Kelly Blue Book versus DR price

tommeyers

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Jan 2, 2012
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I live in Santiago
I plan to buy a car in Santiago. I am looking at 2009 year of a US model.

I am looking at that year/model because i am expecting that it will have recently arrived and may have been maintained and repaired in the US.

The US sourced car may also have a Carfax history so I can eliminate salvage vehicles and so I can get a KBB price.

If the car checks out OK then what should I expect on the price relative to kbb?

I checked the offered prices on a few supercarros cars and saw a big difference between kbb and offered price.

This will influence my offer when I go to buy.

Thanks, Tom
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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My friend. The KBB pricing does not apply in the DR. That is for North American pricing. You will pay between 20-30 % more for a used car in the DR. That is primarily due to heavy cost of shipping and import duty when the car first arrives on the island. If you really think you are going to offer what the car would sell for in the US than you will be far off from the asking price. Try to buy a used car from a private individual who has a maintainence history. The procedure to transfer the title and registration to you is also quite different and more involved in the DR. If you are not familiar with this do your homework first. It sounds like you are a little wet behind the ears.
 
Jan 9, 2004
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I plan to buy a car in Santiago. I am looking at 2009 year of a US model.

I am looking at that year/model because i am expecting that it will have recently arrived and may have been maintained and repaired in the US.

The US sourced car may also have a Carfax history so I can eliminate salvage vehicles and so I can get a KBB price.

If the car checks out OK then what should I expect on the price relative to kbb?

I checked the offered prices on a few supercarros cars and saw a big difference between kbb and offered price.

This will influence my offer when I go to buy.

Thanks, Tom

Where to begin here.

For pricing, I prefer NADA and so do most banks and dealers in the US...when they want more accurate valuations. Dealers like to show you KBB when selling uwsed as I find it often times reflects a higher price....and they use it to show you what a good deal you are getting.

I find cars in the DR to be priced about 40-50% above NADA "retail" in the US. This is due to the 18% ITBIS, 17% first placa, shipping, insurance, etc. Dominican dealers receive a slightly discounted price....but not enough to be significant.

As most dealers buy at US auctions...prices vary.....as does condition and miles. If you do not know your cars, then know your dealer. If you do not know your dealer, then know your mechanic. If you do not know any of these...then contact the Gorgon who posts here. We have had numerous exchanges regarding autos....and he has a deep pool of knowledge regarding cars, condition, coverups.

As to what to offer, again car prices are erratic at the auctions. One week all the buyers are chasing Camry's and the prices are bid up. The next week it could be Accords.

For a rule of thumb, I would use NADA wholesale and add 40% to arrive at a "fair" price....but remember.....the cars quality should dictate the final price...not the book.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 
Jan 9, 2004
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I've found the price difference more than that. A 1999 or 2000 Suzuki Vitara can be bought on eBay for $1600 and will cost twice that here from a used car dealer. Maybe the difference is less as one gets to a newer vehicle. But this is whatI have found.

Vagaries of the market perhaps....but you are trying to compare the pricing structure of a 15 year old car and its pricing against a 5 year old car (2009 according to the OP).

Not much demand in the US for a 15 year old vehicle.....but yet still in demand in the DR because of its affordability....supply/demand.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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Where to begin here.

For pricing, I prefer NADA and so do most banks and dealers in the US...when they want more accurate valuations. Dealers like to show you KBB when selling uwsed as I find it often times reflects a higher price....and they use it to show you what a good deal you are getting.

I find cars in the DR to be priced about 40-50% above NADA "retail" in the US. This is due to the 18% ITBIS, 17% first placa, shipping, insurance, etc. Dominican dealers receive a slightly discounted price....but not enough to be significant.

As most dealers buy at US auctions...prices vary.....as does condition and miles. If you do not know your cars, then know your dealer. If you do not know your dealer, then know your mechanic. If you do not know any of these...then contact the Gorgon who posts here. We have had numerous exchanges regarding autos....and he has a deep pool of knowledge regarding cars, condition, coverups.

As to what to offer, again car prices are erratic at the auctions. One week all the buyers are chasing Camry's and the prices are bid up. The next week it could be Accords.

For a rule of thumb, I would use NADA wholesale and add 40% to arrive at a "fair" price....but remember.....the cars quality should dictate the final price...not the book.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

great of you to mention that KBB is not really an accurate representation of used car values, and is just a dealer tool. the state of NY, for example, uses the average of the NADA yellow book and the Red Book for insurance purposes, in order to ascertain actual cash value. that is a part of Regulation 64. KBB is not admissible by many states.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
If you buy a car with a cost of 50,000 US dollars, and pay 1,000 US to ship it here, that's 2% for shipping.
If yo buy a car at $10,000 US, you still pay $1,000 for shipping, and THAT's 10%.
Do SOME MATH "LT" !!!!!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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one thing to bear in mind when inspecting a car at a dealer here is that most come from auctions, as Playacaribe stated. they are mostly off-lease cars, and as such, will be cosmetically beautiful, because a clause in the lease importunes you to bring them back free of imperfections, or they will hammer you for the repair costs. what the look of the car cannot tell you is how the car was used, and maintained. if you look at a 2WD car, or regualr SUV (not full time 4WD) , and it has a tow hitch, the operator put it there. what was he hauling? how often? how much did it weigh? how much of an incline did he have to navigate?

then you want to know where he used the car. did it come from Buffalo, where it had to deal with snow and salt 5 months of the year? did it come from the humid and rainy Pacific Northwest, and how are the muffler system and the cat? he might have kept it nice and shiny, but how are the brake discs?

why does it say 60,000 miles, yet you can see the iron structure through the brake pad?
 

