FAQs

Want to know everything we know about the car? Or how we work? See below!

KNOWN ISSUES WITH OUR CARS: https://www.starfire-auto.com/issues

WHATS THE OTD PRICE: https://www.starfire-auto.com/otd

DO YOU FINANCE?: https://www.starfire-auto.com/finance

CAN I SEE MORE PICS: https://www.starfire-auto.com/pics

OUT OF AREA BUYERS: https://www.starfire-auto.com/shipping

MORE STUFF DETAILED BELOW: 

Quick Jump:

0) What is this crazy last stop policy?
1) Are you a normal dealer? 
2) Are you by appointment? Can I browse your cars in person?
3) Are your cars in perfect condition?
4) Can I see the Carfax? 
5) How do you price your vehicles?
6) Is the price negotiable?
7) Why dont you negotiate?
8) Do you offer any financing?
9) Do you accept credit cards?
10) Do you offer any warranties?
11) Can I have the car inspected at a mechanic? 
12) Where do you get your cars?
13) What kind of cars do you sell?
14) Can you take my car on a trade?
15) Can you ship out of state?
16) Whats the OTD price?
17) Can I see more pictures?
16) More questions? 

 

Q: When making an appointment, I read that I cant go home and think about it, I have to decide when I come, that is crazy. Why? 

A: Yes, we know it is weird. We get it. We are not for everyone. We are not a normal dealer. There are tons of dealers out there that will gladly spend all day with you, letting you try different cars, come back tomorrow, "think about it" etc. We just don't do that. We don't do any of that. We know the policy seems totally strange, but we have been doing this for a LONG TIME and it helps keep us sane! This is a tough industry. Just as much as people hate buying cars for fear of buying a lemon, dealers have to deal with time-wasters ALL THE TIME. All we are trying to do is narrow down the buyer who really needs a car "today". Some people like to browse, see 10 cars, sleep on it, then decide a few weeks later. We are just not that place. We want to sell cars to the buyer who is informed, knows for the most part what they want, and has the funds ready to go. You don't have to decide RIGHT NOW, you're welcome to go get coffee, chat with whoever, etc, so long as you decide within a few hours we are good. We are ZERO pressure. If you don't like the car, walk away no problem!

Will we lose some folks who don't agree with all this? Sure. Does ARCO lose business because they dont take credit cards? Sure. We all have policies that make sense for us. This is ours. The thousands of customers that DO understand, are rewarded with a super efficient process unlike any other dealer. 

Q: Are you a normal dealer? 

A: Yes, and no!  The above paragraph makes us unique already. We are a fully licensed and bonded California dealer. We have been in business for 15+ years. We lack the high pressure sales and dealership "lot". We prefer to work one on one, by appointment. No sales people, no lot, no pressure. We are entirely web based, so you cant "walk the lot" ..you would browse our inventory online and make an appointment on our website! We just ask that you be ready to make a purchase decision should the car live up to our description (come see us at the end of your shopping journey, NOT THE BEGINNING)! We call this "ready and able" This means you're ready to make a decision and financially able to do so at the appointment time. Here are some pictures of our office:



Q: Are you by appointment? Can I browse your cars in person?

A: Yes, WE ARE BY APPOINTMENT ONLY! We have a limited staff handling 150-200+ cars in inventory. YOU CAN SEE UP TO 3 CARS AT YOUR APPOINTMENT TIME, ONCE WE DISCUSS YOUR SELECTIONS VIA TEXT WHEN YOU MAKE AN APPT. We wash and prepare EACH CAR for an appointment. We cannot show a car without an appointment so please don't just drop by, you will need to make an appointment on our website at the top right corner. Please be ready to make a purchase at or near the appointment time. If you have other cars to see, are just browsing, etc please make us your last stop. Basically, we are not set up for window shopping! You might not like our car (which is perfectly fine!) but please don't come alone to your appointment and be at the start of your car purchase journey. We are looking for the client who has decided (within reason) that they want one of our cars and are ready to buy now! Your consideration in this matter is appreciated! 

Q: Are your cars in perfect condition? 

A: No such thing. We are a used car dealer selling used cars! We wont sugar coat anything, and are known to be pretty blunt when it comes to the condition so we don't waste each other's time. Bear in mind something though: scratches, dings, scrapes and such are ALL things that can be made right again. We don't begrudge a car these cosmetic issues, what we DO look for is maintenance history, mechanical condition, ownership history, location history, etc. We have seen a car that LOOKS flawless, but spent its entire life in Michigan and has a completely rusted frame. Would you buy that car? We wouldn't! 

Q: Can I see the Carfax? 

A: All the Carfax reports are free and linked all over the place on our website. Click the Carfax or "1OWNER" logo to go to the free Carfax Report.

Q: How do you price your vehicles?

A: According to the market. We have been doing this a long time and know what we can sell the car for. We generally ignore Kelly Blue Book and other guides as our older inventory DOES NOT REFLECT ACCURATELY on those websites which are more geared towards cars 7 years old and newer. Ask us for more details and we can explain why this is the case. But generally speaking, we have built a solid reputation of taking care of our customers, even when something breaks soon after purchase. We have all the knowledge and tools to get the problem fixed. You can rest assured that the DMV paperwork will be done on time, the car wont be unsafe, and that you are not being scammed in a market filled with lower quality dealers. Even if our car is priced a few dollars more than Craigslist or some dealer in the Valley, we feel all of the above makes our car more than worth it. We support you long after the sale. We only inventory cars that we would sell to our own friends and family.

Q: Is the price negotiable?

