OT - need car buying help

[Chickenman Testa]

Fellas - while I should be a good negotiator when car buying given my profession, I am not. I just want it done and to get out of there. If I wanted to haggle, I'd go to Morocco and shop for rugs and Monkeys Paws.

Anyway, I am buying a car soon and want some advice. I've been on Kelly Blue Book and they have some good tools. Are there any tried and true formulas (e.g. Basing your offer on a certain % of MSRP)?

One important (perhaps) data point - I plan on paying all cash (cashier's check). I'm not Mr. Moneybags - just have a bonus coming in and don't want car payments. Does that impact the dealer's counter?

 

[uppermaclion]

Some dealers work with True car where you can print the price right off the site and take it to them. Some dealers have internet pricing where there is no haggling. So it depends on the dealer. Like you said other sites like KBB and such all give you basically the same info for those who don't have no haggle policies. In general, if you know the invoice price, a few hundred dollars above that and the dealers will accept, unless you are buying a very in demand vehicle.

 

[CappyToCJF]

Fellas - while I should be a good negotiator when car buying given my profession, I am not. I just want it done and to get out of there. If I wanted to haggle, I'd go to Morocco and shop for rugs and Monkeys Paws.

Anyway, I am buying a car soon and want some advice. I've been on Kelly Blue Book and they have some good tools. Are there any tried and true formulas (e.g. Basing your offer on a certain % of MSRP)?

One important (perhaps) data point - I plan on paying all cash (cashier's check). I'm not Mr. Moneybags - just have a bonus coming in and don't want car payments. Does that impact the dealer's counter?

Best advice is to get an idea of the true sales prices for the vehicle u want from KBB and then make an unemotional offer to the dealer. If u close the deal without walking out on the first try you have started too high. If there are multiple dealers within driving distance then spending time playing them off to get the best price is even better but requires more time.

 

[91Joe95]

Fellas - while I should be a good negotiator when car buying given my profession, I am not. I just want it done and to get out of there. If I wanted to haggle, I'd go to Morocco and shop for rugs and Monkeys Paws.

Anyway, I am buying a car soon and want some advice. I've been on Kelly Blue Book and they have some good tools. Are there any tried and true formulas (e.g. Basing your offer on a certain % of MSRP)?

Do your test drives, tell them you are still looking. Go home, figure out your price you will pay (I like invoice minus holdbacks and other incentives). Figure out their biggest competitor, i.e., ford vs. Toyota and tell them you like both when they call. Tell them you'll come in to do a second test drive. Give them your take it or leave it offer. Tell them if they say yes, you'll do the paper work right then. If not, tell them you have another car to go do your second test on and you're sure they will find a good buyer. Thank them, leave, never waste time there on their turf.

 

[demlion]

Fellas - while I should be a good negotiator when car buying given my profession, I am not. I just want it done and to get out of there. If I wanted to haggle, I'd go to Morocco and shop for rugs and Monkeys Paws.

Anyway, I am buying a car soon and want some advice. I've been on Kelly Blue Book and they have some good tools. Are there any tried and true formulas (e.g. Basing your offer on a certain % of MSRP)?

One important (perhaps) data point - I plan on paying all cash (cashier's check). I'm not Mr. Moneybags - just have a bonus coming in and don't want car payments. Does that impact the dealer's counter?

I always pay cash for cars, but that is because I buy used cars, not because I am Mr. Moneybags either. Here is what I do. Identify the car you want. True car can tell you the dealer's invoice price, I think.

Decide how much you will spend. Be realistic. Once you have settled on a realistic price, tell them early on that is all the money you are spending and do not budge. WALK AWAY. The means by which you demonstrate that you will walk away--at least the one I use--is to say in response to an offer greater than your top price, "I'll pass." Then head for your car.

Most cars get sold for too high of a price because the buyer gets new car fever and says, "ah, hell, its only a thousand bucks more." If you do not do that you will be fine.

 

[Peetz Pool Boy]

I've been on Kelly Blue Book and they have some good tools. Are there any tried and true formulas (e.g. Basing your offer on a certain % of MSRP)?

One important (perhaps) data point - I plan on paying all cash (cashier's check). I'm not Mr. Moneybags - just have a bonus coming in and don't want car payments. Does that impact the dealer's counter?

Couple of points. Firstly, the "Dealer Price" or "Dealer Cost" amount you can get off True Cars or KBB (and which you absolutely need to know before stepping in any dealership) isn't the dealer's real cost. All manufactures have a concept called "holdback" of 3-5% which isn't shown in the dealer cost amount but is recorded as profit by the dealer when they settled up with the manufacture as part of their monthly inventory financing. Further, the dealers are also incentivized via volume discounts such that the more cars they sell, the greater the holdback.

That said, if you walk into most dealears you won't be able to buy a car at the cost listed off KBB as they'll deceptively claim they they're not making any money at that price, which isn't true. The goal is to be familiar with the supposed dealer cost of the base vehicle and individual options and negotiate a price as close to the KBB dealer cost.

Lastly, all cash means nothing to the dealer since their inventory is largely financed by the manufacturer and the dealer is actually incentived to steer most shoppers to finance the vehicle via the manufacturer's affiliated lending company.

If you can't find a dealer willing to sell you something in the $200-$500 over dealer cost, I'd consider a car buying service. I'm sure there are posters on this board that can recommend some good ones.

