What are realistic expectations when negotiating for a new car?

[purbeast0]

Dealership A called me today to see what I was thinking and then also let me know the blue one had been sold. After about 5 seconds of feeling slight disappointment, I am just fine about it. They did mention that they will keep an eye out with other dealerships in a radius to see if they can get a black/black one for me because they would still like to sell me a car.

And now I have a question.

I found another local dealership today with the black/black that I am looking at. On Kia's website it said it was "in transit" to that dealership. It's a bit more of a hike in not the best area. And I saw the sticker for the car and the MSRP is like $150 less than the standard ones are. It's $51,450 instead of $51,600 that I've seen for most of them. I have contacted them about it already and they told me that it actually arrived today.

So my question is, is it common for dealerships to shift cars around? They aren't the same "brand" of Kia dealerships. But I'm wondering if it is worth while for me to tell dealership A about this car and see if they can bring it to theirs and then I can deal with them about it. Or would I be better off just going to the other one and dealing with them? If I had a choice of who I could deal with, it would be dealership A.

Searching for reviews of the one that has it right now doesn't return the best. And as mentioned, it's further away so if I did end up with a car from them and needed warranty stuff, it will be a hike. Additionally, dealership A has a lifetime warranty (talked about that with them last weekend - it's normally 10 years but they offer lifetime).

 

[crashtech]

All Kia dealers are obligated to honor Kia factory warranties. The part about going back to where you bought it is solely a "recommendation," so don't worry about that part too much.

 

[purbeast0]

All Kia dealers are obligated to honor Kia factory warranties. The part about going back to where you bought it is solely a "recommendation," so don't worry about that part too much.

Okay that is good to know thanks.

 

[BoomerD]

All Kia dealers are obligated to honor Kia factory warranties. The part about going back to where you bought it is solely a "recommendation," so don't worry about that part too much.

A dealership might offer more warranty than the basic factory warranty…but that would probably require you to use their service department…or pay a higher deductible at another dealership.

 

[Hans Gruber]

A dealership might offer more warranty than the basic factory warranty…but that would probably require you to use their service department…or pay a higher deductible at another dealership.

It's a bumper warranty for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Then a 10 year powertrain warranty. I am starting to think there are a lot of people here who have never purchased a new vehicle in their lives. You bring it in any Kia dealership and tell them to juice the tires.

 

[BoomerD]

It's a bumper warranty for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Then a 10 year powertrain warranty. I am starting to think there are a lot of people here who have never purchased a new vehicle in their lives. You bring it in any Kia dealership and tell them to juice the tires.

No shit...but when I bought my F150, in addition to the factory 36 months/36,000 miles, the dealership included a 10 year/100,000 mile extended warranty. $100 deductible in their shop, $500 in any other shop.

 

[spacejamz]

I remember going to the Edmund car forums and people would post what kind of deals they got (the forums were specific to make/model) and others would leave feedback on whether it was a good deal or not...it should give you a good idea of what you should be paying. hopefully those forums are still around...

 

[Charmonium]

Just bring plenty of KY so won't be too painful.

 

[purbeast0]

Still kinda working with 2 dealerships right now.

I asked dealership A about bringing in one of the black/black ones I want that isn't too far away and then he called me back like 30 mins later telling me the process and first we gotta work a deal, then once agreed I'd put a deposit down, and then he'd work on getting the car. It sounds like it's very doable and quite simple.

But then he told me realistically he couldn't even get below $52500 out the door. I then told him I already have one I could get cheaper than that and that I haven't gotten it yet and he asked what the offer I had was. And here is where I fucked up and told him the actual price, and told him $52k. Then he told me he doubts he could even get a match but he'd get back to me.

Of course a little later he calls me back and tells me the best he can do is match the $52k but that is absolutely bottom he can go. He tried to get me to do it and I told him I'm not snap purchasing at that price and that if I wanted it at that price I could have already purchased one. I told him I'd call him back and let him know.

