Buying a used car in Guadalajara

[El Saltos]

Since we will become permanente soon we needed to dispose of our US car and buy a MX plated car. Our car was 9 years old it was about time to replace it anyway. We sold it to Playaboy. I've already posted about the positive experience we had with him.

We concluded that the right car for us was a a 2012 Toyota Rav4. We went to Dalton Toyota and one of their stores had exactly the car we wanted. Makeing the deal was easy and the price included everything; taxes, license, registration,etc. and a 3 year warranty from Toyota! We did this with no assistance or use of a "facilitator." We found the Dalton staff to be totally professional and the transaction to be minus the the BS one often encounters NOB.

I did some research after we bought the car and determined that we paid at least $2000 maybe even $3000 LESS than we would have paid in Texas or AZ for the same car. I think the myth that used cars in MX cost more than the US is just that, a myth.

I highly recommend Dalton Toyota and all the Dalton dealerships.

[Mainecoons]

Excellent report. Did you find a 6 cyl. RAV4? I'm hoping to find one.

Could you tell us what it cost, how many miles, options like leather, sunroof?

Did they dicker on price at all?

[El Saltos]

2012 Rav4 Sport, V6, leather, sunroof, power everything, 12,100 Km. It was a "Como Nuevo" car. That's a certified pre-owned program from Toyota and it included a 3 year, 130,000 Km warranty. There was a substantial discount for paying cash. Final price is private. YMMV.

[Guest bigd]

I think that most price comparisons, between cars purchased in the US or Mexico would find that almost any auto would be cheaper purchased in the United States. Both new or used

[Mainecoons]

2012 Rav4 Sport, V6, leather, sunroof, power everything, 12,100 Km. It was a "Como Nuevo" car. That's a certified pre-owned program from Toyota and it included a 3 year, 130,000 Km warranty. There was a substantial discount for paying cash. Final price is private. YMMV.

Damn, you just bought the car I'm looking for.

Enjoy!

[El Saltos]

I think that most price comparisons, between cars purchased in the US or Mexico would find that almost any auto would be cheaper purchased in the United States. Both new or used

Well, what you think and what I found are different.

[Mainecoons]

Car price equivalents are very dependent on exchange rate. I should have bought a car when the dollar hit 14 pesos, the cars here were a lot cheaper than U.S.

In Twxas, you pay 7% plus tax on a car, here 16 percent. That accounts for most of the difference and at 12.5 pesos to the dollar, my evaluation is that it is a wash.

The problem I find is that if you want an older car, it is difficult to find one that isn't prematurely aged by the bad roads and topes. This is similar to the problem you have when you buy a car from places like NY because of the road salt and rough roads. Or from Arizona or Texas because of the sun rot.

[RickS]

In Texas, you pay 7% plus tax on a car, here 16 percent.

One can buy 'anywhere' and title their car in South Dakota. Their 'excise' tax is only 3%. Been there done that.

[El Saltos]

Sort of pointless now that owning a NOB plated car is practical only for snowbirds.

[protekme]

The problem I find is that if you want an older car, it is difficult to find one that isn't prematurely aged by the bad roads and topes. This is similar to the problem you have when you buy a car from places like NY because of the road salt and rough roads. Or from Arizona or Texas because of the sun rot.

I found that funny, Maincoons!! Did you ever notice people (especially Mexicans) go over those topes. They make all kinds of gymnastics, going around, side ways, trying to avoid them. I would not be afraid to buy a used car from them. Of course, there are always exceptions . . . but you normally can tell at first glance how they kept their car.

We were also lucky and very satisfied with our second-hand Honda, which was three years old when we bought it.

[Sandrita]

I had a wonderful experience at the Chevy dealership in Guad. I found a 2010 Nissan Sentra automatic with 36,000+ KM. They were great about agreeing to hold the car for me for 6 weeks since I was going to Washington state to sell my Japanese made 2004 Mitsubishi. I sent them a holding deposit and the brought the car down to me in SAT the day after I returned from the states. The salesperson, Juan Carlos, was very professional and all the paperwork was done by them. I am very much enjoying my new "Mexican" baby!

[CSOKI]

If you buy your second hand car from a dealership ,you have some assurance about the condition

of the car .I would not recommend to buy a car privately from a Mexican owner.

