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HOT! : How To Get The Best Price On Your Next Car Purchases!!!!!! (UPDATED)

K

Kenji4861

Banned
I'm tired of seeing the Accord SE for $$$$ - only 2 days left.

First of all.. there is no such thing as 2 days left for car prices, it's either going to stay, or go down below that. Here are some easy steps to get the best price on your car. There are some steps like getting the 2002 when 2003s are about to arrive, etc., but these steps should work almost anytime.

1. Pick the car model and trim you want. - use things like edmunds, carpoint, consumer reports to see if there are any problems.

2. Pick the options you want.

3. Go to Carpoint and find out the invoice and MSRP price of the car. Invoice is the price they say they get it in for (which is not true) and MSRP is the price they have listed for you to see out in the lot.

4. Now you know the invoice, wait until Friday when all the car ads show on the newspaper and look through them. Find the car you chose and compare it to invoice. This is where you can find rebate offers. Now say the price is below invoice on the ad (usually it is so you'll come in)

5. Find all the email addresses of the dealerships near you. Go to the model homepage to find out all the locations near you. Any good dealership has an email address and a rep that does internet communication. Just search on Google. Do not fall for their (ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT or ONLY 2 LEFT IN STOCK crap)

6. Now email all of them (5-10 dealerships) with what model you want, what options you want and that it must be brand new. Say that the cheapest price offered to you so far is (the newspaper ad price) and ask if they can beat it. Say you are just getting quotes from all dealerships around you. There is an advantage to doing this compared to walking into an dealership. Talking to the dealer gives them a chance to see if you are rich, how you react to their price... etc. etc.

7. You will get responses that has their close to best offer (because if they don't.. they'll lose you to other dealerships that did). Do not call them right away, if more than 1 dealership has the same best price, you can do two things
a. email them both saying if they can beat the other dealerships, you will go to them.
b. call them up and say if they throw in the carpet or other options, you will go to them.

Calling them would be a better choice, because it'll make them say "yes" ofcoarse. If they say no, you 'll just go to the other dealership. When you get to the dealership, make sure they don't try to add on fees or try to keep the option fees in there. Make sure the price they gave you in the email is the price. Usually never happens in a big dealership, but never know. Read up on CarBuyingtips.com if you are worried.

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Update : The Walk-in/Negotiation Method
Many have argued that going to the dealership is better and it may be so depending on your area. If you are planning to walk in and negotiate... here's one way. There's tons of things you can do. If you are a good speaker, go for it.

1. Do all your research on the internet, print out the EXACT invoice prices, MSRP, the dealer has fake price charts (Believe it or not, I was shown a steering wheel's invoice as $150 on a formal looking list, when the MSRP was $50). Anyways, print out all the invoice price.

2. Choose which model, trim, and which options you want EXACTLY.

3. Look in your Friday, weekend newspaper ads to see if there are any below invoice deals (usually there are)

4. Visit the company website and find about 5 dealerships in your area. (Calling dealerships to see if they have a certain car with options has been useless to me. These dealerships'll tell you anything to get you to come)

5. Visit each dealership and find the car you want.

6. If they have the car you want, don't talk to the sales rep and just go straight to the sales manager. Far as I know, sales reps can't make any decisions on your final price, they just want the commission.
Note : Check the mileage, check for dents, etc. Some cars at dealerships are totally driven around.

7. Tell the sales manager that you are trying different dealerships for the best price and want to buy the car if the dealership you are at can offer the best price. Tell them you want to buy it today (this is a must).
Note : Don't give the dealership any checks until you agreed on a certain price and you want it. Some dealers will tell you to put down a deposit to show that you are serious, next thing you know, you are trying to get out of the dealership and they will give you some reason why the check cannot be returned. Drivers license is necessary for a test drive, but for nothing else. Mitsubishi right away asked for a drivers license and I had a hard time leaving the place. They would not give me back the drivers license.

