Looking at an '09

[seslwr]

When I hear a salesman use words like that, I usually reach around to my back pocket and make sure I still have my wallet.

If you want the car, I would tell the dealer that you have your checkbook with you, and can pay $21,000 right now, or else you will have to go home and think about it.

When he counters, tell him you cannot go any higher than $22,000 and drifting out the door. Don't pay more than $22,500.

FWIW, those were my words and not the dealer's. I'm yet to get into any real negotiation with him on it, but here's what I do know. The dealer received the car in on trade for a new Cadillac CTS lease (they're a Cadillac-GMC dealer). The in-service date of the Genesis is May '10. Just curious, where did you come up with the $22,500 number, or was it just based off of what the dealer was asking? What's the typical mark-up of a car traded into the dealer? I'm sure the dealer has room to move, since he also put the previous owner into a leased Caddy.

Keep the suggestions coming. They've been very helpful thus far.

 

[CanukV6]

?

 

[CanukV6]

I have an 09 3.8 sedan that I purchased around Nov 08. I had been having problems with the ride but it was due to my brake rotors warping. I have 20" tires (Dunlaps) and rims which hugs it the turns very good. Going to replace the rotors with cross drilled rotors for Brake Performance very soon. I love this car, it currently has 126,000 miles.

I can't see how warped brake rotors could adversely affect the ride, but 20" wheels with Dunlop tires certainly could
I would caution against fitting cross-drilled rotors. Firstly since they are full of holes they have less surface area for the pads to contact so ultimate braking performance is reduced, not increased. On high performance cars with very large brake pads, cross-drilled rotors are used to avoid hot-spots that might cause a cushion of air to form between the pad and rotor. The rotors are oversized to compensate for the loss of surface area.
Secondly, unless manufactured and machined correctly, cross-drilled rotors are far more likely to crack around the drilled holes. Also, unless the sharp edges of the holes are removed, the rotors act like a cheese-grater accelerating pad wear.

 

[Mark_888]

FWIW, those were my words and not the dealer's. I'm yet to get into any real negotiation with him on it, but here's what I do know. The dealer received the car in on trade for a new Cadillac CTS lease (they're a Cadillac-GMC dealer). The in-service date of the Genesis is May '10. Just curious, where did you come up with the $22,500 number, or was it just based off of what the dealer was asking? What's the typical mark-up of a car traded into the dealer? I'm sure the dealer has room to move, since he also put the previous owner into a leased Caddy.

Keep the suggestions coming. They've been very helpful thus far.

Based on average markup. Dealers take cars in-trade at wholesale and sell at retail. The retail asking price is typically at least $4-5K higher than what they paid (for a car of that price range). Some people will pay asking price on a car (which is why they always quote a high price), but you should be able to get it cheaper, just like you can get a new Genesis a lot cheaper than MSRP. If their asking price is $25,000, they are still making a decent profit at $22,500. You should be able to find the average wholesale price, retail asking price, and typical retail sales price of used cars on some websites.

But if the salesman thinks you are fixated on that particular car, they will hold out for more money.

 

[OneFunGenesis]

I would caution against fitting cross-drilled rotors. Firstly since they are full of holes they have less surface area for the pads to contact so ultimate braking performance is reduced, not increased. On high performance cars with very large brake pads, cross-drilled rotors are used to avoid hot-spots that might cause a cushion of air to form between the pad and rotor. The rotors are oversized to compensate for the loss of surface area.
Secondly, unless manufactured and machined correctly, cross-drilled rotors are far more likely to crack around the drilled holes. Also, unless the sharp edges of the holes are removed, the rotors act like a cheese-grater accelerating pad wear.

FWIW I too would caution against drilled and slotted rotors. If you don't buy QUALITY rotors, they can crack around the holes. I bought quality rotors and have not had any problems in the 2 years I have had them installed.

Surface area: The little amount of surface area loss is not really a concern with D/S rotors (unless your putting these on the front of say a Honda Fit or chevy sonic). The extra cooling you are getting with the holes often offsets the loss of surface area. As we all know, cooler brakes stop better.

Pad Wear: It is extremely important that one has the correct pad/rotor set up to run D/S Rotors. The correct set up would be D/S rotors and ceramic pads. The reason for this is because ceramic pads are a harder compound and therefore will wear at about the same rate as the rotors. Every time the pad passes over the slot, the slot should take a TINY sliver of the pad off (keeping the pads fresh) and this will increase braking performance.

Now why do I caution against D/S rotors? Well, they can crack. They can wear out your pads. But most of all, the slots fill with water on rainy days and therefore wet weather braking is an issue! I have had the problem of (feels like) brake fade when commencing braking and then after it displaces the water, the brakes grab. If you don't account for this, you could end up in serious trouble.

Based on average markup. Dealers take cars in-trade at wholesale and sell at retail. The retail asking price is typically at least $4-5K higher than what they paid (for a car of that price range). Some people will pay asking price on a car (which is why they always quote a high price), but you should be able to get it cheaper, just like you can get a new Genesis a lot cheaper than MSRP. If their asking price is $25,000, they are still making a decent profit at $22,500. You should be able to find the average wholesale price, retail asking price, and typical retail sales price of used cars on some websites.

But if the salesman thinks you are fixated on that particular car, they will hold out for more money.

Average markup on a used car is different around the country. Here in NY I know that we used to mark a car up right around 3K. We never got anywhere near 5K because it was obvious that the car isn't worth that. Also, there are two different kinds of salesmen. One is the one you described. The other is the kind that knows you're fixated on a car and will do anything to get you into that car. After all, it is a sale. Most sales people now will be the second kind (depending on their age).

 

[Bprewitt]

Best 25k car on the road. Good luck.