help ...negotiating new car price....

[njcarita]

Hi all I presently own 2 cars 2002 kia and 2001 Ford Explorer........ plus hubby has work van
in the last 3 months we've had approx 4000 in repairs (both cars but mostly on Ford)....we'll this morning the check engine light came on the Ford and the tires have been making a weird squeaking noise.....
I refuse to spend one more dime on these cars..... so I'm going new car shopping... which I absolutely hate going... I rather have my teeth pulled....

I'll be selling /trading in both cars and getting 1 new minivan.......I'm leaning toward a new kia sedona.. cause up to quite recently its been quite a remakable car.....( we had brought it brand new).... the Ford on the other hand we had brought it 4 year ago used .. and I hate it..... constant repairs and recalls!!!!!!!

so here I am pysching myself up to go car shopping...... HUbby comes with me .... but basically just smiles and waits to see where he needs to sign....really love the guy, but its all up to me.....

so any advice and ideas would be helpful

 

[dfchelbay]

Hi all I presently own 2 cars 2002 kia and 2001 Ford Explorer........ plus hubby has work van
in the last 3 months we've had approx 4000 in repairs (both cars but mostly on Ford)....we'll this morning the check engine light came on the Ford and the tires have been making a weird squeaking noise.....
I refuse to spend one more dime on these cars..... so I'm going new car shopping... which I absolutely hate going... I rather have my teeth pulled....

I'll be selling /trading in both cars and getting 1 new minivan.......I'm leaning toward a new kia sedona.. cause up to quite recently its been quite a remakable car.....( we had brought it brand new).... the Ford on the other hand we had brought it 4 year ago used .. and I hate it..... constant repairs and recalls!!!!!!!

so here I am pysching myself up to go car shopping...... HUbby comes with me .... but basically just smiles and waits to see where he needs to sign....really love the guy, but its all up to me.....

so any advice and ideas would be helpful

Go to more than one KIA dealership. You will be able to negotiate prices better. Plus, you'll be able to figure out who's feeding you a load of bull-bleep about their price. Try to find out the dealer price for the minivan that you are interested in, then barter UP from there...not MSRP down. I think you can still get the prices on the Kelly Blue book website. You can google other websites to find out the REAL prices for new cars, and what you, as the consumer, should try to get you price as close to that number as possible.

Also, google the best time of year to buy a new car. I'm not sure if year end might be a better time to buy. Better deals to be had because dealerships want to close their financial books at the end of the calendar year on a high. Check into that if you can hold off a month.

Also, you might be able to get a steal on a 2009 new, instead of a 2010 new. Not sure if new model year is out yet, but check it out. Might also save you money on car insurance too.

That's all I can think of right now. I don't envy your situation...I HATE car dealerships...they're the worst sometimes when it comes to slimy, lying sales people. No offense to the honest, hard working sales people...it's not directed at you all.

 

[Darcy03231]

We were car shopping this weekend. I will say I found its a good time to buy. Out of all the places we went to we were the only ones in the dealership. Good luck!

 

[clj1410]

Go online and get internet prices from several dealerships, for the Van that you want. Then take the lowest price and go to the nearest dealership or the one with best selection and ask them to match the price. I did that with our new Honda Odyssey and I got it for $6000 off the sticker price. Good luck!

 

[kmacht]

Here is what I do. Go to the dealerships and test drive a bunch of cars. Decide exactly what car you want and what features or options it has to have. Next, go online a do a little research. Find out what the typical dealer invoice is for the exact car and features you want. Finally, start calling dealerships on the phone. Tell them exactly what you are looking for and let them know you are ready to buy it for $250 above what you found for the invoice cost online. Do not let them negotiate or offer you something else. Be firm and make sure that they understand you want exactly what you told them for the price you determined (out the door and with all the junk fees they add). You will most likely find a dealership after calling two or three places that is willing to get you what you want for the price you want. The key is to know exactly what you are looking for and exactly how much you are willing to pay. Just walking into a dealership with a vague sense of what you want and no idea what is a good deal on it will usually end up with you paying more for the car than you have to. Give it a try. You have nothing to lose.