They are known for not maintaining their vehicles.

And driving across topes at an angle puts a lot of stress on the frame of the car.

Just an observation.

[privado]

If you buy your second hand car from a dealership ,you have some assurance about the condition

of the car .I would not recommend to buy a car privately from a Mexican owner.

They are known for not maintaining their vehicles.

And driving across topes at an angle puts a lot of stress on the frame of the car.

Just an observation.

Don't know how you come by your information- but Mexican people I know here in the city take very good care of their cars-I have my car serviced at a dealership - I usually have to wait at least 2 days to get an appointment in a huge shop where they have 5 check in windows and I wait in line just to drop my car in the am- My Mexican friends always buy new cars and most come with free service for 1-3 years-

Topes- for the past year - in Zapopan city has been removing topes from side streets, and most major streets never had them --You're living in small pueblos- totally different than traffic in the city

[RVGRINGO]

Newbies are often confused & some stay that way.

[tomgates]

When we bought our used 2005 Rav4 in 2010, the previous owner took it to be serviced at the dealership every 10,000K like clockwork.

[careyeroslib]

I know you asked about Guadalajara, and we just bought in Puerto Vallarta, but this strategy was recommended to me, i.e., try to get one that has been leased. If you have time, you might want to go to the Toyota dealership and ask them to watch out for what you are looking for. We had zero time so we were just lucky. The vehicle we got had just been brought in the day before.

We were able to get a 2010 model of exactly what we had wanted and thought we would have to buy new. . It had been leased to a local business for the full 3 years and that particular dealership had done all its servicing from day 1. The leasee must have used it to drive around some clients. . It had gone only 13,400 km. Chrysler Vallarta did all sorts of work on it before we got it so it looks and drives like new. They also take care of changing the plates over (The vehicle had plates from Nayarit, and we wanted Jalisco plates).

[lakeside7]

Don't know how you come by your information- but Mexican people I know here in the city take very good care of their cars-I have my car serviced at a dealership - I usually have to wait at least 2 days to get an appointment in a huge shop where they have 5 check in windows and I wait in line just to drop my car in the am- My Mexican friends always buy new cars and most come with free service for 1-3 years-

Topes- for the past year - in Zapopan city has been removing topes from side streets, and most major streets never had them --You're living in small pueblos- totally different than traffic in the city

Interesting note ref the "free service for 1-3 years"

[CSOKI]

That is a big difference, new cars. Here at Chapala, a lot of people do not want or can

spend a lot of money on their cars. I live here 21 years and I have seen a lot of cars

that had major problems and the owners were trying to sell them.

Yes, my Mexican friends, middle class and upper middle class, are looking after their

investment and change their cars every few years.

We have our vehicles serviced every 5000 km.

On our SVU we got a 60,000 km free service. We do not drive it often so we will have

another 3 years of free service. The car is a 2008 model.

I bought second hand cars from Mexicans and I fixed them up .When I sold them

the new buyers had nothing to complain about. The cars were in A1 shape.

Confused, I do not thinks so.

[nana]

And driving across topes at an angle puts a lot of stress on the frame of the car.

Just an observation.

I agree with the poster who said that Mexican are careful with those topes. They are practically carrying their car across. I'm sure the stress is not as intensive as the way I go thru those topes. The stress is not only on the frame but on the shocks.

[El Saltos]

When encountering topes the vehicles shocks simple do their job, there's no extra stress. BTW, cars today do not have "frames," they haven't had frames for many years, they're all "uni-body" construction. Certainly hitting topes without slowing does cause extra stress on the vehicle.

[Explorador]

I've been meaning to write a similar "great experience" report about the Vanguardia Automotriz Honda dealers. (See their website for locations, search their inventory of used cars, etc.)

The closest one is on González Gallo. They had about twelve used vehicles for sell when we were there. What stood out there was how clean the service area was. My wife remarked that one could eat off the floor .

The other one is across from the Gallerías. Take the same access road for Costo, etc., Rafeal Sanzio, but instead of making the left turn, go straight just a little further. They had a huge showroom. There could have been one hundred used cars there.

