Fair value for Pre-owned Sport?

[PDExplorer]

Im heading to a dealer tomorrow who has a 2014 Explorer Sport with 401a and moonroof. the car has 8500 miles on it. However, it has Flowmaster mufflers and had a K&N but claim it was never tuned. They agreed to put it back stock if requested. It was trade in for a new buick apparently. What do you guys think is a fair price if I am making a serious offer on it?! They asking 40k. And any specific things to look at?!

Thanks!!

 

[Halwg]

Did you check out what it's worth on Edmunds.com or kbb.com?

It looks like you should offer around $35K

 

[veloduffer]

I would also check the prices on Craigs List and Ebay Motors to give you references for your area. They will probably be lower than Edmunds and KBB, but that will give a good range to evaluate.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Price out a 14 new on NADA and look at invoice price. Look at what rebates Ford is offering then take 20% off that and that is what Id offer.

They have no way to tell it was or was not tuned so they can not make that claim. Check the wheel well for water/rust and have them show you the oasis report to see if it has been in for any warranty work or complaints.

 

[JE]

If you get the service history it should have the in-service date on it too, which is good to know (it will affect when the factory warranty started and therefore expires). There's a big difference between a '15 sold in August of '13 versus February of '15.

Also, if the service history doesn't include an oil change I'd ask them to do one before delivery. If unsure about the tune (blwnsmoke is right, they can't tell unless it drives unusually) then request they re-flash too. It doesn't take them much effort and I'm surprised they didn't just do that to be sure.

I'd be hesitant on a vehicle that's been modded because people don't add performance parts unless they're planning to drive hard, but you never know!

 

[wifes2011xlt]

2014 with 8500 miles smells a lot like a rental or fleet service unit. I personally stay clear of those types of deals but if you're ok with it, definitely due your research.

Truecar and cargurus show FMV and how it compares to any particular used car listed for sale. In fact, many dealer websites have a "price check" feature that shows how their pricing compares to national or regional trends. Cargurus even shows how long the car has been listed and if/when its price was reduced.

 

[nick3941sd]

Check the front edge of the hood and under the weather striping along the front for the paint bubbling issue.

Take it for a spirited test drive, ask them to flash back to stock. Go for another test drive and you'll notice quickly if there is a difference.

Or go test drive a new one from a Ford dealer to compare.

 

[veloduffer]

2014 with 8500 miles smells a lot like a rental or fleet service unit. I personally stay clear of those types of deals but if you're ok with it, definitely due your research.

Why shy away from rentals? If anything, those cars are checked and maintained more often than private owners. The last thing a Hertz wants is a stranded customer. Similarly for fleet cars, there often is a financial penalty (upon return) if the car is not maintained according to schedule. A friend has an Audi fleet car and his company will garnish his wage if he doesn't get it serviced according to schedule.

 

[wifes2011xlt]

Why shy away from rentals?

Personal experience and personal choice

 

[Odrapnew]

Lots of good information above.

I can say I didn't pay much more than $40K for my new 14 Sport, 401a, 2nd row buckets, 2nd row console and tow package after all the rebates. I don't have the moonroof, but if the one you are looking at doesn't have 2nd row buckets, console or tow package, I would say Invoice would be similar to mine.

 

[PDExplorer]

Thanks for all the help!!! Much appreciated. My gut said to offer 35k, as i had priced a new sport at 43 when the rebates were good. Just hoping they come back soon.

As far as the computer, they can tell if the PCM has seen changes as it will leave a footprint. They have denied many a warranty claim for this, even after the car was put back to factory stock and had stock tune re installed. But he assured me there would be no warranty denials via email.

Decisions decisions

 

[Miami-Beach]

2014 with 8500 miles smells a lot like a rental or fleet service unit. I personally stay clear of those types of deals but if you're ok with it, definitely due your research.

Actually my CPO Fords since 1985 have been former rentals..Managed to but 200K plus miles on all of them with mostly plain old regular maintenance..The bulk of 1 or 2 year old vehicles will be former rentals.

All my Fords came with a extended warranty..Of coarse I had all of them checked out by a good independent mechanic first and all had service records..They were all serviced by the Ford dealer..All cars were 1 year old with 10-20k miles on them..When I sold them everything worked perfectly.

 

[wifes2011xlt]

Glad you've had good luck with it but my experience was the complete opposite. Mine was a CPO too but in the 7-8 months that I owned it, it had 2 cylinder misfires, interesting electrical demons, warped brake rotors and when I started to get a front-end shudder, decided to trade it in.

Also, I have rented my fair share of cars for work, along with my coworkers. We don't exactly baby them. I had a neighbor that was the counter manager at a car rental place (Hertz, I believe). You would be surprised at some of the stories he's shared. There is a reason why car rental companies only keep passenger vehicles for a couple years. My brother is the internet sales manager for a dealer and according to him and his team, former rentals are some of the hardest to sell and they basically have to get them to pass CPO or offer some sort of warranty to give them any chance of getting them off their lot without the listing getting stale. The ironic thing is that it takes so much to get some former rentals up to par, that they have little wiggle room to negotiate.

There certainly is a market for them so dealers offer them but I bet any car salesman is not as inclined to voluntarily offer up the fact that a unit was a former rental than they are to tout a one-owner trade-in. I would also bet that you won't see many cars on the dealer lot with a huge sticker that says, "Former Rental!" I wonder why that is.

Again, personal choice for me. YMMV.

 

[Halwg]

2014 with 8500 miles smells a lot like a rental or fleet service unit. I personally stay clear of those types of deals but if you're ok with it, definitely due your research.

Why would you think that? My 2014 is 10 months old and has 12,500 miles on it. That's not a lot of miles.

 

[wifes2011xlt]

It's pretty common to see rental companies start to sell off their current units timed with the release of the next model year. Aren't the 2016s coming out this summer? I'm speaking in generalities so could be wrong in this instance but not off-base to at least consider it a possibility. You're right about the low miles though. So if it's not rental, then why would someone get rid of a one year old car with 8500 miles? Let the guessing begin.

 

[PDExplorer]

I agree, thats why im going to start the digging. He didnt volunteer any info, but when asked he stated it was traded in at their GMC loaction on a new buick. But also on the opposite end of that, do rental places have sports that are available to rent?! Ive never noticed one, and wouldnt think it would be practical.

 

[JE]

And would a rental place add an aftermarket intake and exhaust? Seems unlikely.

 

[wifes2011xlt]

Ya, good points and same would go for corporate fleet vehicles. While c-suite staff may get the perks of driving a top of line trim, they probably won't be able to do those types of modifications. Request the vehicle history check on it, yet? That should at least get you some ownership info.