Best way to negotiate price on a new car

[Aces]

I just posted this in another thread but I thought I'd create a new one, there is some good info in here. I'm sure there are other threads on this topic but this process worked very well for me and I don't think I could have bought a vehicle any cheaper. Some of this was borrowed from www.fool.com but I updated it somewhat:

Best way to buy a new car:

• Test drive locally to find the exact car you want. Once you pick a car decide on exactly what options you want and what colors you will accept.
  
  Find the invoice price, any applicable rebates, and what % back the dealer gets back(if any) from mfr for that particular model(there's a word for that but it escapes me now). I think kbb.com has the info but it's available on several sites.
  
  Most dealerships now have an internet manager or something similar. You can probably find this on the manufacturer's web site. Find all dealerships within your area that you can drive to. Contact all dealerships within a comfortable driving distance(200 miles for me) and ask for a quote for the car with all specifics. Make sure they give you the final price including all fees, charges and taxes. Get line item details on each option and ask them to supply invoice price and sale price. Doing this you should be able to find the invoice price on non-factory options that may not be available anywhere else. Also ask about finance options.
  
  Once you have all quotes, take the lowest 5 quotes(or however many you want). Taking the highest of those quotes, work up the list and ask them to beat your top price. Repeat this as many times as necessary. Once you have your rock bottom price, call the dealer you test drove at and see if they will match/beat the price. They won't because they have to pay an extra layer of commision. You now have your best price. Have them fax you a signed offer sheet(or whatever they call it) so you have it in writing. Make sure all figures match their quote and there are no extras charges or fees.
  
  Find best financing available outside the dealership. If your winning bidder will match or beat it, by all means use it but don't be roped into using their financing without looking at all your options.

Misc notes:

• This will work best on widely available models. Special orders or hot selling or new models...not so much.
  
  IMO it's much easier to handle everything but the test drive/evaluation on the phone/outside the dealership. These guys are trained to sell you stuff whether you need/want it or not. Don't give them the chance.
  
  It also doesn't make sense to spend tens of thousands of dollars on something without comparing prices. Don't buy a car without looking at several dealerships. As mentioned above, the dealership you test drive at will almost always NOT be able to give you the best price because they have to pay commision to a salesman.
  
  I used this method to buy a Honda CRV. I looked at about 10 dealerships in the area. The best price was 75 miles away and saved me four figures. You can get warantee service anywhere so the location you buy the vehicle at is irrelevant.

[boost]

you: how much?

car salesman: $XX,XXX

you: nigga plz!

[Miffed22001]

figure out how much they are selling it at.
Walk in with a little less in cash and tell em you only have that much and if they dont sell it to you, you will go elsewhere.

sorted'

[sauce123]

least baller thread ever?

[sauce123]

Best way to save money on a car:

Read this thread, consider how many hours it would take to do all of this busy work and then make five figures taking shots at 25/50. Repeat until +100k and buy porsch with FPPs.

[sauce123]

tho in all fairness this is very useful, relevant information lol

[Aces]

tho in all fairness this is very useful, relevant information lol

Most people I know don't negotiate nearly enough or compare prices at different dealers so for those it might be of interest. All I can say is it does work, it ain't rocket science, and it doesn't take that long. If making a few phone calls is not worth saving at minimum hundreds of dollars than I guess I'm def not baller. Damn.

Thanks for the replies though

[a500lbgorilla]

There's so much to reaaaad. My cousin sells cars and "neogtiated" for my brother and mother's new cars. But he summed it up as saying all he had to do was tell them to offer the something book cost.

[drmcboy]

magenta book cost

[a500lbgorilla]

cyan book is cheaper for SUVs

[AHiltz]

Honda and Toyota in Nova Scotia will basically not haggle at all. Honda's sell themselves and Toyota has priced their cars at a level where it's fair to all buyers.

When the dealer told me Honda's sell themselves, I told him, "Well I guess this one didn't" and walked away.

Your bigest leverage is in the hidden fees. There is a local Nissan dealer that tags on close to $1000 in hidden fees. Find out what they are and don't allow them to be added on.

[Miffed22001]

isnt paying a bum off the street to steal it a much cheaper/balla option?

[a500lbgorilla]

isnt paying a bum off the street to steal it a much cheaper/balla option?

