Help us buy an Equinox

[TinkOhio]

The time has come to trade in our old Grand Caravan for a smaller and more economical Equinox. The size seems right for our family of 4, and the price-point fits well, too. We would like to be in the new car by the end of July- mid August at the latest.

So...are there any tips you might share about how we go about shopping around, determining a fair (or good) price, and negotiating? We haven't had to buy a new car in a while, and we would like to get the best deal possible.

Please help!

 

[cbg1027]

Start by checking the values at sites like Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds.

Shop around at several dealers. Find out their bottom line price and go to the next dealer. If there's a car you like, say "So and so will give me this for ____ amount. Can you do better?"
If they can, great, say you'll think about it and go to the next dealer. Tell them what you were offered at the other places and see what they will do.
Don't ever think that what a dealer calls their 'bottom line' is really the lowest they will go. The most powerful thing you can do is to them them you'll think about it and walk away.

Of course you take the chance on that car not being there if you decide to go back, but you can end up with a better deal that way.

Also, I wouldn't do a trade in with your old vehicle. You'll probably get more money selling it privately than any dealer will give you on a trade-in.

 

[akcire]

Figure out the model of Equinox you want including all the extra features, and send an email to 3-4 dealers and ask for their best cash price. Whichever one gives you the lowest price is the dealership to the place to start.

 

[DisneyPolve]

My suggestions is be up front about going to look at other dealerships. When we were shopping for a car, they gave us their "bottom price" which was a good offer, we thought, but told them we were going to be looking at a few more dealers that same day and let them know that evening or the next day. The guy left and came back with a new offer 1,700 dollars less. We filled out the paperwork right then an there. We ended up paying close to 8,000 less then asking price with only 2,000 of it being customer rebates. The car was brand new, with only 18 miles on it, and 5 we put on during the test drive Til this day we are extremely happy with price and I have never seen it offered at a lower price or heard of anyone getting it cheaper...with the options ours came with anyways. The base model MSRP'd for $500 more then we paid for ours.

When we were talking to the salesman and finance manager they were telling us, that they have found people normally buy a car when they get tired looking not when they find a car they love! So they will do a lot if they think the people are serious about buying and are ready to honestly walk out the door to go to another dealer. Cause they never know when that customer will just be tired of looking!

Good luck, sending low price vibes your way and pixie dust

 

[Swimalie]

Do you have a Costco membership? If so, use their buying program. They have set prices and will only charge a set amount that has been pre-negotiated. My mom did it with her Prius and said it was great. We're buying a new car next winter and we'll be using it as well.

 

[msmayor]

Don't negotiate based on just the car's price...negotiate the "out the door" price...taxes, tags, EVERYTHING. Use that as your basis of comparison between dealers. INSIST on the "out the door" price and if they won't give you one, then to me that's a sign they will try to add stuff in at the end.

Don't get hung up quibbling over the 'pieces' of the price. If you go in knowing what your bottom line "out the door" price is, you shouldn't care how they massage the 'pieces' of the price to make it work.

 

[lovemygoofy]

We are also looking at a possible equinox purchase in a few months. Have you found one you like and would like to purchase? The equinox is far and few between right now. Chevy has rolled out all they plan to for 2010 and then this fall will roll out the 2011 models around September or so.

Right now there aren't really any incentives for the equinox because people are buying them like hot cakes. No money back and the interest rate through Chevy is 6.9 for 60 months on the equinox with GOOD credit.

Look at other venues for financing if you have to do so. I know that Sam's club also has a car purchasing program as well as some credit unions.

When we looked recently all the baseline models had sold and everything left had all the bells and whistles that my husband doesn't neeed but they wouldn't come down on so we walked. We were assured that the equinox would be sold within a week and I told them best of luck. Last week they called and asked if we were still interested in it and we said no as we changed our mind. They have called twice since then but my husband just hasn't made up his mind yet about what he wants to purchase.

 

[momtosam]

I don't want to dissuade, but just wanted to throw-out that my Equinox was the worst car to drive I've ever had. The back is so high it is really hard to see out of the back of the car. It is the only car I've ever had a fender-bender in because of this. I am relatively short (5 foot 2), so I'm sure that is the problem. Just be sure that anyone who will be driving this car test drives it first. My dad has one, too, and my mom HATES driving it.

 

[KLAIT]

I agree. HAve everyone who will drive the vehicle test drive it FIRST. I hate our Equinox. Agree that it is the worst car I have ever driven.