Meanwhile I contacted the other dealership B that offered it for $52k and said is this bottom they can go or any lower cause I have multiple offers at that price now and she said something along the lines of "52k is already us going negative on the car and that the price cant be dropped but I can offer you a few hundred less by taking some out of my commission so please let us know because we'd like to sell you this car".

All of this was happening Friday evening and this was around 7pm when I sent that text back. I didn't hear back from dealership B in regards to that all weekend.

After that I called A back and just told him that I'm going to pass at $52k and left a message since he didn't pick up. I though about it more and having 2 offers of $52k, it seems like this is an easy price to get so why jump on it. I didn't tell him that in the message but that is my thinking. He then called me Saturday afternoon and left a message and he is sure that hte best deal I can get is from them at $52k and we were so close to a deal. It almost sounded like we broke up in the message lol.

I let that stew and haven't called them back yet and don't know if I will. I was going to call today maybe and just tell them my thought process and that I already have an offer less than $52k and I'm kind of tired of everyone telling me they can't go lower and keep going lower, and then just say "if you can get to $X call me back and I'll come buy it otherwise I'd rather not waste anymore of our time." I mean I already gave them a number and they can't meet it and that is probably my fault for giving that numberr initially and they are trying to string me along keeping me above it. Or perhaps they truly can't sell it lower because they will lose money.

 

[crashtech]

Nothing wrong with waiting for the right deal to come along. It's also not bad practice, if this deal falls through, you'll be better at the next one.

 

[purbeast0]

So looks like holding out has worked.

Dealership A called and said what if they could get to $51k if I would do it, and if so, they would take a $500 deposit and try to work with the other dealership to get the car moved to them. I did notice the manufacture sticker was like $160 lower than normal and it was because it did not include the carpeted floor mats but instead had wheel locks. I asked about the floor mats and they said they could get them. So he said he will see what he can do if they can get there.

So I told them I'd think about it (but in my head I knew I'd do it at that price) and talked to my wife and then called them back.

They told me they can do $51,200 however they will throw in the all weather mats, which I would have gone out and bought myself anyways as I've had those in my cars always. I told myself I'd do $50k for the 2024 one and $51k for the one that I really wanted in the color I wanted. Additionally the ebony black is "premium" color and adds $500 to the MSRP and it can be seen on the manufacture sticker.

So I just told em to go ahead and do it so I put down a deposit of $500 while they try to get the car to their dealership, and if they do, I can go check it out just to be sure nothing is wrong with it and stuff, and then I will end up purchasing it.

 

[Exterous]

Heh - amusing timing of events. I started looking a few weeks ago for a new car and man what a PITA. Just picked up our new vehicle Saturday. Had to drive to Chicago to get it because it was $3k less than the lowest offers I could get in MI, IN and OH. Two different dealerships lied to me (or were very mistaken about what certain optional packages included on their best selling car). Local dealership came back at the last second and made me think they were going to get close to the Chicago offer but all they did was end up wasting my time with BS tactics despite me being up front about my pricing expectations based on the deal I had secured in Illinois. Glad I used a burner email address as I still have a couple dealerships emailing me to tell me they just got a trim or color I explicitly told them I didn't want, asking me to come in to take a look

Requiring people buy cars from a dealership is a net negative for humanity. They offered nothing I couldn't figure out myself and just made the whole experience so much worse.

 

[Brainonska511]

Requiring people buy cars from a dealership is a net negative for humanity.

It goes beyond just making buying a vehicle a shitty experience. Dealerships and their groups are large local businesses that contribute heavily to conservative local and state politicians.

 

[purbeast0]

Well that car fell through - the dealership said the other one he contacted had already sold it. Had they not played this dumb ass game and dicked around for a week then I would probably have it now.

I am also contacting the other dealership directly and just verifying that they no longer have it - waiting to hear back.

 

[BoomerD]

Any progress?

 

[purbeast0]

Any progress?

Not really - I am kind of taking a break at this point.

There was some shady stuff going on between the dealerships and I'm not sure which one it came from.

Dealer A told me that other dealership sold the car but then I contacted the other dealership and they still said they had it. So I called out A and asked them if the other dealership would lie to them about the car cause they contacted me saying they still have it, and he said that is a tactic dealerships use to get you in the door and then are like "oh sorry it just sold, check this other one!" and the other dealership sold it but didn't update the official kia inventory yet.