8. Even if the sales rep offers you an unbelievable price, tell him that you will ask other dealerships. This will be a win either way.
a - the sales rep will stop you and lower the price once again
b - you can go to other dealerships to see if they can beat it
c - you can always come back and get that price, there is no such thing as "oh only 2 days left"

9. Now you can see if other dealers can beat it. Ofcoarse you have to check if they have the car you want in stock.

10. If you think you got a satisfying price, don't act like you will get it yet.

11. Act unsure for about a minute then say.. "ok, if you give me free floor mats (or whatever option), I will take it"

12. Now you got a good price + free accessory, watch for their other scams like "Advertising fee", "service fee", etc. you know the drill. Rust protection and Paint protection used to be called a scam, but I'm hearing that it's not these days.

I personally prefer the Internet netiation (just sound professional and sound like you are serious, there should be no problem), but again, in some areas, the traditional negotiation seems to be the best. It involves driving, searching, acting, and some exercise.
 
THank you! I thought I was the only one that those "2days left deals" were cold. Another good idea is to get the Edmunds new car guide. With the invoice price I was able to get my WRX for 300 over the invoice price. I am not trying to brag here I just wanted to show that armed with the right info you can get a great deal on a new car.

 
Selling cars is one of the most high profit , truth-obscuring businesses
in the U.S. Anyone serious about buying a car should thoroughly go thru
the website www.carbuyingtips.com
which really breaks down all the different ways you get scammed.
 
I've read a ton of sites about the car buying process, but this post beats them all. I got a better price sitting at home and zipping off e-mails than my friend who went from dealer to dealer in person. The latter is only really for those who negotiate in person on a frequent basis (e.g. at work).

Of course, it helps if you're in a highly competitive area like SoCal. Nothing like having 15 dealers of just one car brand fighting for your business.
 
Good thread !

I got very good results when I used www.carsdirect.com. On many - though not all - cars they have excellent prices. If you incorporate the prices ftom this website in the responses you get from the e-mail you cannot loose.

Yo
 
Edmunds.com is much better than carpoint than this, they have all the rebates the dealerships are getting, holdbacks, etc, listed right there.
 
Hi,
I had a car to sell. How do I decide what should be the price to list it for?? DO I list it for the kelly blue book value?
 
just used a very similar method in buying my first new car. It worked great-I am pretty young, and just bought a BMW...not letting them see me face to face was a huge advantage, because they immediately would have tried to swindle me.

another great website is Kelly Blue Book, where you can price new cars and get a fair value for your used car.

Definetely use this advice, going into the dealers is definetely not worth it-if you want to test drive a car, however, just go and do it. But make sure you leave without discussing pricing too much in depth.

good luck.

sig.
 
Thanks for the helpful info!!! I never would have known e-mailing a dealer could save me a few hundred bucks as opposed to going to a dealership in person. I will try your advice and see where it gets me. Sounds like a plan!
 
However if you are going for the "real bargain" - the ad car at the ad price - you must go and negotiate in person (and be a patient negotiator).

I got my brand new 2002 Kia Rio for $5988 (cash, no trade in). Try that with e-mail correspondence. 😛
 
Yes, I agree, in person is the way to go. You say "Talking to the dealer gives them a chance to see if you are rich, how you react to their price... etc. etc." None of that works unless you're like my friends, and you go into the dealership and let them run the show (I want to cry when I see my friends talking to dealers). You have to go in, be confident, but not arrogant, and be pleasent, but not submissive.

Take your time, do some reasearch, find out the invoice, then take off any dealer incentives, holdbacks, and any other deals the dealership might be getting from the manufacturer at the moment (almost all of which can be found on edmunds.com). If the invoice is $38,500, and theres, conservatively, $1000 in behind the scenes rebates/incentives going on, you can walk out of a dealership paying 37,750. If you break it down for the dealer, most of them will be reasonable. If they AREN'T, then leave your phone number and WALK AWAY. Make it clear that you're serious about making a deal at your offer, and if they change thier mind, they can call you. I cannot stress this enough. Do not budge from your offer, because it is fair for the both of you, they just want to make more. WALK AWAY, you WILL get a phone call within the next couple of days saying they will take your offer, I've done this enough times to know.
 
ive always found that if you gain entrance to the dealership at night when it is closed. you could get a relativly great price for anycar you want. as someone pointed out, you must be armed with the right information i.e. crowbar, screwdriver etc..
 
