sephy

Hey, i know this is a shopping related thread, but i decided to post it here because of it being so broad. I was wondering if you guys and gals can give me some tips on haggling and stuff like that with a car salesman. I'm planning to get a new car next month and i'd appreciate it if you dish me out some tips. Thanks in advance.

Weak Sauce

iTrader: (1)

Rule #1; Be nice to the Salesman. If you are serious about buying THAT day, accept things from him/her like a beverage or a snack from the vending machine. That makes thme think you are serious if you are willing to spend some time at a table to eat chips and down a soda. Also, remember, it's the salesman who has to work the sales manager to get you a decent price. But regardless, if he's an A$$, walk away.

Rule#2; Timing is everything. I suggest going as close to the end of the month as possible. Most dealerships post their sales on a monthly basis and offer incentives to their salesman such as a bigger commission on previous sales if they hit a certain mark.

Rule#3; Know you're rights. You have the right to see the invoice of the car you're buying. Also, after you agree on the final price and interest, they will have to charge you a Tax & licensing fee. This is 10% and only 10%. This 10% fee added to the cost of the car. This is what people call the "out the door" or OTD price.

sephy

Could i be guaranteed an invoice price?

Weak Sauce

iTrader: (1)

That seriously depends on your salesperson and your relationship to him/her. That's why i stress courtesy to your salesperson. You are more likely to get a deal like an invoice price on a car that has been sitting on the lot for quite some time or a demo vehicle with a few hundred miles on it already. Also, I can't express how much your timing will affect your deal. If dealers are 1 or 2 cars away from a big month or 1 or 2 cars away from a sparse month and need to make numbers asap, they will sell their children to move a car.

MikalsWRX

Also if he says well what do you want to pay a month, tell them that if you get a good price on the car, the payments will fall into place. For ex if you tell them, well Im looking for just under $400 a month they might say ok and you could have had the car for $375 or so. DONT GET EXCITED ABOUT THE CAR. Tell them its a nice car and it goes from point A to point B just like any other car. If you show them that you really want the car,they will use that against you. AND DONT AGREE WITH the If I can get you that deal today will you sign the papers. Buying a car is a big investment, tell the Salesperson that and you dont want to feel like your being pressured. DONT FALL INTO the well someone was looking at this car yesterday, so if you dont buy it today it will probably be gone tomorrow. When I bought my WRX, I bought it from a Mazda dealer. Lucky for me they didnt know much about the car, so I was able to point little things out that made them drop the price. Like see this hear? It means the car was used for racing, :-) The car was lowered? Since the car is all wheel drive, this might cause damage to the car. Its not true, but they dont know that. These arent the proper springs on this car, could have done other damage :-)got anout $1700 off the car :-) Good luck and like it was said before, if hes an ***, WALK AWAY

Wingless Wonder

iTrader: (7)

I try to negotiate the price of the vehicle first, then financing terms second. Before I begin purchasing negotiations, I will have already gotten a loan pre-approval through my credit union or bank. You don't need the exact final selling price to get pre-approved, just a ballpark figure. The bank may already have this info available already. This makes the dealership have to try to beat the terms of my pre-approved loan if they want to sell me financing.

Take your time and read everything before you sign. I've never had a problem with any dealership but there are a small number of new car dealerships which have employed less-than-scrupulous selling tactics (Stevens Creek Subaru in San Jose CA).

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

sephy

Thanks guys, i'll surely use this knowledge to my advantage. If there's anymore tips out there, i'd appreciate it still.

equinn2823

negotiate the price of the car 1st invoice or under is considered a great deal. the invoice price of any new car is readily available online. kbb.com or edmunds. then negotiate your trade in if you have one. and lastly the interest rate. and depending on what state you are in the tax is usually not 10% its 6% here in nj. do your research online 1st, find at least two dealers that have the exact car you want on the lot and go to both of them, use that to your advantage, in the negotiations tell them that abc subaru dealer 20 minutes down the road has the same car on their lot i agree with the previous posts that you should be nice but i sell cars for a living and the deals that i look back on and say wow those people stole that car more often than not the people were a holes during the negotiations, if the people were sweethearts i am smiling all the way to the bank. the more informed and educated you are the better deal you will get. know your credit score and what your rate should be know what your trade is worth and know how much the car should cost and you will get what you want....

MokujinX5

Should you test drive the car first before talking numbers? Or walk in and just tell them you want to buy a car?

There's a TR sittin at a dealership that I'm really looking at... I've already test driven it, and I like it (Capt. Obvious), and I told the salesperson that I'm not ready to buy just yet, but maybe in a couple weeks or so. He was really cool, we talked cars most of the testdrive and then he took me out for a spin in the STI... WOW!! I actually knew more about the '06 than he did which surprised me... oh well.

Keep the advice coming!

equinn2823

you should test drive it 1st.

MokujinX5

Well, I can't really figure out what invoice price is... like it doesn't say on the Subaru website, actual car window sticker or anytihng... I've seen figures around 22K for invoice on the TR, but I don't want to offer that without knowing what the actual invoice price is (I don't want to low-ball them on a new car, you know).

MokujinX5

Ha ha... found it on Edmunds. Thanks E

LUvikes29

you have to be careful with using edmunds for invoice prices etc. While they're generally in the right ballpark, edmunds doesn't figure holdback, floorplan, and any other dealer incentives. While it's unlikely that a dealer will go into holdback on an 06 WRX, if there are volume incentives or other programs, you can sometimes do better.
it often helps "cut to the chase" if you bring in a thick folder of information, or make it clear that you've done your homework. A salesperson will take you much more seriously, especially if you're young, if it can be clearly seen that you're there to buy a car, and not to waste their time.

sephy

What would be considered vital information to bring to a dealership?

MokujinX5

Do you mean like a bunch of stuff with different pricing... other dealer quotes stuff like that?