[SHARK]

Wondering how much everyone got their car for, and how they did it. I'm buying a new (used) car soon, and I'm trying to compile a good strategy to get a car for a good deal with.

Currently working on a combination of having the money up front, calling multiple car dealers about the same car or similar and talking it over, using ebay motors to check out what they want there, using both craigslist and autotrader, and following those tips and tricks online. Oh, and slipping the salesman a wad of dough to see if he'll work on my side aganist his manager .

[zantac_2]

calling multiple car dealers to get quotes is a good and common method people use. i did something similar (which i wrote about in another thread) where i show up to one dealer get a quote from them, call up another dealer in front of them ask for a quote from the other dealer and go back and forth until i get a price that i think is satisfactory. it will probably be just as effective off site, but i wanted the thrill so i decided to spice things up by negotiating in a show room.

use online sources to find out what the market price is and what people are able to take off from that. you should know what price dealers are offering and a target amount you can achieve when negotiating. also know the models you are interested in back to front. you don't want to end up missing out on a great feature of the car that you can probably get the dealers to add on to the total package with no extra costs. online sources will also fish out the rather infelicitous dealers. car forums specific to brands you are interested in will have alot of good info for you to swallow.

if you are young, take someone older, wiser and preferably with knowledge of cars and finance with you. they will be of much help throughout the whole buying process. if not, a friend with said qualities tagging along with you will be good as well. again assuming you are young with not a strong credit record, buying a car through finance (provided you can afford it and get approved) is a great way to boost up your credit record. it will help alot when you want to apply for large loans later on in life.

unless you are baller and have a suitcase that can hold a couple of G', having money up front is a bad idea imo. it allows the dealers to know how much you are prepared to pay which will work against you when it comes to negotiating a good deal. also bribing the sales staff i think you are just giving them free money. when they say they will goto the manager to get an approval on a deal, i think they are just busting your chops. i can bet that they are either going to the toilet to do some sort or celebrative dance or talk to the manager and have a laugh at how much you are getting ripped off (obviously i have no idea how sales rep work haha). the point i'm trying to make is, let your mouth do all the negotiating.

just read you are buying a used car. assuming you're an air head when it comes to car, i strongly suggest having a mechanic or someone who knows cars with you. check the service log book as well (if it has one). you can neglect the first paragraph and a bit of the second paragraph as its more for buying new cars.

[jakex1]

well it depends if you are buying from a dealer or a actual person ( u mention both craigslist and dealers so i assume both)

For private parties, u can go 2 ways. If a car is out for 30k offer 25k they say 28 you say 26 and you guys will find a middle ground, though what i just wrote was very simplified. Or if the car is out for 30k say u can get about 28~29 and u are gonna buy it in a few weeks, after time passes u can try to whittle it down a little more.

As far as dealers go, according to my dads friend who's a used car dealer, no matter how good of a deal u think u are getting, the bank a good 2-3K+ off the deal. When u buy from dealers, dont look at monthly payments but the entire cost of the car. And with the economy now most dealers are willing to slash their prices. Also go during the week, less customers=slower workday=more willing to make deals.

Finally cash itself works wonders. When i bought my evo i straight up handed the bills and got my car for 3.4k cheaper than asking price.

[Lasthope05]

If you were buy a new car I would say do it online and let the dealership fight against each other instead have to do any extra work or step foot into a dealership. But since your getting a used car just go online look at inventory each dealership has and go to the cheapest one. When your there what ever the price is tell them...."Look so and so has this same exact car with very similar mileage and they only want (insert amount) for it. Now if the price is right on your end we'll have our selves a deal, if not im going to go with them." There is no point in going back and forth between dealerships as they dont really communicate with each other. They are going off your word and they just want your business since they work off commission. It doesnt matter if he's on your side or not because his manager will have to authorize it. It all comes down to how well you can work a lie and how desperately they want your money.

[b18c1]

i just said "hey its my bday today, think you can discount me 500 bux?" *smiley face* then i got it lol

[432521]

When my sister went to get her beetle- convertible, she did research for like a week.They tried to tack on money but she was like she knew it was less because she could find better deals online and stuff. When the dude wouldn't back down she told my parents to get up and go and they could go to the dealer down the street. The sales guy got up and was like fine, he took of 2 or 3 grand off the price he gave before and no interest.

