Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 89

New Car

I seem to remember some one posting a web site that helped you get better ammo to use when you are looking for a new car. I am looking for a new car and I guess that I want to be able to find the best deal. If any one has some good ideas I would love to hear them!

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Registered: Apr 2002
Location:
Posts: 74

Check out...

When I was looking at cars last year, I checked out www.edmunds.com.

They had a lot of good info on exactly what each "charge" on the invoice is for and what you can and cannot negotiate. They even had info on countering different strategies that the sales people throw at you to try and get you to buy the car.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

There are a handful of sites out there like that. What you want to look for is the invoice price along with any hidden rebates that the dealership is getting.

Finding the rebates can be difficult at times, though.

You need to watch for those because sometimes a dealership can claim to be selling at below costs and still be making a hefty profit due to their rebates they are getting from the factory.

Some tips I remember learning:

- Never offer your car for trade in until AFTER you negotiate a final price for the new car

- Shop online. You can get quotes emailed to you from a variety of vendors for comparison. Ignore any of them that say 'give us a call'. They don't want your business. Just look at the ones that quote a price in the email.

- Saturns typically have the highest mark-up of all cars (they don't haggle, therefore, they ALWAYS get their markup). Keep in mind that Saturn's prices are set at the factory, too...so there is no competition.

My last new car was narrowed down to a Subaru Forrester vs. a Honda CRV. None of the Honda dealerhips I went to posted prices in the windows. Pathetic. The Subaru place said flatly "I'll give anything to you at $300 over invoice". After doing some research and word-of-mouth I found that the Subaru dealer was more than honest and gave me a better deal.

A nice recent article on buying online:
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/speci...42/article.html

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Registered: Mar 2002
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 4

My Strategy...

I recently bought a car and used this strategy....

Once I decided on the car I wanted (VW Cabrio) I got a list of all th edealers in my area. I then called and got email addresses of salesmen from each.

I then sent out a "bid request" to each dealer explaining that I was a serious buyer (I was going to by within the week), that I had done my home work and knew what the dealers cost was, and that I was emailing my request to multiple dealers in the area. Lowest price would get my business.

This strategy worked great for me, because I am horrible at face to face negotiations. And it took little effort/time on my part.

good luck!

Registered: May 2002
Location: Mt. Laurel, NJ
Posts: 10

My .02 on car buying

Here's what I used as a guide for car buying last year:
http://www.fool.com/car/Buyingacar.htm?ref=PFinAg

It's basically the similar strategy of e-mailing dealers on their 'best quote'. No in-person haggling required. I'm not the best haggler around ('what you don't want to haggle?')

I basically followed their advice and was able to get a new car within a week (I had an accident with my old car and needed a new car ASAP). It worked for me, even made it (almost) enjoyable (gasp!).

BTW, I recommend the Motley Fool site for anything else, money related.

Another good website for car price comparison is www.kbb.com (Kelley Blue Book) and www.carpoint.com (warning - MS site.. )

Good luck with everything.

Last edited by robertruelan on 06-10-2002 at 08:20 PM

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

quote:

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Originally posted by homer

My last new car was narrowed down to a Subaru Forrester vs. a Honda CRV. None of the Honda dealerhips I went to posted prices in the windows. Pathetic. The Subaru place said flatly "I'll give anything to you at $300 over invoice". After doing some research and word-of-mouth I found that the Subaru dealer was more than honest and gave me a better deal.

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[off topic]
Hey, thats funny, I had the same dilemma and went for the Forrester too
The local AA (NRMA) did compare the 2 cars and the forrester won, I did find a nice 2yr old at the dealer that fit my needs... really enjoy 'the suby'.
Seen the previews of the 2002 forrester? it looks sweet and it fixes the (few) gripes I have with my 98... (mainly more legspace in the back)
[/off topic]

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

and here I thought you got the forester because of that aussie pitchman ...

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

quote:

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Hey, thats funny, I had the same dilemma and went for the Forrester too

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Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

quote:

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Originally posted by homer

I only have a few gripes as well...including the lack of legroom in back. Glad to hear they fixed that in the '02s. Did they lengthen the car or move the rear seats further back?

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Total length is the same but wheelbase is longer... so they moved the back seat back I guess..

quote:

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Originally posted by homer
And the fact that you had to get some sort of 'deluxe' option pack to get side-air bags. I think those should be on even the lowest end packages.

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My '98 limited does not have side airbags, don't think that was available at all... But I believe it is standard in the '02 model...
the '02 model will have a bigger engine too .. no news about a turbo model yet ...

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Registered: May 2000
Location: Cleveland, Ohio 44067
Posts: 242

Re: My Strategy...

quote:

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Originally posted by jackson40
I recently bought a car and used this strategy....

Once I decided on the car I wanted (VW Cabrio) I got a list of all th edealers in my area. I then called and got email addresses of salesmen from each.