Paying 2 bums to try and steal a car faster is mo ballin

[Aces]

isnt paying a bum off the street to steal it a much cheaper/balla option?

You got me there...

[kingnat]

I think this is great info... thanks for the post Aces.

I think I get nickel and dimed (well... $10-100'd) on most purchases I make. A quick inter-google search for discounts, codes, or coupons is always well worth it for us micro-stakes players...

One thing that worked well for my wife and I buying our last car was when we finally got a final price that we thought was acceptable but before we signed, we started nickel and dime'ing the dealership... We told them that the price looked good, but that we were a little disappointed in some of the features in the car... we got them to put in a key-less entry system that wasn't standard, upgraded the floormats from the crappy rubber ones, and got 5 free oil changes.

It's not much but don't be afraid to squeeze 'em at the end.

[Aces]

One thing that worked well for my wife and I buying our last car was when we finally got a final price that we thought was acceptable but before we signed, we started nickel and dime'ing the dealership... We told them that the price looked good, but that we were a little disappointed in some of the features in the car... we got them to put in a key-less entry system that wasn't standard, upgraded the floormats from the crappy rubber ones, and got 5 free oil changes.

wp. Don't think I could have gotten any other goodies with the price I received but I should've at least asked. Next time.

[Silly String]

isnt paying a bum off the street to steal it a much cheaper/balla option?

Federal Pound me in the Ass prison, sooooo not balla!!

[Fnord]

A Plan Papers FTW!

[CRUSHER]

Most people I know don't negotiate nearly enough or compare prices at different dealers so for those it might be of interest. All I can say is it does work, it ain't rocket science, and it doesn't take that long.

Dude, you are absolutely correct in your detailed advice. We did essentially the same thing when we bought our new car. It absolutely works and, like Aces said, much of it can be done through research on the internet and then phoning the dealer.

A slightly similar, but perhaps a faster approach is to remember NEVER pay anything based upon MSRP. Simply research the INVOICE price online, including the detailed prices of the options you're looking for. Then, call several dealers, describe the exact details of the car you're looking for and, once they locate it, offer them somewhere between $100 - $500 over dealer's invoice. Keep in mind the cars they locate will vary with installed options/trim packages, etc. Having a breakdown on option prices and comparing that with what they provide will help you determine who's being fair. The dealers need to make money and the amount slightly over their invoice price is plenty (they make additional cash behind the scenes not worth describing here.)

Anyway, great advice Aces.

[flomo]

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...2/article.html

don't forget to negotiate the financing
and all the added stuff is crap
i bet you can find an extended warranty online cheaper than the dealership
or just get a toyota or honda

find a payment calculator online and figure out what the payment, the real intrest rate and price are for the vehicle you are buying and figure out what you can afford before going to the dealership

also pick out the car you want before negotiating
going to a dodge, ford and honda dealership to see which will give you a better price for your trade-in is not a even playing field
the dodge guys might have more money in their car that they put inot the trade to make it look like a great deal
if you want a dodge, go to a dodge, dodge and dodge dealerships for the amount they will give you on your trade

fnord tell those people to start making better cars

[Aces]

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html

Pretty good article...more reasons why not to negotiate in person. I've used my method twice and in neither case could the dealership I test drove at get within $750 of the best price I found over the phone.

[Numbr2intheWorld]

Bring cash to the dealership.
Tell him that's all you have when negotiating.

[flomo]

for cach or check, just remember that transactions over $9,999 get reported to the irs

[CRUSHER]

I won't recommend this for everybody, but we will also try to put some of the purchase price on our credit card in order to receive the award points or bonus cash. The credit card companies are only too happy to raise your credit limit, if needed, so it's a matter of negotiating with the dealer to allow you to do this. More importantly though, is to pay off the credit card amount immediately upon returning home. Do not use this tip if you're a little wobbly with money management or not likely to pay off the credit card amount immediately.

[Aces]

Bring cash to the dealership.
Tell him that's all you have when negotiating.

You will get a better price getting quotes from multiple dealers and having them compete against each other. This also doesn't work so well for dealers not in your city. Also assuming you're working with a salesperson...you simply cannot get the best price when another layer of commissions is involved. If you are going to do this at least ask for the fleet or internet manager.

Nice idea CRUSHER, I think put some on a rewards card but they wouldn't let me put more than a few thou on it.