Keith

 

[tileman]

We always get the prices off of edmunds.

We go to the dealers and ask for the best price out the door.

Most want to know how much you want to spend & how much are you going to put down.

I say just your best price out the door how much I am putting down has nothing to do with the price of the truck or car.

Then they ask about getting the loan I say already done but if you can beat the % its yours.

It may take a few dealers to go to but its worth it.

My wifes 06 ram 3500 was on the lot for over $58,000
We got it out the door for $45,600 tax and all.

I got my 08 GMC 14' 3500 box truck on the lot for over $38,900
Payed a little over $27,000 tax and all

The deals are there you just have to know when to walk.

Also if you have no trade in or not let them do the loan they have no cards to deal with so most of the time you will get a good price out the door.
Do not let them know how much you are putting down or about the trade in or loan till you get the out the door price then you can work on the other stuff.

Read here and it dose work http://www.carbuyingtips.com/ after reading that site I have never had a bad deal or upside down in the trucks or cars I buy.
Good luck.



Ron.

 

[msmayor]

As the previous poster said, negotiate an out-the-door price...the bottom line cost of the vehicle.

Using this number instead of the 'price of the vehicle' means you don't need to worry at all about what fees or how much fees they are adding. They can massage those numbers however they want as long as they meet the FINAL price you are willing to pay.

Never negotiate based on "what will the monthly payment be"...far too much room for them to maneuver the price around.

Out the door pricing is the way to go. And make sure that when you do cut the deal that they indeed MAKE that the bottom line price. Or walk out.

 

[princessbride6205]

I second the recommendation of Edmunds.com
You can figure out what other customers are paying for the car you're looking at.
Get internet pricing (with a junk e-mail address - you'll get loads of messages from them long after you buy your car!).
Good luck!

 

[Chicago526]

I have heard that if you are flexable with your purchase timeline, that the best time to buy a car is on the last day of a month where the last day does not fall on a weekend. This is because the salesman and dealerships quotas are by month. If they know a weekend is coming up before the month closes, they feel they have more time to make up any sales they need for their goals, and aren't as desperate to close the deal. If it's the last day of the month and it's not a weekend, they know this could be their last chance at a sale if no one else walks into the dealership that day.

Even if they've made their quota, having one more sale could give them a bonus, put them at the top of of the list of most car sold in the dealership that month, or just make them look good in front of the boss (and in this economy, who doesn't want to impress the boss?).



In addition to the previous posters advice about doing tons of research and knowing exactly what you want and exactly the top amount you're willing to pay...you also want to get any needed financing in place (this also where knowing what you want to pay comes in, you'll know about the amount of the loan you'll need). Credit Unions are fantastic, of course also check with your current bank, they may offer a discount for existing customers. There are also a few banks that offer Blank Check programs (I know Capitol One does). Blank Checks are great because you get approved up to a certain amount, they FedEx you a blank check, and you just write it out to the dealership for any amount up to your limit.

In any event, this helps because you won't be at the mercy of the dealerships finance department. If they happen to be able to offer you a better deal, great. But you'll be able to negotiate the car like a cash buyer. In fact don't even TELL them you have financing in place, tell them you want to settle the price of the car first and then you'll discuss financing. Only once the price is locked in do you tell them you already have a loan in place. This is because often sales people and/or the dealership get a kick back from the finance company, and they count on this to pad their bottom line. If they think they are getting this kick back, they are more willing to go down on the vehical purchase price, counting on the kick back to make up the difference.

 

[puffkin]

1. Agree with PP....negotiate the price of the car, not the monthly payment.
2. Once you have settled on a price for the car, then discuss trade in. Do not even mention trade in before then. You have lots of negotiating power with the trade in! I NEVER bring a trade in to the dealership. I get a price with the vehicle unseen. NEVER had a problem with that, although I am truthful about condition of vehicle and features.
3. After you have settled on price and trade in, then discuss financing. A lot of times they will be able to give you better financing than what you can find on your own....especially if they know they are close to closing a deal.

