Recently my first and only vehicle was totatled by a careless driver. Im now in the market for a new vehicle. What I was wondering is buying a 2005 G6 for $8900 with 95000 on the odometer a bad idea? im a college student who drives about 110 miles a week. Please help me as im new to american cars.
Help needed on a G6
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I think that it's got too many miles for that amount of money. Check out Kelly Blue Book on it's real retail value. Also, is this car at a dealership or a private seller. At least with most dealerships they will provide some sort of warranty, private sellers mostly do not.("Sold as is") As for the G6, it's a great car and will do you well.
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That's alot of Miles........
When looking to purchase a vehicle, the average American drives between 12-15,000 miles a year. 12 obviously lower end 15 high end. So you average a 2005? 5 yrs because the year of the car say 2005 means it came out sometime june-july of 2004.. So 5 years about and high end miles is about 75,000. 90,000 you are looking around 18,000 a year.
Go to Nadaguides.com because most banks and lenders use this as a reference in when giving out loans. And it's the most accurate.
Side note.. I just bought a 05 G6 GT White, Leather Seats, Vinyl Leather wrapped steering wheel, Heated Seats, Sunroof, Steering wheel audio controls, Monsoon Sound, Sedan, 17" Chrome Wheels with 48,000 for $10,130 out the door. My payment is $225/month. Figure for every $1,000 your monthly payment is $20+ depending interest. Mine is 11%. which is High. but I'm 19 and no credit. lol
ALways pull carfax or ask the dealer to because 9.9/10 they will pull you one. If they don't want to, then they don't want to make the sale, or there is something hidden.
And btw, between 2005-2006 over 170,000 G6 sedans were serviced for power steering problems. Which is problem witht the electric power steering. So check and see if it either has been fixed or has any problems because it could lead to a $800-$1200 fix. Mine that I just bought had the powersteering problem but I signed a contract with the dealer telling them they need to get it fixed before I drive this vehicle and pay them. They should be calling soon, come to think about it.
And remember to try and negotiate and get the price down when buying b/c car dealers buy their cars from auctions which are usually reposessed vehicles that they get a dirt cheap. They say they put this much in it, 9time out of 10. It's no where near. Annnnnd, last but not least. 9/10 Dealers "Pad Slap"...
"Pad Slap"- placing pads (very Cheap or not new) that are either laying in the garage or they have and slap them on there just so they can say they replaced the brakes. When actually you drive 500-1000 miles on some pads they slap on there and they squeel. They might have A Lot of pad making them look new. BUt they will squell so always estimate in $300-$400 in pads/rotors when buying cars.. THanks.
When looking to purchase a vehicle, the average American drives between 12-15,000 miles a year. 12 obviously lower end 15 high end. So you average a 2005? 5 yrs because the year of the car say 2005 means it came out sometime june-july of 2004.. So 5 years about and high end miles is about 75,000. 90,000 you are looking around 18,000 a year.
Go to Nadaguides.com because most banks and lenders use this as a reference in when giving out loans. And it's the most accurate.
Side note.. I just bought a 05 G6 GT White, Leather Seats, Vinyl Leather wrapped steering wheel, Heated Seats, Sunroof, Steering wheel audio controls, Monsoon Sound, Sedan, 17" Chrome Wheels with 48,000 for $10,130 out the door. My payment is $225/month. Figure for every $1,000 your monthly payment is $20+ depending interest. Mine is 11%. which is High. but I'm 19 and no credit. lol
ALways pull carfax or ask the dealer to because 9.9/10 they will pull you one. If they don't want to, then they don't want to make the sale, or there is something hidden.
And btw, between 2005-2006 over 170,000 G6 sedans were serviced for power steering problems. Which is problem witht the electric power steering. So check and see if it either has been fixed or has any problems because it could lead to a $800-$1200 fix. Mine that I just bought had the powersteering problem but I signed a contract with the dealer telling them they need to get it fixed before I drive this vehicle and pay them. They should be calling soon, come to think about it.
And remember to try and negotiate and get the price down when buying b/c car dealers buy their cars from auctions which are usually reposessed vehicles that they get a dirt cheap. They say they put this much in it, 9time out of 10. It's no where near. Annnnnd, last but not least. 9/10 Dealers "Pad Slap"...
"Pad Slap"- placing pads (very Cheap or not new) that are either laying in the garage or they have and slap them on there just so they can say they replaced the brakes. When actually you drive 500-1000 miles on some pads they slap on there and they squeel. They might have A Lot of pad making them look new. BUt they will squell so always estimate in $300-$400 in pads/rotors when buying cars.. THanks.
How did you know that it had the power steering problem. It sounds like you got a good deal. Did you do all the negotiating yourself and how did you get this "contract" that they would fix the problem? Sorry for all the questions I'm in the market for a G6 sedan GT. And I really don't want to spend more then 9 or 10 grand.
