I need some car buying tips

[cjnix29]

We just bought a car on Saturday. Our biggest asset was we found a car that had been on their lot for awhile, and they wanted to move it. Also their sales had started the month sluggish. We started negotiating, and our price and their price equaled a difference in payment of over 250 a month!! They were so wanting to sell us a van that they asked us what we would have to have to make it work...we gave them a number that we thought there was NO way they could come to, and they actually did it! Score!

We have bought lots of cars, and the biggest thing is you have to be willing to walk away if you don't get what you want. (seems you haven't had a hard time doing that!). Are you trading in a car? Make sure you get an accurate price of what your car is worth. You can definitely pit one dealer against another when it comes to your trade in value. I have gotten dealerships to match or exceed what I have gotten from another dealer on my trade.

Also, do you or your husband work for a larger company? DH's company gets supplier pricing with some car manufacturers, sometimes equaling 1 or 2% under invoice. We always play that card AFTER they have given us all the deals they are going to offer. Compare car ads, and take them with you to the dealership.

Good luck! For me, the negotiation is always part of the fun! But then again, I was an attorney in my previous life.

 

[penguin087]

I just got the best deal i've ever gotten on a new car. We went in on the last day of the month late. Like after dinner time. We were the last people there, the owner was there and really wanted 1 more sale for the month. He got it.
I actually felt the first price they showed us was a fair deal. They came down 2 more times.
Ill never buy a car in the middle of the month again.

 

[alymae1010]

I like to try and put dealers against each other. First, I'll find the exact car I want (color, options, etc) online and contact that dealer's internet department. Once I get a quote, I'll go to another dealer and tell them that I want a car from their rival, and tell them what I was quoted. Dealers can often trade cars with other dealers, so if they want my business, they will get that car from the first place I contacted, and beat that price. I've had luck with that method.

Also, don't forget about the Chrysler credit union discount after you're done negotiating.

 

[mousebymarriage]

I have a 2009 Chrysler town & Country, it is my fourth Chrysler minivan and I LOVE it! I also have to admit that my DH works for Chrysler but, that has nothing to do with my reason for loving the minivan, we also have a 2005 Cirrus (also a Chrysler car) and I hate that freakin thing(I have hated it from day 1)! The Cirrus is DH's car and the minvan is mine! Anyway, back to the OP we bought the van last July and even though my DH works for the dealer they were not offering us the greatest deal. Yes, we got the rebates (including owner loyalty because we were repeat customers) and we even got the employee "discount" but, still I felt they could do better. My DH knows I have a big mouth and told me not to say anything, lucky for him I also don't follow directions very well either. When they quoted us the monthly payment I told them "no, I think you can do better than that" at first they said that was the best they could do but, eventually they dropped the price.

I did exactly the same thing with the last minvan we bought but with that one we bought it in September (you get better deals then because they are trying to unload the inventory because the new stuff is coming in). With the last one (the one in September a few years ago), I told them that there were 5 other minivans on the lot in the exact same color and features and that it had been sitting on the lot for 9 months (my DH looked it up on the computer at work). i told them that they were paying the insurance on the van while it sat on the lot and they have been paying it for 9 months so it was costing them money, so wouldn't it be better to just sell it to me at a better price and free up that lot space to make room for one of the newer models that were coming in very soon. I got a really good deal on that one!

**I have to agree with a PP that said to go at the end of the month. the dealerships are much more willing to negotiate at the end of the month because it counts toward that months car sales totals, if their sales are down for the month they will try REAL hard to sell a few more cars at the last minute to bring up those totals.