Posted on 02/20/2007 5:33:37 PM PST by Chickensoup
Ok I have some offers for SUVs. I have taken Jeeps off the books because I dont have a large financial margin of error.
FJ cruiser prices are coming in.
I also have offers on 2006 Xterras and am looking at something called the factory invoice. Shouldnt I pay less than that? What the heck does a factory invoice have to do with reality? I have always understood that it was what the car would normally cost before the incentives and rebates that the factory gives the dealer.
So how does one negotiate?
Go to this website....it has alot of info for buying cars.
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/
Thanks!
Negotiate, get the best deal you can, and walk out.
They will call you with a better deal.
The last vehicle I bought, I had gone to Edmunds and researched all the features I wanted, including "packages" for the different models.
At or near the end of the research there was a part of the site where you could see what people across the country were paying for the EXACT same thing that you chose.
Mentioned in that part? is that most dealers make out nicely with 300-500 over what they ACTUALLY paid for the vehicle.
The key there is "what they ACTUALLY paid". You take the ACTUAL price, deduct whatever rebates or "dealer factory incentives" there are OFF of what THEY paid, add 300 to 500 to that figure, and that's your "target price".
i.e. Vehicle 24,500.....factory incentive to dealer 1500, buyer incentive 500.......your target price WOULD be 22,500 THEN you add 300 to 500 for the dealer's profit -
In summation: The A C T U A L T A R G E T P R I C E that you are shooting for would be either 22,800 or 23,000.
Dealers are slick. Once you're "in ther" they do all they can to keep you there until they get a deal. They figure that if someone comes in and leaves, the chances are that he won't come back.
(Have you ever gone into a dealership, not been willing to deal at that particular time, and just walked out? - - They do their best to keep you there.)
It's almost impossible to figure on taking ONE DAY and visiting 3 or 4 different dealers.
Boy you are so right. I meant to go to four places and ended up in two. The third place I stopped didnt have any inventory to speak of...funny for the big sales. It was like they only had their laggers on the lot.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1787657/posts
Here is the mandatory first thread.
I should have been a kept woman.
“In any deal, if you are not prepared to walk away, you lose. Negotiate, get the best deal you can, and walk out. They will call you with a better deal.”
That's how I got my most recent vehicle – 2006 Subaru Tribeca (and I LOVE this car). I had my Legacy in for routine service and out of boredom roamed the lot to look at the new models. Of course a salesman saw me a descended upon me like a nasty case of e-coli.
I knew I wanted the Tribeca but I didn’t let on. I let the salesman run some numbers for me (just for fun) and not being pleased, said to him, “I’m not in any real hurry, I was just curious, I think I’ll make some more payments on the Legacy, I’m really happy with it, I really “like so, you know, like I like the car I have, so like you know?” So I’ll check back with you in a year and we’ll see.” And I turned down the first couple of offers to do a test drive ‘cause I didn’t “like” have the time.
After several weeks of phone calls finally the sales manager called me. In the end they offered me a very generous trade in and good rate terms because I suspect it was the end of the month and they were desperate to make quota. Again I did the research in advance not only on pricing and financing options but also pulled a copy of my credit report to see exactly what rate I’d really qualify for, and looked at all the available consumer reports on the car I wanted. Then just before the deal closed, I paid off my trade in advance in cash.
Contrary to popular belief, I think I have an advantage being a single chick buying a car; 1) I can play stupid convincingly, 2) having a technical and finance background, I can do the research and can crunch the numbers and they don’t suspect or see that one coming. 3) I can bat my eyes and play stupid some more, 4) being a woman, I can fake interest and then fake disinterest just as easily, and finally 5) I can play hard ball with the best of them – a skill my dad taught me :).
Best deal you will make is the one you are least interested in and let the dealer work the hardest for. And don’t be fooled by a generous trade in offer because the dealer will try to make it up on the financing rate (and yes they often get a cut of that so will try to get you a higher interest rate while playing games with trade-ins and so called incentives to make it up and make you feel like you got a deal).
Let the dealer give you their best trade-in and finance deal first, then look for alternative financing like from your bank or credit union or if you own a home look to paying off the balance of your trade-in with a low interest home equity line.
Then go back to the dealer and negotiate for the lowest interest rate possible you qualify for then let them “try” to re-negotiate the trade in – trust me they won’t be in a position to offer you any less.
lol. well done.
On the day of negotiating for a car, go to the dealership one hour before closong on the last business day of the month. Know your price you will pay in advance. Forget the extra warranties, protectiuon sprays and the like. If they don't deal, walk away. The salesman IS NOT your new friend.
This is great advice... I'm bookmarking this one...
I bought the car! The first time! I got a really good deal. Thank you for the advice!
I bought the car! The first time! I got a really good deal. Thank you for the advice!
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.