buying a car

[Razorguns]

i always dangle the line:

"$XXXX.00. See that number there? Meet it, and you just got a deal, and the quicker you can get back out there and courting new customers..."

I always put the spotlight on them with the "so how BADLY *do* you want to sell this car?"

I continaully remind them -- it's NOT about me -- it's about THEM. I ALREADY know what I want to pay. The ball is in THEIR court. It's up to them to decide whether they want to 1) accept 2) reject 3) make a new offer.

Option 4) Convincing me to change my offer with mind games and persuasion is *not* an option. Keep that instilled in your mind. Pretend you're buying a house. It's a matter of negotating a *number*. Not negotiating whether you really would enjoy a nice sunroof on a warm FL morning.

 

[tuc biscuit]

I'm actually looking at buying a car at the minute, the car I want is £5,300 (about $9,000 I think) what would be a decent place for me to start my negotiations.

 

[pitbullstl]

That sounds like sound advice....every time i go to a dealership, they ask me how much I can afford......why do they do that? Are they trying to figure out exactly how much they can get out of me?
I will walk away, because Im not buying a car that I cant afford, no matter how much I want it

Never answer that question! Furthermore stay away from the scheister lots, with greaseballs that ask that sort of question. The leading question should always be: What type of vehicle are you in the market for???

Secondly, do your research..ie: Always no YOUR marketplace, meaning what the car you are looking at is selling for in your area.

Third, try buying from larger dealerships, if you are buying pre-owned, for two reasons, higher volume = smaller margins, and you will want the support that a franchise dealership offers after the sale.

Fourth, never buy on emotion, always walk away, give yourself a chance to shop around, there is always a better deal just around the corner.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

Never answer that question! Furthermore stay away from the scheister lots, with greaseballs that ask that sort of question. The leading question should always be: What type of vehicle are you in the market for???

Secondly, do your research..ie: Always no YOUR marketplace, meaning what the car you are looking at is selling for in your area.

Third, try buying from larger dealerships, if you are buying pre-owned, for two reasons, higher volume = smaller margins, and you will want the support that a franchise dealership offers after the sale.

Fourth, never buy on emotion, always walk away, give yourself a chance to shop around, there is always a better deal just around the corner.

Wisdom from the mountaintop.

 

[R33t]

When I buy a car, I visit dealerships during non-operating hours. I check my auto options, details of each car, and research each vehicle via online.

Once I know what I want, I return to each dealership with an offer, and the sales department accepts or declines. Once at least two or more sales associates from different dealerships agree on my price, I go home and contact each dealership regarding beating the other dealerships' price. I usually say, "Another dealership was extremely generous and agreed to beat your price. I can supply you an invoice of their offer today. And if you're willing to beat it, we can have a deal by tomorrow." I always sleep on it.

Another thing, I only buy from dealerships offering pre-owned certified cars that carry factory warranties. They are usually larger dealerships. Right now, I drive a 2003 3 series that was originally priced at $36,000. I left the dealership paying $28,500 and have a full warranty. I know for a fact that the dealership bought the car from a private sell for less than $23,000.

Anyhow, good luck to whoever is car shopping!

R33t

 

[Synpax]

Here are a few things that might help:

1) Carsdirect.com. You can see the "blue book" prices there.

2) I think your question is wrong to begin with. Don't buy from a dealer at all, but from private sales. _Maybe_ look at ebay motors. Much better deal - for both the seller and the buyer, because you are both eliminating the middle man. You can find good deals in your auto trader free paper or in the classifieds.

3) Get a CarFax report.

4) If you go the private sales route, have a trusted mechanic give it a once over to make sure nothing is seriously wrong.

 

[Paulo]

It seems that people find it incredibly hard to put things in proper perspective when purchasing high dollar items, mainly things with 'emotional pricetags' such as cars and houses.


Well, here's a thought process that I use to great success in all of my consumer negotitations. (your mileage may vary )

How much does an entire day of work bring in? Let's use a wage of say 35,000 per year as an example. comes out to about 16.00 per hour. okay, so one day = 8 hours = 128.00. But you don't actually see all of that, so lets make a rough calculation of actual 'take home' pay. 128 x .70 = 89.6, so, basically 90 bucks per day. (for all you accountants out there, this is just an estimate)

Okay, now that we have some basic arithimitic under our belts, I will now move on to the point of this all.

If you get bent over for 1000.00 above what you feel is a fair market price for that car because you didn't want to exert the effort negotiating for 2 hours...guess what? You will now have to WORK 11 DAYS!!! to recoup the amount you handed over because you didn't want the short-term stress that comes with negotiating.


Just some food for thought...

 

[Synpax]

It works on small scale too. When I was working minimum wage jobs back in the day, I would bristle at the idea of spending an hour's work on lunch.

 

[Witold]

You will never get a good deal at a dealer. That's just not possible, no matter how well you negotiate. You need to look at private sales/classifieds.

First, get your financing in order from a local credit union. Then start looking at classifieds and match the car against Kelly Blue Book private sales prices. Furthermore, check vehicle reviews to see if the particular car/model is prone to expensive fixes. Finally, lowball people with prices offering quick settlement.

Car Trader is OK, but Craig's List is better.

 

[UnStopAbleForce]

Best way to buy a car from a dealership is to go there knowing what you want, and having an idea of what the car is worth. There are so many tools now a days, such as edmunds.com, kbb, etc. So go to these places first, then go to the dealership. When at the dealership, dont treat the salesperson like shit, remember they are just doing theyre job and alot of them are good people. Let them know you know what you want, and go from there. BTW, I'm a sales manager at a Honda dealership in NJ, so if anyone needs a honda PM me lol. Later.