Posted on 07/17/2009 12:25:05 AM PDT by jsh3180
Hello from the wee hours of Friday. I'm looking at a new car purchase this weekend, with a relatively new trade in. Looking for websites or whatever to try and find what's the best price I can expect to pay. Already checked Edmunds online. Dealer emailed me a sheet today with base price + options==total "suggested" price. I'm planning on going to the dealer Saturday, but as it's a 4 hour drive away, I want to be prepared to get the best deal I can.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Don’t buy from ObamaMotors.
KIa! Nissan! Wu Ling! Toyota! Ssanyong! Hyundai!
Bad time to post. All the East Asia folk up right now.
Ah so, me have insomnia tonight.
My advice: stay away from Chevy and Chrylser/Dodge.
Other than that, buy what you want!
Don’t sign anything and leave any deal on the table and drive off. They will come back with a better deal in 24 hours. Don’t even discuss a trade in until the deal is made on the new car. Be sure you know the value of your trade in (assuming you want to do that). It is a buyer’s market so shop around and don’t be in a hurry to buy. There are some good deals out there for people who have the patience to negotiate over the course of a week.
Check out good source of info and pricing:
Also, 4 hrs drive or not, be ready to walk out. If dealer knows you WANT to close the deal that day, you will not get a good deal.
Sticker price and blue book prices mean nothing, they are MUCH higher than what anybody pays.
Edmunds.com is pretty good to give you guidance about prices.
Good luck!
As well, check out the specials that are being offered from the dealer/manufacturer; I recently bought a car and circumstances had it that it was the end of the month, and the salesmen/sales managers were falling all over themselves to write a sale, to meet their sales quotas.
I think Edmund’s has “Confessions of a car salesman” available for viewing.
A must read!!!!!
BTW: Costco members can get auto discounts.. (near invoice I assume..?)
(Found it) Edmund’s “Confession of a car salesman”.
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html
Yep. Of course, it’s difficult to know that as a consumer but you can tell how *anxious* these salesmen are, and know that something is happening in the background. I was working with 4 different dealers/salesmen when it came down to the wire...of the 4, there was one guy who I really wanted to give the deal to because his dealership had a good rep for service. Well, turns out, I did the deal with a company [the salesman was an idiot] but I got them to offer a two-year extended warranty over the standard ...all final sales pricing being very very close.
2009 update of “Confessions of a car salesman”..
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/146686/article.html
Salesman will take you out in an overpriced, overloaded car and make you comfy. That way, when he does bait and switch, you are still paying for a lot of extras you did not plan for. Decide in advance what options you want, Do NOT trade your car in. Shoot for 4k less than sticker, it’s doable even without the Z price. Do NOT get emotional.. wait, sounds like it is too late. O and finance somewhere other than the dealer, that is borderline fraudulent.
I’m going in with an offer of about $5500 under sticker. I’ll go a bit more, but not much. I won’t be playing games, 4 hour drive to get there, I’ll either make a deal Saturday when I get there, or they will know I won’t be making a return trip.
Thanks all for the advice!!
Don't trade your car in,sell it privately.
As already mentioned walk away on the their final offer let them stew for a week or two when things get slow they may call you.
Buy on the basis of practicality do not get worked into an compulsion to buy.
Don't bring the wife to the final negotiation.Just make sure she likes the car before hand.
(Learned that the hard way.)
If it is a new car don't buy an extended warranty.If you must finance get gap insurance it can be worth it depending on the amount you financed.
Bring in for regular maintenance to avoid warranty claim hassles.
If a problem can be pinned on you they will deny claims.
The reason I think I am an expert is because of mistakes I made in the past and since then I have worked in the Automotive industry at the dealer level as a tech.
I was just going to buy a new car a couple of weeks ago. After discovering they are not reanlly discounting Anything and that it is all a pac of lies, I decided not to buy a new car.
If they want to be stuck with all these new cars on their lots, ...Let them eat the cars for lunch, I could care less!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.