on the IL long term vehicle sales blog.

Maybe she enjoys driving one 2009 Flex more than a 1991 astrovan and its 17 replacements?

a fleet of beat up astrovans is better than any car on the market today....clearly.