In both locations, the showroom was enclosed, so it was clean and shaded - a big plus. All the makes, models, mileage, and prices were clearly marked. The salespersons were there to help. We didn't experience any "hard sell" tactics at all. We were very impressed.

At Gonzalez Gallo, we spoke Spanish, mostly, without any problems. They found a bilingual mechanic to help once or twice when necessary. We drove several cars, asked about policies, payment, etc.

At Gallerías, Antonio Castellanos met us at the door, but called over Mario García (045-331-241-8378) who spoke excellent English with us. We had gone there on a Sunday and found that due to insurance reasons, there are no test drives on Sunday. Interestingly, they volunteered to bring two cars out to our house the following day for us to drive on familiar roads. They did, we chose one, and bought it. They delivered it freshly cleaned and registered in our name, by the end of the week.

Vanguardía's listed price is the price, as far as we can tell, but they throw in a twelve month extended warranty and the registration and delivery as the "negotiation". We prefer it this way, as we just detest bargaining and trying to guess the real price. By contrast, when we went to Dalton Toyota, the cars were outside in the sun and heat, unmarked, and the price, after inquiry, was written freehand on a slip of paper - not our cup of tea.

José and Mario specifically asked me to spread the word. It seems that one of the local facilitators takes people to their showroom but always works with the same agent. Obviously, they know a lot of us need to buy cars and would like an opportunity to help and earn some commission as well.

If you want to look at used cars, I recommend calling Mario and setting up a time to meet.

[El Saltos]

When we visited Dalton Toyota and enquired about price it was written on a page in my notebook. I then enquired if there was a discount for paying cash and there was a substantial reduction. This was very much "my cup of tea." There was no haggling, just a quick answer.

[valbogyo]

I've been meaning to write a similar "great experience" report about the Vanguardia Automotriz Honda dealers. (See their website for locations, search their inventory of used cars, etc.)

The closest one is on González Gallo. They had about twelve used vehicles for sell when we were there. What stood out there was how clean the service area was. My wife remarked that one could eat off the floor .

The other one is across from the Gallerías. Take the same access road for Costo, etc., Rafeal Sanzio, but instead of making the left turn, go straight just a little further. They had a huge showroom. There could have been one hundred used cars there.

In both locations, the showroom was enclosed, so it was clean and shaded - a big plus. All the makes, models, mileage, and prices were clearly marked. The salespersons were there to help. We didn't experience any "hard sell" tactics at all. We were very impressed.

At Gonzalez Gallo, we spoke Spanish, mostly, without any problems. They found a bilingual mechanic to help once or twice when necessary. We drove several cars, asked about policies, payment, etc.

At Gallerías, José Castellanos met us at the door, but called over Mario García (045-331-241-8378) who spoke excellent English with us. We had gone there on a Sunday and found that due to insurance reasons, there are no test drives on Sunday. Interestingly, they volunteered to bring two cars out to our house the following day for us to drive on familiar roads. They did, we chose one, and bought it. They delivered it freshly cleaned and registered in our name, by the end of the week.

Vanguardía's listed price is the price, as far as we can tell, but they throw in a twelve month extended warranty and the registration and delivery as the "negotiation". We prefer it this way, as we just detest bargaining and trying to guess the real price. By contrast, when we went to Dalton Toyota, the cars were outside in the sun and heat, unmarked, and the price, after inquiry, was written freehand on a slip of paper - not our cup of tea.

José and Mario specifically asked me to spread the word. It seems that one of the local facilitators takes people to their showroom but always works with the same agent. Obviously, they know a lot of us need to buy cars and would like an opportunity to help and earn some commission as well.

If you want to look at used cars, I recommend calling Mario and setting up a time to meet.

I actually bought my car via an agent from Vanguardia on Gonzales Gallo , when they were doing a used car show out here about a year and a half ago. They had a variety of cars and the owner of that dealership, apparently, also owns the Renault dealership. I ended up with my Renault Stepway. I was impressed with everyone I worked with. They did allow me to negotiate a few thousand pesos off the price. I was happy. It was a demo with only a few thousand K on it.

They brought the car here, to San Antonio, with all paper work in order. Very good experience. There was one or two people who spoke English.

Someone should suggest they try doing the used car show again in November. They would probably do a great business.