Also, watch out from crap add-ons amounts after you've think you've negotiated your price (eg regional marketing fees).

 

[PSU-Knocker]

I have been very happy with Truecar. Give it a try.

 

[FLLION]

The web has made car shopping pretty easy...just check out other dealers on line and tell them you have X price for a vehicle and if they want to better that price. Most dealers will respond. You can use a phone call if you need to show you are sincere.

I also try to broaden what I am looking for..i.e not just a chevy SUV..but also ford, etc. You will be surprised how many dealerships are available...particularly if you live in an urban area.

That avoids all the haggling..let the dealers compete among themselves.

If they complain I just remind them that this is the free market in operation.

 

[PSU Lion 2000]

I bought a new Toyota in February. Some of the advice I received from here was very helpful. We had a few differences about our circumstances, so I won't go into details about everything.

However, I will say that my price was way below TrueCar.com and the like. My final price was about 15% under invoice.

1. Know the market for the car and the vehicles you want within a 200+ mile radius.
2. If you have a trade-in, have the dealers look at it before you get quotes.
3. Get quotes as all-in. Who cares how much you get for a used car. Just worry about the bottom line price for you.
4. Aim way lower than you can imagine. Invoice and TrueCar will be much above what you should end up paying.
5. Don't buy on the first visit.
6. Have at least two dealers in mind. Don't worry if they have the car on the lot. They can get it for you.

 

[psuguy04]

Peetz Pool Boy has it right.

Using TrueCar or KBB as a main negotiating tactic is foolish. The data on those sites is made by/provided by dealers.....of course it's going to make them look good.

 

[fairgambit]

The car dealer is your friend. Just ask for a good deal and trust him.

 

[NewEra 2014]

I recently was in the same boat, buying a new car. I knew all of the bells and whistles that I wanted on the car, engine size, color, etc. I went to the dealer where I had test-driven the car to give them the first crack at my business. They were playing games on price, so I walked. I then went to the internet and submitted three requests for the same vehicle. I immediately got phone calls back from the three other dealers. I ended up with a price that was $5,000 less than the first dealer had quoted to me on a $31,000 vehicle. Two of the three internet responses were within a couple hundred dollars of each other.

Internet appears to be the way to go nowadays.

 

[PSU-Knocker]

Using TrueCar or KBB as a main negotiating tactic is foolish. The data on those sites is made by/provided by dealers.....of course it's going to make them look good.

This is not right. With Truecar, you identify the car/cars you're interested in and they contact dealers in your area and those dealers send you quotes. Those quotes are far below what you get from non-Truecar dealers. I was very surprised at just how good a deal I received. I got $3800 off sticker and no non-Truecar dealer came even close.

Try it, there is no obligation.

 

[psuguy04]

This is not right. With Truecar, you identify the car/cars you're interested in and they contact dealers in your area and those dealers send you quotes. Those quotes are far below what you get from non-Truecar dealers. I was very surprised at just how good a deal I received. I got $3800 off sticker and no non-Truecar dealer came even close.

Try it, there is no obligation.

Right......it's information provided by dealers.

I don't need to try it--after 20+ years in and around the business, I kind of understand how it works.

 

[Lion78]

This is the way I got the best deal. You don't do any haggling except via email.

Visit local dealerships of the cars you are looking at. Test drive and find out the one you like the best.
Put together your configuration (colors/options)
Go to multiple sites to get cost/pricing - Edmunds, Truecar, etc.

Send emails to the dealers an area you would be willing to travel to pick up your new car. Ask for bottom line price, out the door +tax. Be specific that you don't want a price before prep/processing/tags, etc as each will try to add these costs (and they vary from dealer to dealer) after you arrive. You want a bottom line price. You will get responses from multiple dealer' internet sales manager. Shop them against each other (go back to the higher ones with the lowest's price and see if they will beat it. You're finished when you have the lowest price. I went to the dealership to sign papers, but you can even do that via the web these days. Only need to go to the dealer to pick up the new car. You shouldn't care where you buy the car as warranty work can be done at your local dealer.

If you are going to trade you car in, get multiple offers (CarMax, local used car dealers, etc.) Depending on you state, you might want to give the dealer your buying the new car the final chance to buy your used as the price they pay can come off the price of the new car before taxes are calculated. This is why you get a price counting everything but not taxes.

 

[lionville]

Are you going for a new car? If so, I've typically requested quotes on the configured vehicle I want from dealers near and far, and go with the lowest price. You can easily do that online by visiting their websites. Are you trading in? If so, get your price without trade first and then negotiate the value of your trade-in from the price you got on the new car. Use Autotrader or

 

[wilbury]

Yes - do this: get your price without trade first and then negotiate the value of your trade-in from the price you got on the new car.

If you don't, the dealers just move numbers around to make both seem like the are decent deals even though they aren't.

Definitely need to know invoice, but in my experience, holdback doesn't do you much good. I'm typically buying a fairly popular car, so most dealers are only willing to go so low. You can get close to invoice or maybe a little lower, but they know that if you don't buy, someone else will walk in the door and pay higher so you ability to negotiate is limited.

Also, I've recently noticed that dealers are not very willing to "look" for what you want at other shops. This varies based on the make of the car, but in general, dealerships are alot less friendly than they used to be so it will be hard to get something not on the lot.