xrayzebra
08-26-2006, 11:53 PM
So... how many of you buy new cars when it's time to replace your ride, and what's your modus operandi for getting the best deal?
If you never considered doing it this way - read and learn. Better yet, if you have a better way or better line on how to price the car, PUH-LEAZE chime in with what you know!!! I am eager to learn anything that can help me do a better job on this.
Buying a new car
I pick a car I like, price it on the internet and research features and options. Then I arrive at a price I am willing to pay. Then I pick a dealer. I usually do this by going back to the last dealer I dealt with and giving them a shot at earning my business again without me shopping them.
They earn my business by meeting the price I offer or countering with something really close.
If they fail to earn my business in this way, then I shop around. I pick the next geographically closest dealer and make the same offer to them.
I have only once had to go to a second dealer. This time, I will be going back to that former "second dealer," who has since sold me a second car this way. They met my price when I left the "first dealer" before them. That dealer had given me the run around on car 5, after I'd bought 4 other cars there the same way.
I always go in with a price in mind that I believe is lower than they would ever offer me but maybe $200 to $500 (based on whether the new model year just came out or has been out longer) more than the absolute lowest price I believe possible. I don't mind leaving $200 to $300 on the table if it saves me time and embarrassment. I hate to feel like a jerk when I lay my terms and my price on them and they call my bluff by saying they just cannot do it, and I have to walk away.
I don't test drive the car until I think I am ready to buy it. Then, I go in once and ask to take it for a few hours or over night so I can really drive it.
When I bring it back, I give them my price and say I'll sign for it immediately if they meet my price. I time this so it occurs on about the 28th of the month, and tell them I can take delivery before the end of the month, or after, whatever works best for them.
I do strictly a cash deal - I've got better financing than they can offer thru my credit union "home equity line of credit" account, so I can write a check on the spot. I always ask them how much they'll take on a credit card, cuz ours has a rebate deal.
Don't mention paying cash until they agree to the price. They'd rather finance it for you. They make money on the financing, as much as 1% or 2% from some banks. They'll try to talk you into financing or a lease even if you don't want it. I don't buy any aftermarket stuff... upholstery protection, paint protection, etc. Anything they want to sell you at the dealer after the sale is (if you actually need it at all) twice the price of elsewhere.
If I ever buy another Volvo, I will, however, buy the extended warranty. The last two Volvos have been expensive after the warranty ran out. The extended warranty would have easily paid me back double or triple.
By the way - I always do the math... check out delivery fees and taxes and all other expected expenses, and make my offer an "out the door" price. They hate having to do the math themselves to figure out exactly what they have to sell the car for to make it all add up to my out the door price, but they don't hate it as much as I hate having them tack on some bullshit that adds $500 when I have made the deal, am thinking I have won, and I am siging the papers - only to find that there is some mystery charge I never heard of. I like dealing in firm bottom lines, and no surprises. It makes it a little harder for them. If we get down to the end and there's a last minute "oops - it adds up to $50 more than we agreed to, no problem. If it's $500, we start over.
Research
I use Edmunds and CarPrices and maybe another website to determine my offer price. I won't state a formula, because it has been a couple years now since I did this. I need to brush up a bit. I believe I was using something like 10% off of MSRP and 20% off of add on items from the dealer like subwoofer or whatever. Working from wholesale or "invoice" is also good, but I forget the formula for that, but many manufacturers have come up with ways of concealing the real values they need to sell a car. "Invoice" is actually more than the dealer pays. They get the cars under that number most of the time.
Selling the old car
When I sell the car I am replacing, I never trade it. I place a one line ad in the newspaper that only says something like "2000 Volvo S-80, black, www.mydomainhere.com/volvo." No phone number, no price, nothing but the year, make, model, and color. If the buyer can't look at a web page, fuck'em.
I put up a web page with good pix, details that would rival my lengthiest post, a reasonable but firm price, a reason for selling, and all the stuff a person asks you when they are buying a car. I also put in an special email address that only applies to the car sale. I answer the email they send me and set up an appointment, and tell them the terms - cashier's check or cash, and remind them that the price is fair and firm, don't bother to come if you intend to try to negotiate - plus my phone number. I also go way out of my way to tell them anything wrong with the car - every scratch or dent, every quirk. I also tell them I have not detailed the car recently, because I want you to see it exactly as it is, and I am telling you everything that's wrong because I don't need to steal from anybody, and I'd like to be able to be friends if we meet again. People love that shit.
Usually, I get one or two call backs from people who get pissed off and hang up after they realize I mean it. Then, someone comes to the house, drives the car, smiles and gives me a cashier's check.
Then, I change the email address on the website to an autoresponder that says, "Sorry - the car is sold."
When I used to sell my cars with a regular add in the paper, I would get dozens of calls from people who wanted to haggle before they even saw the car, and then I would get more calls for 2 months from dumbasses who were looking at old newspapers, or who had called me once before and decided to check back. Now, I usually sell a car in 2 or 3 emails and phone calls, and when it is done, I'm done. I have one stranger coming to my house instead of 5 or 6 assholes who want to offer me way less and tell me sob stories, waaaaa, about why they really need the car but can't afford it, and how they can get a better car for less, but they need it now, so they'll do me a favor and take it off my hands today if I'll give it away.