 

[tinkabella627]

We are also looking at a possible equinox purchase in a few months. Have you found one you like and would like to purchase? The equinox is far and few between right now. Chevy has rolled out all they plan to for 2010 and then this fall will roll out the 2011 models around September or so.

Right now there aren't really any incentives for the equinox because people are buying them like hot cakes. No money back and the interest rate through Chevy is 6.9 for 60 months on the equinox with GOOD credit.

Look at other venues for financing if you have to do so. I know that Sam's club also has a car purchasing program as well as some credit unions.

When we looked recently all the baseline models had sold and everything left had all the bells and whistles that my husband doesn't neeed but they wouldn't come down on so we walked. We were assured that the equinox would be sold within a week and I told them best of luck. Last week they called and asked if we were still interested in it and we said no as we changed our mind. They have called twice since then but my husband just hasn't made up his mind yet about what he wants to purchase.

This is true where we are too... we went to the Chevy dealer to look at the equinox because we have a Chevy lease we are getting rid of. The guy was first off, rude to us, I imagine because we are 26 and look younger even, and then told us basically there was nothing they would do on pricing. I emailed a few other dealers too about the pricing and they were basically useless. We ended up staying away from chevy and negotiated with another dealer.

What we did was:
~Email one dealer adn get to talking with them about prices. We went in to talk to him and see what he could offer. We were honest and said we were looking at another one and would compare offers but when we got the 2nd places offer, would call back and let him know what it was.
~Went to 2nd dealer, got a better offer, called 1st dealer and gave him a chance to match it. We got a better model car from dealer 2 for a better price. He gave us a little more money off so dealer 2 gave me a free extended warranty.
~Called dealer 1 and said we r staying here they gave us the warranty and he said he would give us the best warranty the company offered (gold plus or something) but couldn't give me details over the phone because he had people waiting for him (which right there, he already lost my business for rushing me off the phone).
~Asked dealer 2 what this other warranty was and they ended up giving us that one for free and some other stuff- free oil changes, free car washes, and some other things that are on our paper work that I can't think of right now.

We walked away with the car that day.

 

[Luvdancink]

I had looked into an equinox. I have a family friend who is a dealer who said that the new Equinox is substantially different from the older ones, and they can't keep them on the market. He has a waiting list to order them. He told me if you want a good deal pick a different car because they are selling the Equinox at full list and there isn't going to be a rebate on them because they are selling so fast. Now I don't know what to do. At least I know he's being upfront with me.

 

[PatMcDuck]

My DH recently bought a used 2007 Equinox and he loves it. Found it on AutoTrader......

Good luck!

 

[horseshowmom]

I know some people aren't comfortable with doing this, but I bought my last car (last year) completely through the internet. I went on autotrader.com and cars.com and researched my vehicle. I wanted a used car that had no more than 15,000 miles and a substantial amount of time left on the warranty .

I narrowed down the car I wanted to 3 dealerships - one in Georgia, one in Texas, and one in Missouri. The cars weren't identical but all had the features I wanted. I got a large number of pictures so I knew what I was getting and talked to the salesmen to make sure there were no scratches, dings, etc. (no matter how minor - I didn't want any).

I called each of the dealers and told them that I was looking at 3 cars and that whomever gave me the best price (total price including all taxes, fees, etc. PLUS shipping the car to me) would be the car I bought.

The dealer with the BEST vehicle gave me the best price. It's an Eddie Bauer edition and loaded out (including a sunroof) and had only 11,000 miles on it. The same car here would have cost me at least $5000 more (and probably more).

I've had a couple of problems covered by the warranty and handled by a local dealer who was more than happy to do it since Ford pays them for the work.

The same strategy will work for a new car. This was the easiest, most stress free way of buying a car that we've ever done. My husband now thinks I'm a genius. Some of our friends were skeptical at first, but they're believers now.


ETA: Of course, this would mean that you would have to sell your old vehicle yourself, but you'll likely save more on the deal than you would have gotten for the trade in anyway.

 

[Jill2150]

Not sure what year those OP Equinox's are, but I have a 2010 and I love it. You can go to Yahoo Auto or AOL Auto and you will find people love theirs also. We test drove one back in 07 and hated it also, but the new one's are great. We got the back up camera (about $350), which may help with blind spots (which all SUV's and vans have)
We had a supplier discount through my DH work and actually had to order ours because they didn't have any. We had to wait about 8 weeks for it to come in, but totally worth it. Our dealer also had up front pricing so maybe you could find a dealer that has something like that. I also had Costco membership but they did not have any dealers within like 500 miles of me that offered the discount.