So I verified that they actually had it in stock on the floor ready to test drive. They are asking like $54,500 and I didn't even feel like trying to talk them down since it was so high so I'm taking a break right now.

My thing is though I don't know if that dealership lied to A or if A is lying to me. Since I did all this in person at dealership A, I could see his face when I called him out about it and he genuinely seemed like he was telling me the truth so I dunno. He is also a salesman. The thing is though, A never saw this car on his internal stock checker thing, but it was on the Kia website. So I don't know if there is something between these 2 dealerships or something. They are not the same brand dealership either. There are multiple "King Kia" dealerships around here and A is not one of them but the other one is - and A doesn't seem to be able to see the inventory at any King dealerships since there are 2 black ons around and they see neither. I didn't even try to get them to talk to B since I was already talking to them, and I've basically given up on B and said hey if you can come down hit me back, otherwise we're done.

Now for A though, they did flat out say I could put in an order for the car and they will honor their offer. The only problem is it will take at least 3 months to arrive. I am in no super hurry so after Xmas or New Years if I haven't found one, I may just take them up on it.

Wife is out of town until after Xmas and I'm handling my 2 kids solo right now so I don't really have time to go check out cars anyways right now so it's a decent break that I needed mentally from all of that crap.

 

[BoomerD]

Not really - I am kind of taking a break at this point.

There was some shady stuff going on between the dealerships and I'm not sure which one it came from.

Dealer A told me that other dealership sold the car but then I contacted the other dealership and they still said they had it. So I called out A and asked them if the other dealership would lie to them about the car cause they contacted me saying they still have it, and he said that is a tactic dealerships use to get you in the door and then are like "oh sorry it just sold, check this other one!" and the other dealership sold it but didn't update the official kia inventory yet.

So I verified that they actually had it in stock on the floor ready to test drive. They are asking like $54,500 and I didn't even feel like trying to talk them down since it was so high so I'm taking a break right now.

My thing is though I don't know if that dealership lied to A or if A is lying to me. Since I did all this in person at dealership A, I could see his face when I called him out about it and he genuinely seemed like he was telling me the truth so I dunno. He is also a salesman. The thing is though, A never saw this car on his internal stock checker thing, but it was on the Kia website. So I don't know if there is something between these 2 dealerships or something. They are not the same brand dealership either. There are multiple "King Kia" dealerships around here and A is not one of them but the other one is - and A doesn't seem to be able to see the inventory at any King dealerships since there are 2 black ons around and they see neither. I didn't even try to get them to talk to B since I was already talking to them, and I've basically given up on B and said hey if you can come down hit me back, otherwise we're done.

Now for A though, they did flat out say I could put in an order for the car and they will honor their offer. The only problem is it will take at least 3 months to arrive. I am in no super hurry so after Xmas or New Years if I haven't found one, I may just take them up on it.

Wife is out of town until after Xmas and I'm handling my 2 kids solo right now so I don't really have time to go check out cars anyways right now so it's a decent break that I needed mentally from all of that crap.

The only thing that might be a concern is Trump’s tariffs. No way to know if or how much those will affect car prices. ( even domestic cars have a lot of Chinese made components that MIGHT be affected.) I don’t know if Kia/your local dealerships will have some kind of inventory reduction sale…

 

[purbeast0]

The only thing that might be a concern is Trump’s tariffs. No way to know if or how much those will affect car prices. ( even domestic cars have a lot of Chinese made components that MIGHT be affected.) I don’t know if Kia/your local dealerships will have some kind of inventory reduction sale…

Yah that is actually what got me looking at cars now instead of keep on putting it off - I want to get one before he is in office. I don't know how it would be if we agreed to a special order for the agreed upon price and then the tariffs make shit expensive before it has been delivered. I would just be sure to have everything in writing if I went that route, before we agreed to it.

