Buying a new car

[spanky]

my cousin told me to go to carsdirect.com and buy a car at their price (not the msrp). is that a good idea, or can i haggle more? does anyone know if the carsdirect.com price is invoice, or is it invoice with a percent markup?

 

[jaedaliu]

check with edmunds.com they have invoice prices listed.

Somewhere on fatwallet there's a thread by some guy that brags for pages about how to buy a car at the price you want. Used to be a salesman and says that your out the door should be 2k below invoice. But he's got suspect info. Telling people to buy the chrysler pacifica because it's a great option as a SUV. IT'S NOT A SUV!

anyways, check edmunds for invoice info and what people in your area are supposedly paying for the car. There's a story by a guy that went to work for a Toyota dealership and then a Saturn dealership. Okay, it doesn't say Toyota, but it's the brand that comes to mind.

 

[ZoomStop]

Originally posted by: spanky
my cousin told me to go to carsdirect.com and buy a car at their price (not the msrp). is that a good idea, or can i haggle more? does anyone know if the carsdirect.com price is invoice, or is it invoice with a percent markup?

Keep in mind that invoice is not what the dealer actually paid for the car in most situations. And even in instances where it is, they get cash kick backs from the manufacturer and the finance institution (if you finance though their lender).

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: spanky
my cousin told me to go to carsdirect.com and buy a car at their price (not the msrp). is that a good idea, or can i haggle more? does anyone know if the carsdirect.com price is invoice, or is it invoice with a percent markup?

Do you belong to a local credit union, CostCo or AAA?

 

[NutBucket]

Just get your price quote from the fleet manger BEFORE you goto the dealer. My deal was absolutely no haggle and quite good IMHO (and not an American car😛)

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: spanky
my cousin told me to go to carsdirect.com and buy a car at their price (not the msrp). is that a good idea, or can i haggle more? does anyone know if the carsdirect.com price is invoice, or is it invoice with a percent markup?

Do you belong to a local credit union, CostCo or AAA?

no to all of the above. actually... i may be with AAA 😛

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: jaedaliu
check with edmunds.com they have invoice prices listed.

Somewhere on fatwallet there's a thread by some guy that brags for pages about how to buy a car at the price you want. Used to be a salesman and says that your out the door should be 2k below invoice. But he's got suspect info. Telling people to buy the chrysler pacifica because it's a great option as a SUV. IT'S NOT A SUV!

anyways, check edmunds for invoice info and what people in your area are supposedly paying for the car. There's a story by a guy that went to work for a Toyota dealership and then a Saturn dealership. Okay, it doesn't say Toyota, but it's the brand that comes to mind.

thanx for the info, i will check it out 🙂

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Just get your price quote from the fleet manger BEFORE you goto the dealer. My deal was absolutely no haggle and quite good IMHO (and not an American car😛)

ehh... what's a "fleet manager"? 😱

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: spanky
Buying a new car

...is a waste of money IMHO, but to each their own.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: spanky

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Just get your price quote from the fleet manger BEFORE you goto the dealer. My deal was absolutely no haggle and quite good IMHO (and not an American car😛)

ehh... what's a "fleet manager"? 😱

Basically when you request quotes from carsdirect they're getting you prices from fleet managers. Not sure how to describe exactly what they do but dealing with them is MUCH better than dealing with a normal salesman most of the time.

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: spanky

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Just get your price quote from the fleet manger BEFORE you goto the dealer. My deal was absolutely no haggle and quite good IMHO (and not an American car😛)

ehh... what's a "fleet manager"? 😱

Basically when you request quotes from carsdirect they're getting you prices from fleet managers. Not sure how to describe exactly what they do but dealing with them is MUCH better than dealing with a normal salesman most of the time.

well so far, i have not done any talking to a saleperson, becuz i need to fly out to cali for the car. i've been told i can arrange everything on carsdirect and just walk in to pick up the car and go. that would be nice, but i was curious about how good/decent their pricing is. i went to edmunds as jaedaliu suggested, and the carsdirect price appears to be about $100 less then the edmunds "invoice" price. not too shabby 🙂

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: spanky
Buying a new car

...is a waste of money IMHO, but to each their own.

yup.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: spanky

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: spanky

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Just get your price quote from the fleet manger BEFORE you goto the dealer. My deal was absolutely no haggle and quite good IMHO (and not an American car😛)

ehh... what's a "fleet manager"? 😱

Basically when you request quotes from carsdirect they're getting you prices from fleet managers. Not sure how to describe exactly what they do but dealing with them is MUCH better than dealing with a normal salesman most of the time.

well so far, i have not done any talking to a saleperson, becuz i need to fly out to cali for the car. i've been told i can arrange everything on carsdirect and just walk in to pick up the car and go. that would be nice, but i was curious about how good/decent their pricing is. i went to edmunds as jaedaliu suggested, and the carsdirect price appears to be about $100 less then the edmunds "invoice" price. not too shabby 🙂

Nope. Usually you can get a good price through carsdirect. Your other option is to e-mail individual dealers. They'll be happy to negotiate with you even though you're out of state. What kind of car are you looking for?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: spanky

