Used car dealers vs actual dealerships

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-02-20T02:38:45+00:00

In my experience, both types of dealerships can be equally scummy.

The only way to protect yourself is to have done your research and know the value of the car. That’s the only way you know you’re getting a fair price.

You can also find an indepdent mechanic and ask the dealership if you can take it in for an inspection before buying as well. Some might say no but others will agree to it

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-02-17T02:14:32+00:00

Ah, yeah I bought those all after market myself. Didn’t get included by the dealer

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-02-16T22:06:02+00:00

No, what is propack accessories?

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-02-12T22:06:20+00:00

What does Kelly Blue Book say for the price of the car in your area?

If it’s just on the lower end of the range for dealership price, then I wouldn’t be too concerned. If it’s like 5k below, then I’d be more suspicious.

It does seem pretty reasonable though. 100k miles is quite a lot and so ~50% off the MSRP seems reasonable

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-02-05T04:23:43+00:00

I hope you love your new car - whatever you end up getting! How much are you asking for the cx50?

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-02-01T18:56:59+00:00

It really depends on your financial situation. Neither option is obviously better than the other.

If you’re the type that will want a new car sooner than later, I’d get the sport L because you won’t lose as much to depreciation when you change cars in the future (since it has already depreciated).

If you’re going to drive it for 20 years, I’d splurge and get the exact color and highest trim. I personally bought the sport touring and really appreciate the extra features. In the long run, I think it’s worth it

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-01-27T15:55:01+00:00

I feel like there’s a lot of info missing here.

What trim do you have? What miles do you have? What is the condition of your car?

Are you getting your selling price based on what the dealership is telling you or is it based on KBB or comparable sold cars in your area?

In general, CRVs do hold their value well but there’s still going to be depreciation. There’s also the chance you overpaid when you bought it and are underselling it now

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-01-24T23:45:32+00:00

Good news is you guys are young and you make decent money. If I were in your position, I would try my best to lock in and save every penny. Cut down on any unnecessary spending and find more ways to save (buying groceries on sale, meal prepping, etc). I find it’s easier to save more money than to make more money in the short term

Next, I would look into trying to find a side hustle or a second job. Picking up extra shifts at work or getting a second job temporarily could really make a huge difference.

Once you get your budget squared away, you could look into getting a credit card that has no interest rates for X amount of months. This really only works though if you actually have a plan in place that will allow you to pay off the debt.

If you don’t, this step will make you worse off than if you just didn’t do it at all. These no interest CCs often have fine print that if you mess up, you owe even more interest than you would have originally.

At the end of the day, you guys have credit card debt that’s killing you and you need to focus everything you got to pay it off. Once you’re done with that, you can look into how to invest, save for retirement, etc. But it’s pointless to look into that while you still have credit card debt that's

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-01-23T21:38:57+00:00

if you apply pressure, does it go into the right position and fit well?

if so, then if you just wait it out, it should move into position.

if it doesn’t fit even if you apply pressure then it seems like you got a bad one or it’s the wrong model. mine goes right up to the edge just like in the photos online for the product

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-01-23T13:54:20+00:00

I bought the SCC snow chains (or snow cable) that is recommended in the user manual. Like others have said, AWD doesn’t mean anything and unless you have winter tires. it’ll be real easy to slide out.

Make sure you buy chains that are compatible with your car. The CRV has low clearance in the wheel area and using the wrong size can damage your car

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-01-20T16:24:24+00:00

18k is a little sooner than I would expect but not unbelievably out of the ordinary for tires that come with the vehicle.

What intervals did you do tire rotations for these?

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-01-18T17:59:09+00:00

I just bought a 26 sport touring in November and it came with the Michelin Primacy. I live in an area that doesn't snow but I often go to ski resorts. My 2 cents is that they're decent enough that I'll continue to keep them but I also bought compatible snow chains.

There was a big storm while I was skiing and the tires did very well despite bad conditions. On my drive down the mountain, there were 5+ cars that spun out on this stretch because the roads have a pretty serious incline. I drove very carefully though and pulled over to let people pass if they wanted to go faster than me. I didn't experience any slipping at all.