I then sent out a "bid request" to each dealer explaining that I was a serious buyer (I was going to by within the week), that I had done my home work and knew what the dealers cost was, and that I was emailing my request to multiple dealers in the area. Lowest price would get my business.

This strategy worked great for me, because I am horrible at face to face negotiations. And it took little effort/time on my part.

good luck!

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Jackson, I did just about the same thing with the last two cars I bought. Maybe I could have gotten a slightly better price with haggling but if you are not a good haggler and don't like to do it, this is a good way to get a fair price!

This was sweet : when I bought my A4 in 1996, I received quotes from the four local dealerships. The prices differed by nearly $2500! About a month after I bought my car, the high priced dealership called me to see how I was doing with my "potential" purchase. I told them I loved the car and that it drove great. She asked me when and where I bought it, so I told her where and that she was $2500 more than them. She asked why I didn't call her back for a better price, that she could have done much better. I told her I asked for her BEST price the first time and better luck next time

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Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

Re: Re: My Strategy...

quote:

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Originally posted by maddog

This was sweet : when I bought my A4 in 1996, I received quotes from the four local dealerships. The prices differed by nearly $2500! About a month after I bought my car, the high priced dealership called me to see how I was doing with my "potential" purchase. I told them I loved the car and that it drove great. She asked me when and where I bought it, so I told her where and that she was $2500 more than them. She asked why I didn't call her back for a better price, that she could have done much better. I told her I asked for her BEST price the first time and better luck next time

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

As a car salesman I would like to offer one final piece of advice (ok maybe two).

First you can get an incredible deal if you know what dealer invoice is, what the rebates are, etc. true - but don't forget to get quotes from competing dealers in the same area (at the end of the month) and then use the best number at one of the other dealers ("Dealer 'X' will sell me the car for $X, what can you do?")

We will (our dealership) will often "steal" a deal from a competitor and lose money on a single car if;

It takes a number from them at the end of the month.

Gives us another number towards our monthly total.

Dealers are in competition with each other, something that the makers want. They give us money you don't know about in order to hit certain numbers, and/or to be the top selling dealer in a district.

Also remember that a lot of car salesmen are actually human- if they're not being rude to you there is no reason to be rude to them. Some dealerships actually need to keep existing customers and want referrals from you, so they will treat you decently.

It maybe a little bit of a hassle to go back and have someone try to beat another dealers number, but I have seen too many people pay more than they had to because they were to tired, etc. to take that extra step.

Michael

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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Registered: Apr 2002
Location:
Posts: 74

question for mike..

I've got a question fo' my inside man!

Many of the car-advice sites say that many of the car dealerships really make a ton of money in their service departments, not so much in selling cars.

I live a walking distance from a nissan dealership. (less than 1/4 mile down the street from my development. After getting the prices from competiting dealers, can i walk into the place, say "I want X car at invoice price."

"why should we?"

"because I live 600 feet away and I'll be taking the car HERE for all of its service-related issues. You guys are going to make more money off me from service than you would from sales."

Would that work?

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

Many of the car-advice sites say that many of the car dealerships really make a ton of money in their service departments, not so much in selling cars.

Dealerships do make money in their service departments, not as much as you might think, but it is a necessary part of their profit margin.
(we give first services free to get people in the door)

"because I live 600 feet away and I'll be taking the car HERE for all of its service-related issues. You guys are going to make more money off me from service than you would from sales." ."

Would that work?

I don't know if you would have to say that way. You might also say something like, "Dealer X told me they would sell me this car at $X, I'd prefer to buy it from you though. Can you beat that price?" This, or a variation, would probably work best.

I would be tempted as a salesperson to say to your question, "I might be able to match that deal, and think of how convenient it would be for you to not have to drive so far to get your car serviced."

Almost every maker has a car that doesn't usually get discounted because of demand. We have been pre-selling the New 350Z at MSRP. No dickering.... Until last fall we were not discounting Xterras either.

Just remember that the trade-in value you get from Edmunds, KBB, NADA, are regional or national and are probably slightly different where you are. Also More importantly they are prices that are supposed to be discounted from the MSRP of the new car you are looking from- in other words don't expect to buy a car at invoice and get full trade-in for your trade.

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Registered: Apr 2002
Location:
Posts: 74

and people say visor central is obsolete

cool advice - Thanks.

Registered: May 2001
Location: GA, USA
Posts: 76

My tidbit of info...

Something I refuse to do is tell the dealer how much I owe on my trade in before they appraise it. Everytime I told them beforehand, the appraisal comes back at just breaking even.

One guy came back with a trade in value on a Mustang that was about $2000 less than what Kelley and Edmunds listed trade in value at. When I laughed (I actually could not retrain a chuckle) and told him that I "knew" was worth more, he said: "Just tell me what you need it to be."

I told him I need the appraisal to be what it's worth and he did not need to know what I owed to determine the value of the car.

I walked out of the dealership 60 seconds later and will never go there again.

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I always try to remember that YOU are more important than they are, that is, they NEED you - you can go somewhere else. You call the shots and "vote with your wallet" as they say.