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: spanky

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Just get your price quote from the fleet manger BEFORE you goto the dealer. My deal was absolutely no haggle and quite good IMHO (and not an American car😛)

ehh... what's a "fleet manager"? 😱

Basically when you request quotes from carsdirect they're getting you prices from fleet managers. Not sure how to describe exactly what they do but dealing with them is MUCH better than dealing with a normal salesman most of the time.

well so far, i have not done any talking to a saleperson, becuz i need to fly out to cali for the car. i've been told i can arrange everything on carsdirect and just walk in to pick up the car and go. that would be nice, but i was curious about how good/decent their pricing is. i went to edmunds as jaedaliu suggested, and the carsdirect price appears to be about $100 less then the edmunds "invoice" price. not too shabby 🙂

Nope. Usually you can get a good price through carsdirect. Your other option is to e-mail individual dealers. They'll be happy to negotiate with you even though you're out of state. What kind of car are you looking for?

That is actually a very good idea and can work in your favor. Just play dealer A against dealer B.

"RossMAN Honda is offering a fully loaded xxx for $14,500.00 ... can you match or beat their offer"?

 

[Argo]

My rule of thumb is to check with carsdirect prices and then get the dealer to match that price. Also, IMO the best time to buy a new car is towards the end of the model year. I've done that with my 2 previous cars (C class and Z4) and got pretty good deals on both.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: spanky

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: spanky

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Just get your price quote from the fleet manger BEFORE you goto the dealer. My deal was absolutely no haggle and quite good IMHO (and not an American car😛)

ehh... what's a "fleet manager"? 😱

Basically when you request quotes from carsdirect they're getting you prices from fleet managers. Not sure how to describe exactly what they do but dealing with them is MUCH better than dealing with a normal salesman most of the time.

well so far, i have not done any talking to a saleperson, becuz i need to fly out to cali for the car. i've been told i can arrange everything on carsdirect and just walk in to pick up the car and go. that would be nice, but i was curious about how good/decent their pricing is. i went to edmunds as jaedaliu suggested, and the carsdirect price appears to be about $100 less then the edmunds "invoice" price. not too shabby 🙂

Nope. Usually you can get a good price through carsdirect. Your other option is to e-mail individual dealers. They'll be happy to negotiate with you even though you're out of state. What kind of car are you looking for?

That is actually a very good idea and can work in your favor. Just play dealer A against dealer B.

"RossMAN Honda is offering a fully loaded xxx for $14,500.00 ... can you match or beat their offer"?

Yep....too bad it doesn't work as well when you have a heck of a time even finding the car you want😛

Then again, that's car buying. If you're specific of course you probably won't get nearly as good of a deal as being flexible.

 

[spanky]

i'm looking for a 2006 corolla le with certain options. as for the color, i have something in mind, but i'm flexible in that aspect. i went thru carsdirect and edmunds and asked for dealer quotes. i had a lady call me during lunch already :Q i dont really want to talk to the salespeople just yet, but when i fill out those forms, it does not give me the option to not leave a phone number. darn.

anyway, thanx for the tips NutBucket & RossMAN 🙂

 

[RossMAN]

Just enter area code+123+4567 if the online forms require a phone number.

 

[archcommus]

So do most of you guys start with Edmunds, CarsDirect, or emailing fleet managers? Do all of these options provide ways to haggle a price over the phone or email and just go in and pick up your car?

 

[NutBucket]

Why do you need to get the car in Cali spanky?

EDIT: Pretty much. When I bought mine we filled out all the paperwork before even discussing price which was pretty much agreed on before I even drove out to the dealer.

 

[MustangSVT]

RossMAN is your key here 😀

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Why do you need to get the car in Cali spanky?

EDIT: Pretty much. When I bought mine we filled out all the paperwork before even discussing price which was pretty much agreed on before I even drove out to the dealer.

i'm in NJ now, but moving out to san francisco. my sister lives out in alhambra and will probably do the financing, since she can probably get much better terms. so basically, i fly to los angeles, pick up the car, drive to san fran for work. oh... which reminds me... i need a place to live in cali. better start looking :clock:

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: archcommus
So do most of you guys start with Edmunds, CarsDirect, or emailing fleet managers? Do all of these options provide ways to haggle a price over the phone or email and just go in and pick up your car?

That's what I like to do is get the HAGGLING out of the way before ever stepping foot into the dealership.

A few of my Credit Unions belong to Autoland.com which makes car buying 10000000000x easier.

The CU/Autoland get you a GREAT DEAL, the CU takes care of financing, the new car is delivered to the CU where you sign papers and drive off.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: spanky

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Why do you need to get the car in Cali spanky?

EDIT: Pretty much. When I bought mine we filled out all the paperwork before even discussing price which was pretty much agreed on before I even drove out to the dealer.

i'm in NJ now, but moving out to san francisco. my sister lives out in alhambra and will probably do the financing, since she can probably get much better terms. so basically, i fly to los angeles, pick up the car, drive to san fran for work. oh... which reminds me... i need a place to live in cali. better start looking :clock:

Ah, I guess that means Longo is her first stop. That fuggin' dealer is ENORMOUS.

 

[Plasdom]

nm