I am planning on buying a used Subaru Outback, (06-09),from a dealer. I have read a lot of your site and found it very helpful. What I'm wondering is this; If you ask to see the dealers invoice when buying a new car (and offer a certain amount over that), why don't you ask to see how much the dealer paid for the trade-in that you're looking at and negotiate from there? Wouldn't that be a legitimate starting point?
Thanks.

Your question put a smile on my face, good point, with new cars it's a an easy game to show invoice dealer cost without showing actual dealer incentives.

Without going into detail as to why it's not a good idea with used cars, let's do this, find the Outback you're considering to purchase and send me a link, and I will check it for red flags along with what I consider fair market value.

Okay, Ray. I'll get back to you. This purchase will be happening sometime in May. Hope this isn't another goofy question, but, buying a used car is like buying a mattress. It's impossible to comparison shop. The names aren't the same, the vast list of add-ons aren't the same....much less the conditions. How can you ever compare apples to apples at one dealership much less two or three? Can you give me just a small reason why asking the price they paid is such a bad idea? Thanks.

I am sure you come across many products advertised at mfg cost, vehicle's just happened to be a major player with this type of advertising, but buying used ?, to me that becomes what someone is asking and what someone figure it's worth, and that comes with study.

RE, buying a used car is like buying a mattress, yer thats true when buying a used mattress I am sure you will bounce on it to make sure the springs perform to your expectations, lol, it's like test driving a car and knowing how it's supposed to feel becomes the main issue.

RE, comparing apples to apples, yes, dealers in your area may have the same type vehicle and mileage for sale being but a few hundered dollars apart, it's now a question of how knowledgeable you become to seperate the two, you may even encounter same type vehicle asking price being a few thousand less, hmmm, I wonder why ?

Tell me something,,, when you go shopping for shoes or designer jeans, do you think asking for invoice cost is fair game ?

Yikes. That crack about shoes and designer jeans! I'm done.