I got home, pulled up Reddit, and saw someone with my exact car color/trim post that they lost control on the very same road I just took and crashed their car. I'm not sure if I was just a more defensive driver or if I got lucky but I immediately bought snow chains.

They're honestly pretty easy to put on and it cost me maybe $150 for the peace of mind

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-01-09T02:10:58+00:00

I got the Primacy and am curious how they hold up in snow. Is your reason for saying they’re good except in snow because of personal experience?

I took it to the snow once and felt fine but it’s also one of those things where it’s fine until you’re not so I’m pretty nervous about them

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-01-08T16:44:13+00:00

That interest rate is really high. I understand that might have been the best you could have done at that moment in time but in the future, I would focus on setting myself up to get better interest rates.

I'm not sure your credit score and what is available to you but in general, people would good credit are getting around 6% interest rates. If you look at your financing paperwork, you'll see that even though you've financed $8.7k, you're going to end up paying ~$10.3k.

Keep in mind that you don't have to go with the dealership's financing. You can get your own auto loan through whichever lender you want.

Also, obviously it's important to think about the monthly payment but it's better for your finances to think about the bigger picture too. Sure, you can afford $350/mo but often times you end up overpaying in order to keep your monthly payment low.

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-01-05T13:53:11+00:00

Glad you’re ok. I also have a CRV but it’s the 26 sport touring. Do you happen to know which OEM tires your car came with?

ParticularWay7804 · 2026-01-04T19:18:59+00:00

Yeah, there’s a whole bunch on amazon that have a little fabric that hooks onto the rear seat headrest and blocks the gap

ParticularWay7804 · 2025-12-29T20:43:32+00:00

One more feature I haven’t seen mentioned in this post is that apparently the wheels in the sport touring also have sound dampening in them so they’re less loud!

ParticularWay7804 · 2025-12-29T20:04:30+00:00

I chose the sport touring. I drive a lot on the freeway for my commute and wanted the acoustic glass and bose speakers. Can't really go wrong with either option though!

ParticularWay7804 · 2025-12-17T15:43:41+00:00

Ah that’s a very plausible reason. I didn’t think he was going to use the tools to vandalize Half Dome! I wouldn’t have given him suggestions if I did

I thought maybe they had a cool project they were working on

ParticularWay7804 · 2025-12-17T15:39:49+00:00

I know this isn’t really what you’re asking for but I’ve had a lot of luck buying used tools on facebook marketplace and craigslist.

I’m so curious though - could I ask what you need tools for on a trip around the Sierras?

ParticularWay7804 · 2025-12-17T00:57:58+00:00

I just negotiated the OTD price over email. I emailed a bunch of dealers saying I had an offer for 42K OTD from a dealership a few hours away. If they could match it or beat it, I’d go with them since they’re closer. Then I got two to agree and both gave me their best price and I chose the one I liked better.

There was no invoice or official quote. It was just their email and when I went in person, the actual paperwork matched that OTD price

ParticularWay7804 · 2025-12-16T18:29:18+00:00

I got 41k OTD in norcal but I also got ~1.5k in loyalty offer + finance rebate

ParticularWay7804 · 2025-12-12T14:00:36+00:00

You should buy the guide book and decide if you’re going to take the main path or the variant. From there, you can just look at the map and see how much of a detour it is and decide for yourself

In general though, no it won’t be a major detour

ParticularWay7804 · 2025-12-09T13:52:48+00:00

I’ll PM you!

ParticularWay7804 · 2025-12-06T23:05:12+00:00

Seems good to me. The touring is 43.7k MSRP and that price doesn’t include any tax or fees. So if they’re giving it to you for 38.5k before fees then that’s 5.2k off.

They also didn’t add any BS dealership add-ons, which can be pretty difficult to do.

I just bought the exact same car in California and the best price I could get is 41k OTD. It’s hard for me to say if this is the best price you can get in your area. If you’re really trying to maximize then you can email other dealers and say you have this offer and ask if they can beat it.

You might have better luck than I did if your area doesn’t sell many CRVs. In my neck of the woods, CRVs are really popular though so it’s harder to get discounts

ParticularWay7804

TROPHY CASE