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Negotiating on a used car at a dealer... UPDATE 2: *GOT IT!!*

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Give them hell, if they're selling for $15k it's likely they only have $8-9k in it. Just don't drag it out, the longer you sit the more of an advantage they gain, if you've not sealed the deal in an hour, walk out and go do something else for a while.
 
Zargon said:
the only thing missing was already being preapproved by a bank/CU at better rates than most dealers will offer
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Actually you let them *think* that you would like to finance it through them. Never tell them that you have your own financing etc until the price has been agreed upon. Dealers make quite bit of up front money when you finance through them.
 
Stealership tried to pull that price change on me too when I went to buy my truck. Priced it at 9300 online, the salesman printed up paperwork that read 11500 before taxes. I pulled up the webpage on his own computer to prove the price. So I took it home for $9300 + ttl less my down.
 
UPDATE!

About 30 minutes ago, I sold my 2002 BMW 330i to some sucker named satyajitmenon. 😉

So I called the dealer. I said "If you drop the price by $200, I will come pick up the car right now." Of course, I had to wait for a call back to see what the manager had to say.

"We can take off $76, and that really is as low as we can go. But you have to pick up the car today," says the salesperson.

Me: "Tell you what. If you polish the headlights again, because it wasn't done correctly, and you remove all traces of it being in a dealership like the vinyl dealership logo and license plate frame, and you wash and wax the whole car, and you top up the gas.... I will be on my way to buy it right now."

Salesperson: "Okay, we can make that happen. Thank you for your business and we'll see you soon!"

... I will be buying the entire car on my 0% APR cash-back credit card (this purchase will get 1% cash back). I do have the cash to buy the whole car now that Satya bought my BMW, so I'll pay off the card immediately.

So now my girlfriend is getting ready to drop me off at the dealership. Woohoo! 😉
 
That's surprising that they're letting you buy the car on CC. Dealerships I've dealt with won't charge more that $4-5k on one (due to fees I'm sure).
 
NutBucket said:
That's surprising that they're letting you buy the car on CC. Dealerships I've dealt with won't charge more that $4-5k on one (due to fees I'm sure).
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Technically, they're not allowed to limit the transaction amount. If you fight it, you will get your way. Visa's merchant terms prohibit this practice. Also, if they allow it, but then slap you with some kind of convenience fee or something, Florida law protects you. YMMV in your state. But if it turns into a giant argument, I can always pay some amount in cash.
 
slugg said:
Technically, they're not allowed to limit the transaction amount. If you fight it, you will get your way. Visa's merchant terms prohibit this practice. Also, if they allow it, but then slap you with some kind of convenience fee or something, Florida law protects you. YMMV in your state. But if it turns into a giant argument, I can always pay some amount in cash.
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Changes to Surcharging Fees in the United States
Beginning January 27, 2013, merchants in the United States and U.S. Territories will be permitted to impose a surcharge on consumers when they use a credit card.

http://usa.visa.com/personal/using_visa/checkout_fees/

Good luck!
 
MixMasterTang said:
Changes to Surcharging Fees in the United States
Beginning January 27, 2013, merchants in the United States and U.S. Territories will be permitted to impose a surcharge on consumers when they use a credit card.

http://usa.visa.com/personal/using_visa/checkout_fees/

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Visa allows it per their policy, but Florida forbids it by law.

Anyway, everything went smoothly. I'll give details later or tomorrow - I'm out with buddies at the moment.

Zoom zoom 😉
 
Usually there is a max of around 2K CC for car purchase...I've bought 3 cars in this manner but the rest of the money had to be a check or financed.
 
Crappy cell phone pic of the car in my driveway (I'll get better ones during the day tomorrow):
1531745_10102430322396281_1115019088_o.jpg


Anyway. Everything went really smoothly at the dealer. They tried to impose a limit on the credit card and I just said "I'm sure you can make an exception for me, though. Right?" ... And it was no problem.

So what did I get it for?

2011 Mazda 2 Touring, 53k miles, red: $7922 + $700 dealer fee = $8622 minus 1% cash back = $8530 (estimate - leaving out TTT calculation as it varies by state and I'm trying to give an idea). It was $9405 out the door with Florida's TTT rates; I'm happy with that. So far, it's been a riot to drive. I actually brought it by a local Miata meet and got tons of compliments. I want to resist the urge to mod this thing, but it's just so tempting... It's really exciting!

But one thing's for sure - these 17 inch wheels have GOT TO GO. I will be selling them immediately. 😛
 
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sontakke said:
what color is that? It is definitely unusual!
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It came out a little odd in that picture in low-light conditions with a cell phone, but it's actually just standard red. I believe Mazda calls it "Spirited Red." Daylight pictures can be found in my new build thread. It's actually kind of cool, because everything else inside the car is also red and black: gauges are red, back-lighting is red, piping on the seats are red... So it's a nice, complete, matching look. If this was possible with that really tacky green, I would have gotten that! 😉
 
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