zoomzx11

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Jan 21, 2006
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the vast majority of used cars sold by dealers are bought at US auctions, have hi miles and rolled back odometers. Car fax ends as the car enters the DR. I have had good luck buying from gringos. They change the oil. Due to modern engine oils and drive train design cars run many more miles than in the past, IF, they are maintained. Dominicans do not do anything except drive the hell out of a car until it quits then fix it as cheaply as possible to get it going. Do not just consider price. Factor in the amount of miles the car has been driven in the Dominican Republic. One DR mile equals three US miles is a good rule of thumb. Ever notice the roads and driving style here. A freshened up high miles US import can be a good car with lots of service life.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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the vast majority of used cars sold by dealers are bought at US auctions, have hi miles and rolled back odometers. Car fax ends as the car enters the DR. I have had good luck buying from gringos. They change the oil. Due to modern engine oils and drive train design cars run many more miles than in the past, IF, they are maintained. Dominicans do not do anything except drive the hell out of a car until it quits then fix it as cheaply as possible to get it going. Do not just consider price. Factor in the amount of miles the car has been driven in the Dominican Republic. One DR mile equals three US miles is a good rule of thumb. Ever notice the roads and driving style here. A freshened up high miles US import can be a good car with lots of service life.

you are right. besides, even when a local guy changes his oil, it is something sold in an ex-Brugal bottle. it does not have 1/10 the viscosity index or temperature stability of the normal Pennzoil or CAM2 you get in Walmart for 1.99.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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another quick note; what the heck is it with guys here using 20W50 oil in every darn car? there is a reason the new cars specify 10W30, or, for places like Minnesota, 5W30. new cars should not be run with 50 weight oil. jeez..
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
Several years ago I went to look at a guy who had 3 Toyota Carollas for sale.
Beautiful cars, each about 5 years old.
All low mileage, about 60,000 each.
EXCEPT, he forgot to remove the "Jiffy Lube" sticker from the wind shield of one of them.
The ONE that reminded the owner that the next oil change was due in 3 months, OR, 290,000 MILES!!!!!!!!!!
9 years ago, after hurricane "Katrina", the DR was "FLOODED",, (Great PUN, NO?) with water damaged cars.
And again after "SANDY"!
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I have had good luck purchasing used "One Owner" cars from really rich Dominicans that I know.
I bought a "Hyundai" from a rich lawyer, he had 5 vehicles in his driveway!
He even did the change of title "Paper Work" for FREE!

ps.,....I used "20W50" motor oil in a Ford Aerostar van I had.
It always ran HOT, maybe because it had two a/c unit inside???,
so I wanted the "THICK STUFF"!
Seemed to work OK to me!
 
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william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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that's the way I like to do it....

mine was RD car --- 9800 miles and 6 months warranty left on it...

Dominican owned and service records from Sto Domingo Motors to back it up
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
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Several years ago I went to look at a guy who had 3 Toyota Carollas for sale.
Beautiful cars, each about 5 years old.
All low mileage, about 60,000 each.
EXCEPT, he forgot to remove the "Jiffy Lube" sticker from the wind shield of one of them.
The ONE that reminded the owner that the next oil change was due in 3 months, OR, 290,000 MILES!!!!!!!!!!
9 years ago, after hurricane "Katrina", the DR was "FLOODED",, (Great PUN, NO?) with water damaged cars.
And again after "SANDY"!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

I have had good luck purchasing used "One Owner" cars from really rich Dominicans that I know.
I bought a "Hyundai" from a rich lawyer, he had 5 vehicles in his driveway!
He even did the change of title "Paper Work" for FREE!

ps.,....I used "20W50" motor oil in a Ford Aerostar van I had.
It always ran HOT, maybe because it had two a/c unit inside???,
so I wanted the "THICK STUFF"!
Seemed to work OK to me!

it did not run hot because you had two ac systems. the cooling system capacity is designed for that load. something else was wrong, and high viscosity oil cannot fix that. you are lucky that it did not break when you had it, since heat related breaks are catastrophic.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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You can find good cars here, but most likely not at a dealer unless you want a spendy nearly-new cage.

It takes patience, investigative skills, a CarFax account and knowledge of machines. Once located, you need a good "street" mechanic who knows the "Dominican" way of car importation engineering...
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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I am told that car built for export and imported to RD , in addition to forgoing the Cat Convertor , also have heavier duty cooling systems...

maybe not, but I was told that.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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I am told that car built for export and imported to RD , in addition to forgoing the Cat Convertor , also have heavier duty cooling systems...

maybe not, but I was told that.

cars made for third world markets do not usually have cats, they do have heavier duty cooling systems, and the front bumper assembly is different. that is why the front end cosmetics of a US car and a car for the third world countries are different. they use a different front fascia, because energy absorbers are not mandatory on the cars built for the developing countries.
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
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If you buy a car with a cost of 50,000 US dollars, and pay 1,000 US to ship it here, that's 2% for shipping.
If yo buy a car at $10,000 US, you still pay $1,000 for shipping, and THAT's 10%.
Do SOME MATH "LT" !!!!!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Chris I referred to shipping costs and IMPORT duty. Maybe if you understood the whole comment and didn't pick and choose what you want to respond to than you would get the point. If the car was a $50,000 when it was imported the duty would be much higher than on a $10000 car. This drives up the cost when it is than sold as used. P.S. Why are most of your comments of a negative or childish response. Perhaps you could be helpful if you would try to keep your ego in check. I guess we're just not as sharp as you. Now respond, as usual, with your rapier wit or perhaps a slur of some type.
 
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Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
Just an unhappy post from a guy who "Couldn't Take Life" here in the DR and ran back "HOME"!!!!!!!
And still gives advice about how to survive in the DR!
"WTF"???????
How's THAT??????
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