Theres one that comes up on cars.com in my area:
2007 Pontiac G6 GT - $9,995 35,210k miles
however it is a dark green with beige interior which we dont like and no moonroof so that could explain things... but with that low miles? and it says 4 spd which i think ive seen 5 spds? Anyway my point is thats the cheapest online in my area so that makes me think I wonder if something is wrong?
Theres one that comes up on cars.com in my area:
2007 Pontiac G6 GT - $9,995 35,210k miles
however it is a dark green with beige interior which we dont like and no moonroof so that could explain things... but with that low miles? and it says 4 spd which i think ive seen 5 spds? Anyway my point is thats the cheapest online in my area so that makes me think I wonder if something is wrong?
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Well I can assure you my parents were proud of me. Lol. I did all the negotiating, finding financing, and locating a vehicle all by myself. The only thing they did for me was look at it and say they like it. 
Since I live in Indiana, we have a Sales Good Act, which I am sure it is nationwide also. But you have the right to come up with a contract between the dealer and consumer. Its something like that. You just have to mention it to them that you want them to fix it before you buy it. If they do and it leads to nothing else then you will buy it type of deal. WIth every contract that you sign you should have a 72 hour window to back out of the deal. That's a law here I believe as well. If something is right or as mentioned in the contract you can so call "re-nig". It has to be in the contract though, anything not on paper is not in the contract, make sure to read all the fine print to. Some contract say you can't re nig something like that.
When they have you sign something they will say "well this is just this and that and all it does is this, just sign here and here".. Still read the print and all they are there to do is sell sell sell. Its something you are trying to buy and you can take as long as time reading it and if you don't understand you can alwasy ask them to clarify. The best way to buy a car is to go with a mind set on what you want and how much you want to pay for it.
Go in one day act like you are gonna sign papers when you finally figure everything out and then if you want, tell them "hmm, well im gonna have to think about it, im not sure if I really want to pay this much, I was thinking more like, $$$$" but always shoot way lower than what you want.
See in my case I wouldn't pay no more than $11k for mine, so I first negotiated waited a week then negotiated some more then messing with number they wanted $500 down this and that and I finally said you know what, how about i bring you a check for $10,000 even out the door. Then the salesman went and talked to the manager. (don't feel threatened by this or worried. Every place does this to pass time so they figure they have you there for awhile you'll make a decision on that because you've already spent soo much time ya know.)
I found out about the power steering problem because it said on the radio. The service light was on and on the radio it said Power Steering. They tried telling me it need power steering fluid. Jacka$$es didn't even look at it because its electric and therefor doesn't need fluid. So there was rst bargianing point.
There are also 4cyl and 6cyl G6's out there so yea 4spd and 5spd this and that. So but I had to drive 45 minutes to get my car one way. so 1.5hr each time i went down there.
So if you have to drive a little ways to find the right one, it sure may be worth it. Call the dealership to see if they have to car number according to there stock number or advertising number, so they don't pull a bait-n-switch on you..
Lemme know if you have any other questions Im still and ammature but can always give good advice.
Since I live in Indiana, we have a Sales Good Act, which I am sure it is nationwide also. But you have the right to come up with a contract between the dealer and consumer. Its something like that. You just have to mention it to them that you want them to fix it before you buy it. If they do and it leads to nothing else then you will buy it type of deal. WIth every contract that you sign you should have a 72 hour window to back out of the deal. That's a law here I believe as well. If something is right or as mentioned in the contract you can so call "re-nig". It has to be in the contract though, anything not on paper is not in the contract, make sure to read all the fine print to. Some contract say you can't re nig something like that.
When they have you sign something they will say "well this is just this and that and all it does is this, just sign here and here".. Still read the print and all they are there to do is sell sell sell. Its something you are trying to buy and you can take as long as time reading it and if you don't understand you can alwasy ask them to clarify. The best way to buy a car is to go with a mind set on what you want and how much you want to pay for it.
Go in one day act like you are gonna sign papers when you finally figure everything out and then if you want, tell them "hmm, well im gonna have to think about it, im not sure if I really want to pay this much, I was thinking more like, $$$$" but always shoot way lower than what you want.
See in my case I wouldn't pay no more than $11k for mine, so I first negotiated waited a week then negotiated some more then messing with number they wanted $500 down this and that and I finally said you know what, how about i bring you a check for $10,000 even out the door. Then the salesman went and talked to the manager. (don't feel threatened by this or worried. Every place does this to pass time so they figure they have you there for awhile you'll make a decision on that because you've already spent soo much time ya know.)
I found out about the power steering problem because it said on the radio. The service light was on and on the radio it said Power Steering. They tried telling me it need power steering fluid. Jacka$$es didn't even look at it because its electric and therefor doesn't need fluid. So there was rst bargianing point.
