New Car Negotiation?

[Shantytownbrown]

I posted not too long ago that my current ride is about 3 ft under ( I had promised my self to "drive it into the ground")

I have made the decision to get a new car...!

I think I have decided what I like/want...now to get it...

Its been 11 years since I bought a new car and it seems the "game" has changed a bit with all the pricing info on the net...

So..how do you "Get the best price" and not get taken by the car sales folks...is there inside information out there? Every penny counts in this economy!

This is info that I think all men should know, but sadly, I am lacking some...I know I can get a decent price, but the "best deal"??

So, any advice?

 

[cb91710]

The game hasn't changed much... you just have better information available.
Markups and dealer holdback haven't changed.
Salesmen still try to sell based on the monthly that you "can afford" rather than the OTD cost.

 

[shavious]

Cb is right. You'll want to research how much the car you're purchasing is selling for. Specifically, you want the full price of the vehicle-NOT the monthly number. The important thing is to know what a good deal is and be willing to walk if the dealer won't do it. You can very easily shoot emails to several dealers and have them compete on price for your business.

 

[Mojo88]

It depends mostly on the dealer as far as being able to negotiate the best price. If it is a no haggle dealership and most of all dealerships are now, the best price is on the car window invoice . My son was in the market for a new car and he walked away as the payment didn't fit his budget, the car sold that next day for the full asking price. If you are looking at a popular car there may not be many in stock and this even decreases the chance of getting a slightly better deal. The main thing to remember is not to fall in love with the car, be willing to walk away. There is endless info on line,use it to your advantage and you will get the best deal.

 

[dola301]

Buy a book, "Getting to Yes" about 15 or less. It is a quick read and will give you the sales tactics of car salesmen (good for negoiating anything) and how to counter offer and handletheir tactics. I have read and reread many times for over20 years. I reread just before uying a car EVRERYTIME. It is a quick read.

 

[Shantytownbrown]

On Friday night I priced the car out on Edmunds, Cars.com and KBB, the "fair asking price" was "X"...I sent to one dealership (call it A) for their "ePrice" (new gimick??)...while I was test driving at dealership (call it B) I got the email response form "A"...


List Price.....X + $5000
internet research..."fair price"...X
email from dealership A.... X - $2000 (included the sticker of the car, it compares equally in options to the car at dealer B)

So, It seems that the info on the internet is not the absolute lowest, but is the first offer from dealer A the lowest? or can I save a couple thousand more?

End of the month is coming, do they still need to "make quota"? If so I imagine they are willing to deal more...???

Nobody around here open on Sunday...

 

[Head Rigger]

Cb is right. You'll want to research how much the car you're purchasing is selling for. Specifically, you want the full price of the vehicle-NOT the monthly number. The important thing is to know what a good deal is and be willing to walk if the dealer won't do it. You can very easily shoot emails to several dealers and have them compete on price for your business.

+1

I would also suggest you consider buying a 2 year old trade in or turn in from lease. Most of the respected financial advisers recommend this practice since the largest depreciation on a car occurs in the first 2 years. Also, keep your options open and don't get fixated on a particular car. I haven't bought a "new" car in 20 years and haven't had a problem yet.

 

[Mick]

Are you financing or paying cash? If you are paying cash get it financed as they get additional money for this type of sale so you will get a lower price. Just make sure that there is no early payoff clause in the agreement.

go in the day before the last day of the month. Then leave. Come back in the last day of the month and you will find the lowest lowest they will sell for. If you don't feel it is the lowest just say, maybe I'll think about it a couple of days and get up.

It's all a game.

 

[Shantytownbrown]

+1

I would also suggest you consider buying a 2 year old trade in or turn in from lease. Most of the respected financial advisers recommend this practice since the largest depreciation on a car occurs in the first 2 years. Also, keep your options open and don't get fixated on a particular car. I haven't bought a "new" car in 20 years and haven't had a problem yet.

Agreed, but we dont like the older style of the car we want...the new "editions" drive nicer, and have the "look" we like, plus better features...and we live in the Northeast, where it (due to the horrible winters we have had) sometimes is hard to find a used car in decent shape.

 

[Mick]

.and we live in the Northeast, where it (due to the horrible winters we have had) sometimes is hard to find a used car in decent shape.

We buy all of our used cars in Arizona, New Mexico, or Florida. The last two were Florida cars from older retired people who bought them new and maintained them. One was a 1998 Volvo V-90 wagon, last year of their rear wheel drive cars with the Porsche DOHC engine and IRS. Had 28k miles on it and was garage kept. Looked and smelled like it just rolled off the show room floor. They are out there if you look and are willing to travel to get what you want. The problem we have with buying older nice cars is we need to also have a "snow sled" to drive in winter so that the cream puffs stay in that condition for our summer highway traveling

 

[Shantytownbrown]

We buy all of our used cars in Arizona, New Mexico, or Florida. The last two were Florida cars from older retired people who bought them new and maintained them. One was a 1998 Volvo V-90 wagon, last year of their rear wheel drive cars with the Porsche DOHC engine and IRS. Had 28k miles on it and was garage kept. Looked and smelled like it just rolled off the show room floor. They are out there if you look and are willing to travel to get what you want. The problem we have with buying older nice cars is we need to also have a "snow sled" to drive in winter so that the cream puffs stay in that condition for our summer highway traveling

wishing i could afford an extra car just for snow...not gonna happen...

