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that's why I like Tesla's "no-dealer" way of selling their car.
Why is it in this country we haggle over price for only our cars, but everything else we pay what the sticker says? I think most people get anxiety over car shopping because of this. I know pay pay under sticker, but that just chips into the dealer's margin. They still make a profit.
It would be SOOO much easier if dealers just had fixed prices. Car A costs $24,999, these options add $x, $y, or $z dollars. Here are your TTL fees. Have a nice day.
Tesla just copied Saturn, they had single prices too. You walked in, picked the car and paid the price.
You pay sticker price for things other than cars? Almost everything can be had for less than sticker and everything, everything is negotiable.
The only reason anyone pays sticker price for anything is because they agree to, all one has to do is ask for a discount and it doesn't matter if you use cash, credit or debit. If you can't get a discount on one item, you might on another in the same purchase or get a better item or more of them. All you have to do is ask.
Car dealers are no different than anyone else selling something. They are trying to get the most money, you want to pay the least.
It isn't rocket science. Rent the car you want to buy. No one should be figuring out what kind of vehicle they want at the time they are buying. That is called being a sucker. Figure that out first, Even visit dealerships and take test drives. Just leave your check book at home and no matter what, do not buy while you are trying to figure out what kind, brand and model of vehicle you want.
When you have that figured out, then figure out how much you are willing to spend on it. Do not change that number at the dealership no matter what. You should not have to be at a dealership for hours going back and forth. You might think it is a game you're also playing but they aren't playing a game and once you fall into the trap of "playing the game" you lose, every time.
Getting a few thousand off sticker is nothing. They can do that all day long. Go there with your number, one you know is what you want to pay and stick to it. If the dealer says OK right away, make up an excuse and get out, you messed up in your calculations.
One thing that works is to make a number you know they will not sell for no matter what. Your next number is the one you will pay. Never go above that number but then you at least know you started below anything they would accept and got your number. You can work the spread in between and if you get in lower, great.
There are all kinds of ways to buy a car but anyone who says you are playing a game with tens of thousands of dollars is always losing no matter what they pay, they just think they did ok.
Stop buying a new car every 5 years. I drive mine for a minum of 10 years before I start thinking if selling it. I don't waste money on new cars. I maintain them all my trucks look brand new. We finally sold the car my wife and I bought together brand new in 1995. The think looked brand new. The guy bought it right then and there. I would get at least 8 years out of it before selling it.
Stop buying a new car every 5 years. I drive mine for a minum of 10 years before I start thinking if selling it. I don't waste money on new cars. I maintain them all my trucks look brand new. We finally sold the car my wife and I bought together brand new in 1995. The think looked brand new. The guy bought it right then and there. I would get at least 8 years out of it before selling it.
My philosophy exactly! Driving a '03 Accord and '05 Deville. Not in the market for a new car yet. Only thing that has me worried it the trans. on the Accord ( V6, auto). But rather spend money on other things. JMHO!
Buying a new car every 5 years is the biggest waste of money. I would hate having a constant car payment. My current car is a 2006 and I plan on keeping it until 2016.
The only time I would sell a car early is if I had lots of problems and it was costly to repair. However, if you only spend $1000 a year on repairs, it's probably cheaper to keep the car because a payment would be much more.
I probably average a new vehicle purchase once every 5 years. I do my homework as best as possible, but still believe I get hosed on every purchase. By the time I am signing the pile of papers needing my signature, I am not sure what I am paying for...... It is like a psychological game they play and are much better at it then the customer (well, at least this customer). Over the past twenty or so years I have done all my purchases from two dealers in NJ. A GMC/Buick dealer. A Chevrolet dealer. Why? Because the two dealerships are close and convenient.
While I am not sure which dealership ends up giving me the better deal, the perception between the two is totally different. One (the GMC dealer) makes me feel good about purchasing the car there. The Chevy dealer has always made me feel like a rape victim after the deal. Each time I have told myself "Never again!" Hopefully my recent Malibu purchase will be my last from this dealer.
Is this just me? Am I just stupid about purchasing a vehicle? Or are there others with similar feelings about certain dealers?
Pine Belt can make it feel that way. I once purchased a used car from there and they weren't going to put wool over my eyes if they tried to play games with me.
My philosophy exactly! Driving a '03 Accord and '05 Deville. Not in the market for a new car yet. Only thing that has me worried it the trans. on the Accord ( V6, auto). But rather spend money on other things. JMHO!