There are also 4cyl and 6cyl G6's out there so yea 4spd and 5spd this and that. So but I had to drive 45 minutes to get my car one way. so 1.5hr each time i went down there.
So if you have to drive a little ways to find the right one, it sure may be worth it. Call the dealership to see if they have to car number according to there stock number or advertising number, so they don't pull a bait-n-switch on you..
Lemme know if you have any other questions Im still and ammature but can always give good advice.
note: There are lots of questions entangled through my post. If you can stop and respond on each one maybe in quote style or whatever. I would really appreciate it. Sorry its not 1,2,3,4 question format.
Dude! That helped me so much. I really appreciate it! I know you're a little younger but I can tell you've done your research! I'm definitely not the haggler type but I'll do my best. I'm also not the type to get taken advantage of.
Our first car we had to buy in a hurry so we didn't get the best deal. I did offer them a little lower and they took it but I think they still screwed me over and didn't go based on what we verbally agreed on because sometimes when I view my bills it just doesnt make sense. Who knows. I dont really care right about now this whole year paying was basically pointless because we're going to trade in and the fair market value is still 1 grand under what we owe technically.
I wouldn't say we got ripped off but could have been way better. Plus because I'm on my brothers credit card as a co-card holder HIS debt makes my debt-to-income ratio really high so I wanted to get something while I was approved. My credit is good to me (650's) not as high as I'd like it but it always stays around 650 so to me that should have gotten me a better rate then 12pct! I tried to refinance immediately but every place said my debt-to-income ratio was too high because of my brothers debt on his credit card. The dealership said that the reason it was 12 percent was because it was my first auto loan. Well I had no choice I was in a tough spot needed a car fast. So we got the best deal we could.
Anyway, now I got all that stuff situated. I'm close to being removed from my brothers credit card finally (any day now). I have very little debt plus I make more money now. Been paying faithfully on this car for a year now. That should help with the "this is your first auto loan" situation and should have improved my credit some and I should be able to get atleast 6,7,8 percent interest. So now I have the luxury of being picky and trying to get a good deal.
Did you go through the dealership for your financing or a bank. Did you shop around at many banks? Did you get an approved letter of credit from a bank at a certain interest rate that you brang with you to negotiate with? So I'm guessing these cars have a built in error reader that tells you of some problems? I had an Intrepid that did that also. The thing is you could trick the engine light by unpluging the battery and then reconnecting it. Then the engine light wouldnt come on for so many miles drive... like a month. So I wonder if theres some way to "check for codes" or "error messages"? On my Intrepid you had to turn the key from off to on (not started) 3 times and then error codes would read out on the digital odometer.
We've settled we want a G6 and we plan on test driving a few soon because we're not sure which one. I really don't want to pay over 10 or 11. Plus I'm trying to get the fair market value for a trade in which I don't plan on saying until after I can get them as low as I can. I'm guessing I should go to a bigger dealership that has room to negotiate rather then a smaller dealership that might not have warranty's and no room to negotiate? I read online that some dealerships will sell the car for what they got it for sometimes just to get cars off the lot. Plus my trade in car is in high demand right now a car sales associate told me since it has alot of features, low miles, and its a compact car... saves lots on gas. And people are naturally buying smaller cars for some reason, supposedly.
But in reality the G6 base model saves more on gas! lol The GT doesnt. So far we want the GT... anyway.. I soooooo appreciate all the help. Thanks!
Dude! That helped me so much. I really appreciate it! I know you're a little younger but I can tell you've done your research! I'm definitely not the haggler type but I'll do my best. I'm also not the type to get taken advantage of.
Our first car we had to buy in a hurry so we didn't get the best deal. I did offer them a little lower and they took it but I think they still screwed me over and didn't go based on what we verbally agreed on because sometimes when I view my bills it just doesnt make sense. Who knows. I dont really care right about now this whole year paying was basically pointless because we're going to trade in and the fair market value is still 1 grand under what we owe technically.
I wouldn't say we got ripped off but could have been way better. Plus because I'm on my brothers credit card as a co-card holder HIS debt makes my debt-to-income ratio really high so I wanted to get something while I was approved. My credit is good to me (650's) not as high as I'd like it but it always stays around 650 so to me that should have gotten me a better rate then 12pct! I tried to refinance immediately but every place said my debt-to-income ratio was too high because of my brothers debt on his credit card. The dealership said that the reason it was 12 percent was because it was my first auto loan. Well I had no choice I was in a tough spot needed a car fast. So we got the best deal we could.