 

[sunlover13]

My friend has an Equinox and it is in the shop all the time.

If you know someone who works for or worked for GM, they can give you a the Supplier discount. I can give out 1 per month. I gave 1 out this month already, but if you want 1 for July, I can give you an authorization number. Just PM me.

Check gmfamilyfirst.com to see the supplier discount on your vehicle. Depending on the vehicle, you can save anywhere from $500 to $5000.

This is for NEW vehicles only.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I got my 2010 Equinox in Feb (I ordered it in Nov). Ok, to those that say they hate it, it is a brand new design, Old Eq do not count.

This car is so hot there are no incentives for it at all!! I had been looking and pricing this car since cash for clunkers last August. We have both Sam's and Costco. The GM dealerships with Sams said no incentives. We also have Costco, and they were giving 200 over cost. Now, the local dealer near me said nope. I had also spoken to a dealership near where my DH works (the parent compnay of my local dealership). I told him that I was going with the Costco dealer, and he asked what they were offering, and I told him, and he said he would match it . It is funny the local one near me wouldn't but they would .

I really liked the people where I bought it too. I was lucky and got a great deal, they aren't even offering GM employees discounts on this car. So, if you have Costco I would call them, otherwise you are paying what they say!

I LOVE LOVE my car! I ordered exactly what I wanted, color, model, extras and I am very happy .

Call around to all your local dealers and see what happens..good luck.

 

[cassandrap83]

The best thing you can do is be prepared. Know what you want, and what you can afford to pay for it.

Go to the dealership & test drive it, decide if you want what is available or if you want to order one instead, custom fit to your needs. The Equinox is very much in demand right now, and chances are if you find one with the exact features you want at a dealership, the next dealership down the road will not have that same one.

My only piece of advice, and this is personal b/c my husband works hard to sell cars for a living (works for a Chevy dealership in particular) If you go to Dealership A & spend 3hours of the salesman's time learning about the car, test driving the car, "deciding", and working out numbers, When you go down the street to Dealership B and walk in with the # from Dealership A and ask them to beat it, and they do.... by $200 don't take that deal, please. Why should that dealership get the deal for 10min worth of work? You just took up 3hours of another salesman's,finance manager's, & car manager's busy day to do all of your research, and then you take a $200 cheaper price at the next dealership. ANY dealership will offer you a lower price if you come in with a set #, but please give credit where it is due. Go back to Dealership A, and 99/100 they will match that price, and will have rightfully earned your business.

 

[DisneyDebbie]

The best thing you can do is be prepared. Know what you want, and what you can afford to pay for it.

Go to the dealership & test drive it, decide if you want what is available or if you want to order one instead, custom fit to your needs. The Equinox is very much in demand right now, and chances are if you find one with the exact features you want at a dealership, the next dealership down the road will not have that same one.

My only piece of advice, and this is personal b/c my husband works hard to sell cars for a living (works for a Chevy dealership in particular) If you go to Dealership A & spend 3hours of the salesman's time learning about the car, test driving the car, "deciding", and working out numbers, When you go down the street to Dealership B and walk in with the # from Dealership A and ask them to beat it, and they do.... by $200 don't take that deal, please. Why should that dealership get the deal for 10min worth of work? You just took up 3hours of another salesman's,finance manager's, & car manager's busy day to do all of your research, and then you take a $200 cheaper price at the next dealership. ANY dealership will offer you a lower price if you come in with a set #, but please give credit where it is due. Go back to Dealership A, and 99/100 they will match that price, and will have rightfully earned your business.

absolutely agree, give salesman #1 a chance to match or beat the price of a competitor especially if #1 did all the legwork

 

[rickdeni]

We had a 2005 Equinox which my husband loved except the gas mileage was awful. We went to buy a new one to find out what everyone else found out that we had to order one since there was not one available for 100 miles (and we are a suburb of Chicago). The only discount was a $300 repeat customer. My husband loves all the bells and whistles so ordering it gave him just what he wanted. The dealership sold his 2005 before we left the lot. I know we could have got more money for it but to me it is not worth the hassle.

 

[sunlover13]

I was lucky and got a great deal, they aren't even offering GM employees discounts on this car.

Are you sure about that? I just checked the supplier discount and it is $250 on a 2010 Equinox. I didn't check the employee discount, but the supplier discount (friends) discount is $250.