 

[cb91710]

List Price.....X + $5000
internet research..."fair price"...X
email from dealership A.... X - $2000
So, It seems that the info on the internet is not the absolute lowest, but is the first offer from dealer A the lowest? or can I save a couple thousand more?

I'd say $7,000 off of list is pretty damned good, unless we're talking about a car that is well over $60k (and I would guess not given your comment about not being able to afford a "snow" car).

End of the month is coming, do they still need to "make quota"? If so I imagine they are willing to deal more...???

Not so much quota as how hungry the salesmen are. This is tax refund season, and makers are beginning to introduced their 2014 models. It works for and against you. The new models won't be available until fall, but the dealerships are wanting to clean out inventory, but with a lot of people "flush" with cash for down payments from tax refunds, you are in a competitive "seller's" market right now and, as mentioned above, walk away from a "bad" deal and the next day it will sell at full list.

Closest thing to a "quota" would be if the dealer's average inventory is more than 30 days old.
Dealer holdback covers the dealer's financing cost for 90 days. Once a car has been on the lot for more than 90 days, it is costing the dealer cash every month to have it sitting there.
Flip side, if the car has been on the lot less than 30 days, then he pays no finance charges and the holdback is pure profit for him.
As inventory ages, the dealership is going to be pushing the staff harder to move it.

Also, if you can find a salesman who is not "hungry", you may be able to get a better deal, as the salesman's commission is also something that can be used to lower your price.
A buddy bought a car a few years ago, and the deal seemed to be "too good". In chatting with the salesman, he admitted that he personally wasn't making any money on the deal because he had dumped his commission into the price, but he didn't care, because the day before he had sold four Windstar minivans at full sticker, and he really wanted to get this small station wagon off of the lot.

 

[JoshuaNY]

We have a lot more power as buyers these days. Much more info on the internet. As you have seen, Edmunds is a good resource IMO.
Once I new what I wanted, I did most of my negotiating via email. I emailed several dealers in the area for a quote. If dealer A was better then Dealer B, I then told Dealer B what Dealer A was offering and said they would get my business if they could beat it. Only after I got the online quote I thougth was fair and I could afford I went to the dealer.

Worked out great, took me a few days of emails and a few hours at a dealership and drove my car home that day. I got the best price I think I could have gotten in the area and only walked in the dealership twice. Once for a test drive and second to buy.

As always it helps to not be completely closed minded on color, options etc to get the best deal.

Not that I have a lot of experience with buying cars. I think that the game has changed and a lot of dealers are going for a customer loyalty instead of "don't let them get out alive" mentality these days. I am sure the high pressure salesman still exists, but I said to myself before going in to it, if I met one of them I would walk out.

 

[Amer]

I bought my last car at a no haggle dealer, but my dad always deals with the online sales managers. These dealer's webpages get a lot more traffic than in store, so the online managers get more opportunities at sales. Usually they give you a better deal than the guy on the floor because they can usually sell more inventory due to amount of web leads.

 

[bakerbarber]

Everything I know, I learned from 80's sitcoms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKMlx5p6n8k&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[mretzloff]

Everything I know, I learned from 80's sitcoms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKMlx5p6n8k&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[Shantytownbrown]

I remembered that too while i was there...!! made sure i "dressed the part" too...

I certainly think i got a decent deal, tho in the back of my head I think i could have gotten MAYBE another $1000 less...maybe...

 

[COHunter]

I recently bought a brand new truck and I honestly have to say it was the easiest, most painless experience I've had yet. Little backstory, I had a 2004 F250 that I blew the transmission in. Truck was paid off, new transmission was about $5k, and I also knew I probably had an injector or 4 that was shot (6.0 diesel, never again...) so yeah having no payment was great, having to dump in somewhere around $7500 in one shot wasn't gonna happen.

I looked at the inventory of the dealership that my crippled truck was in (broke down a block away) on Autotrader. Found 3 trucks that I liked and showed up to the dealer with printout in hand, pointed to the 1st choice and they had it in stock. List on the window was ~$37,500. Internet price was ~$31,200. This was at a "no haggle" dealership and I felt I got a great deal and it was just a matter of getting the paperwork signed. Without the printout there was no way I was going to argue down $6k.

I'll go against the grain a bit and suggest a new car, I haven't had banner luck with used vehicles and frankly by the time you tack on buying an extended warranty to a used vehicle you may well be playing in the same sandbox final price wise as a brand new one with the factory warranty.

 

[JoshuaNY]

That cosby episode was Sinbads finest acting moment.

 

[lwt210]

Last one that I bought took four and a half hours to negotiate the deal.

I got up twice to walk out.

Eventually got zero percent financing, a good chunk knocked off the sticker, and triple what they originally offered on the trade. I am sure that they still made money but nearly as much as if I had just took the first offer.

2010 Mazda 6. Has been one of the best cars I have ever owned.

Regards.