The best thing is to known the owner of the dealership 😀

Like MJGunn said, negotiate. The 2 cars I have bought, I have been in and out of the dealer 5 to 6 times before I purchased a car. I was looking to buy a 2002 car in Dec of 01. I was talking to one dealership at the Altimas and Maximas. I sat there almost 3hrs talking, finally stood firm on my price. They actually got pissed off and giving me dirty looks!!!! Never spoke to them again. At another Nissan dealership, we told them we wanted it at this price, he went to his boss and they wouldn't sell it. So I walked out and they eventually would call us several times. At another Nissan dealership, I told them the price that I wanted and they agreed beating all the other dealers but it was for a Maxima which I wasn't too fond of. Then a friend of mines knew the owner of a Pontiac dealer. The salesrep took $3500 off the sticker price immediately. I was looking at the Supercharged GTPs. These cars go fast on the dealerships. Dealers only have one of these cars on the lot usually or none at all. They gave me a decent $$ on my trade-in. I checked the other Pontiac dealers, all of them were gave me prices more than $2000 than the dealership that my friend to the owner of. HOWEVER, they had to find the car so they began adding all this $hit, adding up to 1k. Told them I didn't want the car. After several talks on the phone and a few walking out the doors, the stuff they added on was removed.


Don't be afraid to walk out.
 
Originally posted by: 187
ive always found that if you gain entrance to the dealership at night when it is closed. you could get a relativly great price for anycar you want. as someone pointed out, you must be armed with the right information i.e. crowbar, screwdriver etc..
Click to expand...

Yes, in the short term, perhaps. However, there is something to be said for pride of ownership.

Kenji4861, have you actually followed your own suggestions? Or is this just speculative? From my experience, it simply does not work if you want the BEST deal.
 
Pothead, I noticed nissan dealerships are stubborn as well, I had a bitch of a time with my brother's maxima. Finally got the deal I was looking for after being literally laughed out of two dealerships. I made my offer to the third guy and he seemed to get personally insulted and basically told me there was no way he could do the deal, and that if that was the only deal I was willing to do, I might as well leave now. I left my phone number, and walked out. Sure enough, the next day, I had 4 messages on my answering machine, 2 from the managers at the first two dealerships apologizing, and saying they would meet my offer, and 2 from the third guy, saying he would meet the offer, and then a second wondering why he hadn't heard from me yet (it had been a whole two hours since he had left the first message). I went with the second guy because I had the manager kissing my ass the whole time, and they had the car he wanted on the lot.
 
I actually enjoy the Accord SE - 2 days left thread, then again I got a loaded 2002 Honda Accord SE automatic for $17,244 which is at least $2,000 UNDER factory-to-dealer invoice.

IMHO buying a loss leader is a lot easier than following your advice. Although you do provide some excellent advice and good suggestions, I might use them on my next car purchase.
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN

IMHO buying a loss leader is a lot easier than following your advice. Although you do provide some excellent advice and good suggestions, I might use them on my next car purchase.
Click to expand...

This looks like preliminary steps in buying a car - I doubt following these suggestions about e-mail correspondence will get you any more than a half-hearted reply from the dealership or else (more likely) a "come-on" for a bait and switch once you are there. If you are serious about the "best price" you'd better hone your negotiating skills for a face-to-face with the dealership. 😉
 
no flaming intended, but not everyone wants to buy an Accord....ick ick ick....I'm suprised none of the Nissan Performance Nazis have hijacked that thread. 🙂 Accords may be popular and economical, but they don't seem to have anything else....unless you add some N20 to it 😉


BTW, I got my car at dealer invoice in addition to a trade-in and a 3 yr 0% financing, fully loaded, leather, sunroof, HUD, Hi Polished Rims, etc. If I get some money, I want a Nissan 350zx 😀
 
This is the "lazy man's way" to buy a car . . . is anyone really successful with it in a real-life situation?

I am really (really) skeptical of this as "How To Get The Best Price On Your Next Car Purchases!!!!!!"

Kenji4861 , have you actually TRIED this?

This is not intended as a "thread crap" - I'd like MORE info. All my experience with new car buys says otherwise.
 
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