Replace the pressure switches, use OEM Honda fluid and change transmission fluid frequently and you should be fine!
have you ever tried price comparison via the internet before you go in? All dealers have internet sales agents that handle quotes via email and generally are upfront with their bottom-line pricing (however i've noticed that more & more are resorting to the What price do you have in mind? We can do $1000 off MSRP scripted lines). Try to get quotes from 3 to 5 competing dealers, even if you have to drive an hour away. And make sure you have all the figures itemized Before you step into their office to sign papers & hand over your check.
How do I get quotes from 3 to 5 competing dealers and have a fair comparison, since each car the dealers carry may be slightly different in terms of color and features from others? Also should I test drive the same car 5 times to get 5 different quotes? If I don't drive each car how do I ensure there's nothing wrong from the factory? Can I test drive after getting the quotes and determining which one is the least?
How do I get quotes from 3 to 5 competing dealers and have a fair comparison, since each car the dealers carry may be slightly different in terms of color and features from others? Also should I test drive the same car 5 times to get 5 different quotes? If I don't drive each car how do I ensure there's nothing wrong from the factory? Can I test drive after getting the quotes and determining which one is the least?
If your goal is to pay lowest price possible, you'll need to be flexible on things like color or options. If the dealer keys in you must have a certain color or manual transmission, and no other dealer has it in the area, he's going to hold firm.
I've noticed GM and Chrysler dealerships are a special level of hell. (I have no experience with the sales side of Ford, just service.) In the last year, I have been to both a Cadillac dealership and a Chevrolet dealership. The Chevy dealership is likely one of the largest in America. GM dealers' pricing borders on bait and switch in my eyes, nobody actually qualifies for the advertised lease prices. Example: Cadillac SRX for $350 a month, but you have to be a GM employee who is leasing a non-GM luxury car. How many people qualify for that? (I go in there, it's at least $100 more a month.) The salesman showed me some binder with all the current discounts and specials; I don't qualify for a thing and the impression I get is that GM spends a lot of time trying to screw the customer. Went into a Nissan dealer and didn't buy anything, but the sales experience was a lot nicer from what I saw. GM dealerships feel like shark tanks without exception. (Buying a Saturn was somewhat better, but F&I wasn't all that much better than buying the Chevrolet.)
Chrysler dealership: Walk into one of the largest in America, tell the salesman I will be putting at least 30K a year on a car and I simply do not wash cars, scumbag still tries his hardest to talk me into a lease. Man at the next desk was the #1 Chrysler salesman in America at the time. (Same dealership, another salesman forged someone I know's name and added a year to the car loan. Dealer owner personally had to fix it.)
I have probably more knowledge than most about this subject as my family has owned a variety major new car dealerships since WWII in large and medium metropolitan areas.
It is not the Make/Brand that is bad or plays the "games", it is the Dealer/Owner group that does this!
You can find exceptional and trustworthy GM dealers. You can also find other makes' dealers that are slimeballs.
The Dealer/owner group does decide the method of operation.
Some are fair, trustworthy and are full of integrity and don't resort to slight of hand, bait & switch, or beat-down customer tactics.
The thing is that some long standing dealerships are better run and in better locations. That is they have been successful and kept up with the times and moved to better locations over the decades, etc.
Some of the other SAME MAKE dealerships have changed ownerships many times and might be located in a location that was OK in 1982 but it is now in part of the city that time has forgotten. They can't afford to move.
This further makes it harder to compete with their SAME MAKE rivals in the 50 mile metro radius.
A dealership makes a huge amount of revenue on the service dept and on the PRE-OWNED(used) CARS.
Bad location in an area that time has forgotten can spell doom. Affluent customers will not visit that dealer for service, no matter what they try to do. Location in a ghetto is hard to attract people to come see your inventory.
You are up against the 8-ball as the bigger stores in better location on modern dealership row/strip will have better inventory, economy of scale, more advertising budget for more full pages of Newspaper ads, etc.
Some of these 2nd class New Dealers across town resort to desperate measures when they are not moving enough cars, they throw out the fairway playbook and resort to every trick in the book. It is survival.
It is sad but a fact of life for them.
Perhaps their managers loaded up on USED low mileage SUV's and Luxury cars from the sale (auction) and gas suddenly spikes or interest rates spike. They don't sell. The same could be the case for NEW CARS that they have. Perhaps it is a Chrysler or Chevrolet/Cadillac store. Consumer Reports has usually rated GM & CHRYSLER among the WORST for reliability and durability. That is not great for business, if that is the case.
BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS OUT THERE ON THE INTERNET TODAY, THE SAVVY CONSUMER KNOWS THE DEALER COST & THE TYPICAL PROFIT MARGIN.
Slimeball dealers will try and add addendum stickers to add things like PAINT PROTECTION $650 (nothing done), DEALER PREP & PINSTRIPE/mudflap $950, etc. This inflates the sticker in an attempt to gain bargaining leverage because say you add $1600 to the price and discount it $1500, well you're still at sticker price.
DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT BEFORE VISITING DEALERS.
Research thoroughly every model/make and trim level/options group that you might consider.
Find out from online sources, etc what the dealer cost, typical profit margin.....CONSUMER REPORTS has this also.
Make certain your FICO score is above 750.
Determine that you are pre-qualified with your Credit Union or Bank if you wish to go that route.
CASH customers can easily get best selection of NEW vehicles. Simply contact the Dealership's New Car Salesmanager directly via telephone. (FIND out that person's name and call and only speak with them and nobody else)
Dealerships get NEW Vehicles from the manufacturer all of the time throughout the vehicle year EXCEPT WHEN PRODUCTION OF THAT YEAR MODEL COMES TO A CLOSE..........what this means is that if you WANT a Five speed Tudor Red Coupe with tan leather interior.....YOU CAN FIND ONE.....if you are willing to contact NEW DEALERS of the sameMake all over the place within 500 miles or more from you. IF YOU KNOW ENOUGH about that particular car and are willing to pay Cash , you can find AN IN TRANSIT / or ALLOCATED PRODUCTION MODEL that the dealer already has a VIN# for but may not arrive at the dealership for 25 to 35 days.
Example: Honda Fit that might have produced on July 31, so the expecting DEALER has the VIN# and color/options/trim details.
Look at it this way. You make the Purchase before IT HITS THE DEALERSHIP. Something in the neighborhood of a $5000 deposit with the specific legal agreement that it is for brand new 2013 XX Vin#ABC123456789 Color:RED Interior:Tan leather, Five speed, DATE of Production:July 31, 2013, etc
You have much more leverage in bargaining for exact color/trim when you do this because it is pre-sold before it becomes inventory. You can get them to do anything you want like not put the Shooby-Dooby HONDA sticker on it or not put the front dealer license plate on it.
Trust me, all dealerships KNOW what is coming if it has rolled off production lines in the past few days. They have the VIN# and color/interior/options/trim etc on a detailed document.
Yes, they might not want you to know this. Call enough dealers and most will tell you what they have coming that is exactly what you want IF YOU CAN CONVINCE THEM THAT YOU WILL buy it and put a large deposit on it and the balance in cash when it arrives. All you have to do is come to an acceptable price that gives them just enough margin on that vehicle. No salesman commission, No addendum sticker mark-up, no dealer prep BS, usually no DOC FEES.
You don't have to settle on COLOR/OPTIONS if you're willing to buy from a NEW CAR STORE that might be much farther away. Too late in a model year and that year's units are nearing the end of production or production has stopped already so every unit will already be in someone's on the ground dealer inventory. You're out of luck because they will play the they aren't making any more, so this might be your only chance/alternative and will be less likely to deal.
Once it has hit the lot and incurred overhead costs to the dealership, then your cost is likely going to be worse.
Reputable, High Volume Large Metropolitan area New Car dealerships that sell huge numbers at the best prices will provide the best prices usually.
You can buy your NEW XXX at any new XXX dealership in any location, and then take it to your local XXX dealership for service/warranty work, etc. Yeah, you might not get the free car wash because you bought it in Atlanta or Dallas or Houston but they can't treat you like a red headed step child or refuse to do warranty service work.
Get the best deal from a fair dealer with a reputation for integrity & honesty and not someone that makes the experience unbearable. Give the screwballs your business and you're keeping the slimeballs alive for another day.
There were some excellent BUYING SERVICES that did negotiate and purchase for you.
USAA once had one, as did other organizations. You might not get the absolute best price, but you won't get reamed either.
Knowledge is power. Everything about the exact model you may want is out there on the web sources. Accurate dealer cost and the profit margin, manufacturer incentives, holdback, incentives for massive volume dealers, etc.
Some dealers can beat other dealers' pricing depending on make/model.
Dealers won't tell you any of this. It is your job to play COLUMBO and know everything before you even begin to SHOP & NEGOTIATE. Do it backwards and let emotion and dealer psychology games/beat-down, wear the customer down strategy work you over, if you won't get up and leave the dealership, then they know that they have got you and they will not be generous in negotiating.
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