Finally, I always negotiate on a car that is physically at their lot. I pick one that is closest to the features I want. Then after I get the 3 things above that I find acceptable, I throw in that it is a deal if they can get this same car in X color with X feature (feature needs to be something reasonable like floormats, not something horribly expensive). They can trade with other dealerships, so you don't have to settle. They will not be as willing to negotiate if you go in demadning a different car.

Also, I agree to shop at the end of the month. We found February to be a great time to get out there. Short month, cold, dark, snowy. Not a lot of people buying cars then.

 

[kkwis2]

We are in the process of purchasing a vehicle right now so I feel your pain! We also have an older car that has needed several thousand dollars of work in the past year, and I hate to put any more money into it when I know that it is just losing it's trade-in or resale value very quickly.

We are looking for a Honda and, unfortunately, there is only one dealership in our immediate area. They are pretty much unwilling to lower their price by much (plus the sales guy seemed like he couldn't care less if we purchase from him or not), so I (like you my husband is the nod and go with whatever I want on this kind of thing kind of guy!) am doing lots of research, making lots of calls and sending many e-mails to dealerships in a large metro area about 150 miles from us.

I have one dealer in particular who has given me his rock bottom price which I have found is probably pretty close, but I will never know what kind of discounts he received off of the "invoice" price. I will use this as a negotiating tool, though, will any dealer who has a vehicle that I want. Then they can do what they can to get my business.

Car shopping is great, car buying stinks! I hate the process and I hate feeling like I could get screwed around every corner. But, I guess it's like giving birth, drawn out and painful and something can go wrong at any point, but in the end you go home with a beautiful new "baby".

Good luck!

 

[poohj80]

We had an article in our paper within the last week which said Black Friday is the ebst day of the year to buy a new vehicle partially because everyone else is shopping in stores and they get little to no business that day.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We had an article in our paper within the last week which said Black Friday is the ebst day of the year to buy a new vehicle partially because everyone else is shopping in stores and they get little to no business that day.

That same article was just on Yahoo. I'll try to post a link:
http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/1166/black-friday-best-day-to-buy-a-car/

 

[njcarita]

op here......

I just emailed 8 dealership for a quote for the model & options I want......

 

[Cadiewampus]

I have one dealer in particular who has given me his rock bottom price which I have found is probably pretty close, but I will never know what kind of discounts he received off of the "invoice" price. I will use this as a negotiating tool, though, will any dealer who has a vehicle that I want. Then they can do what they can to get my business.



If he has given you a price that you think is fair what difference does it make what kind of discounts he is getting?

 

[wmharley]

if you are a member of a Credit union, they have an Auto Advisor program that contracts with various dealers. You tell them what you want, and they contact the Sales managers for pricing.. TECHNICALLY, they will have a negotiated price already and you and the dealer work out the final details, BUT I told mine last time, that she needed to find out the price and get back to me, as I had X price from another dealer with Y deals (free oil, etc). She came back and told me the price and what deal matching they would do. pretty painless.

i ended up buying a 1yo car, under warranty for $5K less than they wanted

 

[HeatherC]

I bought my Toyota Sienna using Edmunds for research. Then I used Autobytel to contact local dealers. I then told them that I was going to buy with whoever had the best price and that I was not coming in to fiddle around. They were not to try any upselling (options or warranties, etc..) I had them email me their best price. Out of 5 dealers I went with the lowest.

They also had 0% financing at the time so when I got to the dealer I wouldn't even walk in the door. I handed him my license and told him to run my credit and make sure I "qualified". That's when he knew I meant business. He came out 5 minutes later, I drove the car, went in, made sure the numbers were still the same and bought the car.

And get this...I had dh stop in and negotiate the price on the same car two days before to see if he could get a better price. But the one I got for the same car was $700 less. So I guess I did ok.

Good luck...buying cars is miserable.

 

[kkwis2]

If he has given you a price that you think is fair what difference does it make what kind of discounts he is getting?

I'm on the Budget Board for a reason! I want to get the most car I can get for the least amount of money. Every dollar spent is a dollar that is no longer in my bank account.