A: Nope! WE ARE USUALLY VERY FIRM ON PRICING. We don't use Kelly Bluebook or NADA/Edmunds to value our cars. These resources are only a GUIDE, but not always a reliable one. There are many reasons for this which we can explain by email, but basically we have been doing this a long time and we use market values as they exist. We know what the cars are worth, what we can sell them for, and they are priced accordingly. We have been around for over a decade because we are prompt on our paperwork, we handle all the DMV stuff for you, and we do our best to sell decent cars. That usually has value to some buyers, while others will roll the dice and take a chance on Craigslist. 

Q: I've never heard of a dealer that doesn't negotiate. Why don't you? 

A: Yes you have! AutoNation, Carmax, MDK Int'l (a close professional partner of ours), and many other stores have adopted this policy. At the end of the day, we believe we have QUALITY cars. This does not mean they are scratch and ding free, but they are held to a higher standard. The lesser quality dealers that sell cheaper cars may seem good on paper (clean Carfax, etc), but we see 2000+ cars a month and only about 25 make the cut as to what we can and will carry in our inventory. Even bigger "new car stores" will sell cars that have tons of rust underneath, amongst other questionable tactics that we avoid. The old idiom stays true, you get what you pay for! 
 

Q: Do you offer any financing?

A: Yes and no. We refer you to some local credit unions and online banks. But..our cars are rather difficult to finance due to age and miles. We dont "finance anyone". There are plenty of dealers that do that kind of financing at high APR but we are not one of them. More than 87% of our transactions are cash or check because of the age and miles on our cars that makes financing difficult. As such, a financing pre-approval is needed before your appointment if you intend to finance. Keep in mind, even with a 800 credit score, you will be denied for financing unless you have a decent down, an income of $1900+ monthly or if the car is too old/160+k miles. 

You can also use your own financing thru your bank/CU. Credit Unions such as Logix will not allow purchases from Independent Dealers such as us. Please ask your credit union for their policies before hand! You can always finance with our bank, and then refi with your credit union if you choose. This usually is the best compromise! Talk to your bank and give them the details on our car and ask them if they will do it if you want to go this route. 

Q: How can I pay, do you accept credit cards?

A: Yes, with limits. You can swipe up to $5000 max. You will need ~35% of the balance due in Zelle or certified check, so you cant swipe the whole amount. There is a 3.5% additional cost to the amount charged. The card holder must be present and have valid government ID present (must look like the picture too!). ** YOU CANNOT USE THE CREDIT CARD FOR THE DOWN PAYMENT ON A LOAN **  

Q: Do you offer any warranties?

A: Yes, but most of the time they dont make much sense. Our average price is around $5000. The warranty for such a car runs around $80 per month of coverage. These warranties usually only cover total disasters and not every component. You can buy a 3 month warranty for $~300 if you still want the peace of mind. Unfortunately due to the nature of these cars, even if we are good and right 95% of the time, that means that 5% of our buyers will have issues as early as the way home. This is just the nature of used cars. Once you drive away, the vehicle is AS-IS WITH ALL FAULTS. We have had people put diesel in a gas car and then call us when it blew up minutes later. We have dozens of other examples, but the short version is...once you drive away, you are on your own. Buy the warranty, take the riisk, or call your mechanic, but please dont be mad at us. You are the 5%. 

Q: Can I have the car inspected at a mechanic? 

A: Yes, with 2 "buts" and a comment
        1) The mechanic has to be a mobile mechanic/inspector that you send to our office either before or during your appointment. The car cannot leave our lot. These are rules set by our insurance. There are plenty of these services around that you can shop for. 
       2) Be realistic with your expectations. These are USED car and the associated parts will be...well..USED. This means if the car has 100+k miles, expect, without any doubt, that SOME suspension component will be worn, some minor boot will be torn, and some gasket somewhere will be seeping. We have seen a shop recommend new axles on a Volvo for $860 (true cost about $250), the Audi dealer quoted front brakes which were needed within the next year on a TT to the tune of $742 (we found the customer a shop locally that did it for $200), the list goes on. We just ask that you be reasonable and don't expect a $0.00 recommended list from the mechanic, because quite simply that doesnt exist. Also, regardless of what the mechanic tells you, the price of the car wont change. Some people want to negotiate  using the results of the inspection but we just don't have the budget to do so. 
   Comment: Some repair shops charge crazy prices and try to take advange of people (IN OUR OPINION). There certainly are good and affordable ones, but after so many years, we have seen so many shops overcharge customers ( again in our opinion). A fine example is below. A Firestone wanted to charge a customer $598 for 2 axles on a 1997 Civic. In our opinion this is highway robbery. We can get the job done, with brand new parts w/ a 10 year warranty, for less than $215, basically ~36% of the original quote. This is just one example of DOZENS as to why most shops' "recommendations" are sometimes non sensical and should be taken w/ caution and research. 

Q: Where do you get your cars?

A: We obtain our inventory from 5 different sources: 1. Credit union trade ins 2. New Car Stores 3. Local Trade-in's at our store. 4. Local Private Party cars sold directly to us, 5 Local Auto Auctions. Every single car we get is a TRADE IN one way or the other. We dont buy problem cars / fix them / sell them. That is NOT the business model we have. 

Q: What kind of cars do you sell?

A:

Q: Can you take my car on a trade?

A: Trade in are always welcome. Please visit our TRADE IN link at the top of the page for more details! We are not aggressive on 2010+ cars and usually recommend you see what Carmax will offer as 2010+ is just not our strong suit. 

Q: Can you ship out of state? I want to export / I am out of the area / etc.

A: We can help you with that. Please CLICK HERE to get a ton more details on shipping/exporting/out of area info!

 

Q: Whats the OTD price?
A: We have a whole page dedicated to this. Please CLICK HERE

 

Q: Can I see more pics? 
A: We have a whole page dedicated to this. Please CLICK HERE
 
Q: More questions?
A: Text us at 661-463-3663 for the fastest reply