Anyway, now I got all that stuff situated. I'm close to being removed from my brothers credit card finally (any day now). I have very little debt plus I make more money now. Been paying faithfully on this car for a year now. That should help with the "this is your first auto loan" situation and should have improved my credit some and I should be able to get atleast 6,7,8 percent interest. So now I have the luxury of being picky and trying to get a good deal.
Did you go through the dealership for your financing or a bank. Did you shop around at many banks? Did you get an approved letter of credit from a bank at a certain interest rate that you brang with you to negotiate with? So I'm guessing these cars have a built in error reader that tells you of some problems? I had an Intrepid that did that also. The thing is you could trick the engine light by unpluging the battery and then reconnecting it. Then the engine light wouldnt come on for so many miles drive... like a month. So I wonder if theres some way to "check for codes" or "error messages"? On my Intrepid you had to turn the key from off to on (not started) 3 times and then error codes would read out on the digital odometer.
We've settled we want a G6 and we plan on test driving a few soon because we're not sure which one. I really don't want to pay over 10 or 11. Plus I'm trying to get the fair market value for a trade in which I don't plan on saying until after I can get them as low as I can. I'm guessing I should go to a bigger dealership that has room to negotiate rather then a smaller dealership that might not have warranty's and no room to negotiate? I read online that some dealerships will sell the car for what they got it for sometimes just to get cars off the lot. Plus my trade in car is in high demand right now a car sales associate told me since it has alot of features, low miles, and its a compact car... saves lots on gas. And people are naturally buying smaller cars for some reason, supposedly.
But in reality the G6 base model saves more on gas! lol The GT doesnt. So far we want the GT... anyway.. I soooooo appreciate all the help. Thanks!
I'm tempted to buy from a place like this (If the deal is right) but then they probably used the cheapest oil and filters?
"Why trust "name" for your next used vehicle purchase? SIMPLE: -12 month/12,000 mile warranty included with every purchase. -$1.00 oil & filter changes for the LIFETIME of your vehicle. -Every used vehicle at "name" has been through a 112 point safety inspection and has been "name" Certified."
They have a black (which i want) 6cy G6 (not gt) with 14,925 miles for $12,824 it'd be nice to get em down to $10,500 lol. Cause thats nice low miles. What can I possibly say to get them to go lower besides just offer ridiculously low amounts of money and have them say no. Just using this theoretically
"Why trust "name" for your next used vehicle purchase? SIMPLE: -12 month/12,000 mile warranty included with every purchase. -$1.00 oil & filter changes for the LIFETIME of your vehicle. -Every used vehicle at "name" has been through a 112 point safety inspection and has been "name" Certified."
They have a black (which i want) 6cy G6 (not gt) with 14,925 miles for $12,824 it'd be nice to get em down to $10,500 lol. Cause thats nice low miles. What can I possibly say to get them to go lower besides just offer ridiculously low amounts of money and have them say no. Just using this theoretically
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Run a thorough check of it yourself. Look to see if there is a spare tire, all the turn signals work, chips in windshield, rear window, scratches on windows or on body work.. Pull a carfax on it and see if it has been in an accident. Look and see if there is any parts that may have look repainted. Like check in the doorjams and under the hood to see if there is any overspray or two different colors of paint where there could've been potential accident.
Some accidents don't get reported. But may need work.
If you find anything just mention it to them.. Ask them if you can take it to "Your mechanic" even if you don't have one.. Some places have a "inspect to buy" deal they offer. They will look at it for free and check the tire rods, control arms, pads, rotors, and fluids just to see if they will need replacing.
Most of the time like I said they will need replacing. Just go in there open minded and confident and you will be able to walk about with something you want.
Don't offer them $10,500, tell them you have a budget you are trying to stay under and tell them it can vary though if it may be right. Other than that there really isn't much to do just don't feel threatened no matter if they tell you the service they have and there deals how they are soo good this and that.
If its too good to be true, then it probably is. But thats really all i can think of? Good luck, and if there is anything i'll be here.
Some accidents don't get reported. But may need work.
If you find anything just mention it to them.. Ask them if you can take it to "Your mechanic" even if you don't have one.. Some places have a "inspect to buy" deal they offer. They will look at it for free and check the tire rods, control arms, pads, rotors, and fluids just to see if they will need replacing.
Most of the time like I said they will need replacing. Just go in there open minded and confident and you will be able to walk about with something you want.
Don't offer them $10,500, tell them you have a budget you are trying to stay under and tell them it can vary though if it may be right. Other than that there really isn't much to do just don't feel threatened no matter if they tell you the service they have and there deals how they are soo good this and that.
If its too good to be true, then it probably is. But thats really all i can think of? Good luck, and if there is anything i'll be here.
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Most dealerships allow you to take the car to get looked at by a mechanic at your cost before you buy. If you know of a good mechanic have them check it out. They can spell out every detail wrong with it, which in the long run can help you in your negotiating.. its more ammo.
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