If you never considered doing it this way - read and learn. Better yet, if you have a better way or better line on how to price the car, PUH-LEAZE chime in with what you know!!! I am eager to learn anything that can help me do a better job on this.
Buying a new car
I pick a car I like, price it on the internet and research features and options. Then I arrive at a price I am willing to pay. Then I pick a dealer. I usually do this by going back to the last dealer I dealt with and giving them a shot at earning my business again without me shopping them.
They earn my business by meeting the price I offer or countering with something really close.
If they fail to earn my business in this way, then I shop around. I pick the next geographically closest dealer and make the same offer to them.
I have only once had to go to a second dealer. This time, I will be going back to that former "second dealer," who has since sold me a second car this way. They met my price when I left the "first dealer" before them. That dealer had given me the run around on car 5, after I'd bought 4 other cars there the same way.
I always go in with a price in mind that I believe is lower than they would ever offer me but maybe $200 to $500 (based on whether the new model year just came out or has been out longer) more than the absolute lowest price I believe possible. I don't mind leaving $200 to $300 on the table if it saves me time and embarrassment. I hate to feel like a jerk when I lay my terms and my price on them and they call my bluff by saying they just cannot do it, and I have to walk away.
I don't test drive the car until I think I am ready to buy it. Then, I go in once and ask to take it for a few hours or over night so I can really drive it.
When I bring it back, I give them my price and say I'll sign for it immediately if they meet my price. I time this so it occurs on about the 28th of the month, and tell them I can take delivery before the end of the month, or after, whatever works best for them.
I do strictly a cash deal - I've got better financing than they can offer thru my credit union "home equity line of credit" account, so I can write a check on the spot. I always ask them how much they'll take on a credit card, cuz ours has a rebate deal.
Don't mention paying cash until they agree to the price. They'd rather finance it for you. They make money on the financing, as much as 1% or 2% from some banks. They'll try to talk you into financing or a lease even if you don't want it. I don't buy any aftermarket stuff... upholstery protection, paint protection, etc. Anything they want to sell you at the dealer after the sale is (if you actually need it at all) twice the price of elsewhere.
If I ever buy another Volvo, I will, however, buy the extended warranty. The last two Volvos have been expensive after the warranty ran out. The extended warranty would have easily paid me back double or triple.
By the way - I always do the math... check out delivery fees and taxes and all other expected expenses, and make my offer an "out the door" price. They hate having to do the math themselves to figure out exactly what they have to sell the car for to make it all add up to my out the door price, but they don't hate it as much as I hate having them tack on some bullshit that adds $500 when I have made the deal, am thinking I have won, and I am siging the papers - only to find that there is some mystery charge I never heard of. I like dealing in firm bottom lines, and no surprises. It makes it a little harder for them. If we get down to the end and there's a last minute "oops - it adds up to $50 more than we agreed to, no problem. If it's $500, we start over.
Research
I use Edmunds and CarPrices and maybe another website to determine my offer price. I won't state a formula, because it has been a couple years now since I did this. I need to brush up a bit. I believe I was using something like 10% off of MSRP and 20% off of add on items from the dealer like subwoofer or whatever. Working from wholesale or "invoice" is also good, but I forget the formula for that, but many manufacturers have come up with ways of concealing the real values they need to sell a car. "Invoice" is actually more than the dealer pays. They get the cars under that number most of the time.
Selling the old car
When I sell the car I am replacing, I never trade it. I place a one line ad in the newspaper that only says something like "2000 Volvo S-80, black, www.mydomainhere.com/volvo." No phone number, no price, nothing but the year, make, model, and color. If the buyer can't look at a web page, fuck'em.
I put up a web page with good pix, details that would rival my lengthiest post, a reasonable but firm price, a reason for selling, and all the stuff a person asks you when they are buying a car. I also put in an special email address that only applies to the car sale. I answer the email they send me and set up an appointment, and tell them the terms - cashier's check or cash, and remind them that the price is fair and firm, don't bother to come if you intend to try to negotiate - plus my phone number. I also go way out of my way to tell them anything wrong with the car - every scratch or dent, every quirk. I also tell them I have not detailed the car recently, because I want you to see it exactly as it is, and I am telling you everything that's wrong because I don't need to steal from anybody, and I'd like to be able to be friends if we meet again. People love that shit.
Usually, I get one or two call backs from people who get pissed off and hang up after they realize I mean it. Then, someone comes to the house, drives the car, smiles and gives me a cashier's check.
Then, I change the email address on the website to an autoresponder that says, "Sorry - the car is sold."
When I used to sell my cars with a regular add in the paper, I would get dozens of calls from people who wanted to haggle before they even saw the car, and then I would get more calls for 2 months from dumbasses who were looking at old newspapers, or who had called me once before and decided to check back. Now, I usually sell a car in 2 or 3 emails and phone calls, and when it is done, I'm done. I have one stranger coming to my house instead of 5 or 6 assholes who want to offer me way less and tell me sob stories, waaaaa, about why they really need the car but can't afford it, and how they can get a better car for less, but they need it now, so they'll do me a favor and take it off my hands today if I'll give it away.