[charat]

i just said "hey its my bday today, think you can discount me 500 bux?" *smiley face* then i got it lol

sorry but 500 bucks off any car isnt much... shoulda asked for 5k.

[CatGoesMeow]

Me: hey thanx for the test drive. As far as pricing can you just take off $200.00
Seller: No.. Sorry
Me: OK I'll take it!

Badass negotiations!!

[aznfishyfart]

a big thing is dont act like u have to have this car
even though u think its perfect, try to find stuff thats "missing"
and prepare to walk away if they wont give u a good deal.....
because theres a chance u will have to
(this is to add on to wat others have said)

[b18c1]

sorry but 500 bucks off any car isnt much... shoulda asked for 5k.

how about ask how much i bought the car for before jumping to conclusions. it was a 6000 dollar car. yeah, im really gonna get 5k off 6500. stop making worthless posts like this.

[1love]

The last 2 cars my family got was a 08 Civic SI and a 09 LX.

For the SI with navigation, we bought it for 19k OTD, which was 5k under msrp.

The LX 16.5k OTD, which was 3k under msrp.

Both were 3+ hours of negotiation. I brought my friend who works in a Honda dealership with me. You just have to keep negotiation, they will work with you if they really want your business. If they consistently say no then leave, simple as that. We paid both of the cars 100% in cash, so that helped. Don't let the salesman pressure you into buying the car, instead pressure them to earn your business.

My friend tried to negotiate on a brand new Scion tC for 2+ hours and the dealership won't budge because of the "pure" pricing crap. When he was about to walk out of the dealership, the manager offered him free maintenance service up to 30k miles and the extended warranty for free. That sealed the deal for him, so keep negotiating and walk out if their quote don't satisfy you.

[SHARK]

The car I have in mind is 10,000. I'm hoping that I can knock off 2,000 from the price to lower it to 8,000... and convince them to give me a 3-6 month warranty for free. Kind of a far stretch, but I'm gonna see what I can do.

More stories please, these do help.

Also, I know the salesman has to authorize it with his manager, the whole point is that I'm giving him a little cash to make up for his commission that he would lose. Because of that, he's all the more likely to fight harder to get the car sold to me for whatever reason. Salesmen usually don't fight for you, they just accept what their boss says usually just because they're paid on conmission.

[JJ no Baka]

My friend went with his parents to a BMW dealership and asked for 328i. They were negotiating and they were trying to knock off a couple thousand but the salesperson wouldn't budge so they left. A day later, the salesperson called back and said that he's willing to offer them for the amount they wanted but my friend bought the LX350 that same day. Some salesperson are not going to budge, so just leave and see what happens. They will negotiate no matter what.

Good luck!

[jakex1]

also, if u are looking to buy a new car(non used) u can get really good deals on previous years, (older year, but not driven.)

[Dim Sum]

First and foremost DON'T ALLOW THEM TO "SIDE TRACK" YOU.
Two, Don't allow them to figure out that your a first time buyer.
Three, don't get fooled with their paper work on their invoice price and the msrp
four, people don't pay by the msrp
five, print out some of your own research if you have too, to show to the dealerships.
last but not the least, if you can't get a dealership to match your price, pin dealerships against each other.

[SHARK]

What do you mean pin dealerships together?

I'm getting a used car, definitely. Aiming for a Mazda RX-8 or Toyota Solara, haven't exactly decided just yet.

[Dim Sum]

What do you mean pin dealerships together?

I'm getting a used car, definitely. Aiming for a Mazda RX-8 or Toyota Solara, haven't exactly decided just yet.

let them beat each others price.

[~ BunnyliciouS ~]

I remember my hubby told me this story about his coworker buying a car.

The car was on sale by the owner for $10K.
My hubby's coworker, she tried to haggle.
She offered $7500, which was too low for the seller. So the seller asked $8500, and then she offered again, this time she offered $6500 !
Naturally, the seller was surprised that the price she offered was lower than the previous one.
The seller agreed w/ the $6500 offer, I guess he's scared that she'd go lower than that if he tried to negotiate the price more. XD

[JJ no Baka]

What do you mean pin dealerships together?

I'm getting a used car, definitely. Aiming for a Mazda RX-8 or Toyota Solara, haven't exactly decided just yet.

I say Mazda RX-8. But see which one is cheaper and also what Dim Sum said, let them argue it out.

[SHARK]

Anyone got more stories? Preferrably ones about used cars.