 

[BoomerD]

 

[BoomerD]

Last year we went to buy a Hyundai Ionic 5. They lowballed the hell out of me on my trade. I asked them, "Is that your final offer?" When they said yes, I stood up, thanked them for their time...we walked out. Sales manager chased us to my truck...kept trying to get the deal back on track...I just drove away.
They called a couple of times the next week, even raised the offer on my trade in to about what I wanted...but it was too late. I gave them their chance.

Last week, when I went to test drive the F150 Lightning, the dealership did the same thing...offered me about $8,000 less on my trade in than it's worth...and wouldn't drop their selling price. (it's a balance between selling price and trade in) I explained what had happened with the Hyundai...gave them the chance to offer me either a better trade in or a lower price for the truck. They said they couldn't do it, so I collected my free turkey breast, (that pissed me off...it was supposed to be a whole turkey) and left. The salesman called me Tuesday evening wanting to put the deal back together. I told him they had their chance, but thanks for calling.
This morning, I got an email from the dealership...they've dropped the selling price (new Ford incentives) by $4,000. IF I could get their trade in price up another $6000-$8000...I might get it. 1.9% financing for 84 months...damn sweet deal. ALMOST as good as my current 0%/84 months I have now.

Ford is now offering 0% for 72 months on the Lightning...unfortunately, the local dealer already sold the truck I wanted. (Lariat trim) They have a couple of Flash trim trucks that aren't bad... still kicking it around.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Yah that is actually what got me looking at cars now instead of keep on putting it off - I want to get one before he is in office. I don't know how it would be if we agreed to a special order for the agreed upon price and then the tariffs make shit expensive before it has been delivered. I would just be sure to have everything in writing if I went that route, before we agreed to it.

Stop being a sucker. Dealerships lie for a living. Hold the line at 50K. If they have extras, drop the price to whatever they want to charge you. Floor mats for $200. Your offer is $49,800. They want to charge a doc fee. Fine, back off the price to what the doc fee is. Always walk away if you do not like something. This $500 deposit is absurd. Get your deposit back and never agree to that BS again.

Don't let the tariff mongers push you into paying more or buying now.

 

[purbeast0]

Well I am going to close on a deal now, with a totally different dealership. It's the one that dealership A was trying to get the car from. I hadn't heard from A in a week and new dealership C that had the car contacted me about it so I started talking to them, and they gave me a slightly better deal than A was giving.

Then this morning dealership A called me and told me that C "didnt have the car" but they were trying to talk to some other ones about moving a black on black one in. But I called him back and was straight up and told him I'm going to C to get that car, and I don't know if they are lying or what, but they have it and offered it for a better deal as well and it would be stupid for me not to get it. He completely understood and said to swing by when I can to get my deposit refunded. He may be able to do it over phone but finance guy wasn't in yet.

So I am headed to C in a bit and getting it for $51k out the door. $50k was my initial budget but for the premium color of black it is an extra $500 on the MSRP, and I'm not going to quibble over $500 to get the exact car I want. Since I started looking around November, I have seen 3 of them for sale in a 50 mile radius of me. 1 sold, 1 is still there and they wouldn't budget lower than $51,800 even after it has been sitting there since October, and then this one that I am buying now.

I also heard locally that they said to pay 8-10 percent less than MSRP and doing the math, it looks like I'm paying about 9% less than MSRP.

So I am okay with this price for the car I want. I am still nervous AF though just about spending $26k on down payment. I've never seen a hit to my savings like that in my life, and this is the 2nd largest purchase I've ever made, outside of my home.

 

[nOOky]

They should be able to give you the deposit back without you having to go there, they just credit it back to you. Congrats on the new vehicle! You should be happy you are able to put that much money down, not nervous.

 

[manly]

So I am okay with this price for the car I want. I am still nervous AF though just about spending $26k on down payment. I've never seen a hit to my savings like that in my life, and this is the 2nd largest purchase I've ever made, outside of my home.

Don't forget to charge the maximum allowed portion to a CC for points or cash back.

I called it a month ago.

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[nakedfrog]

Don't forget to charge the maximum allowed portion to a CC for points or cash back.

I called it a month ago.

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Your prize, sir: