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View Full Version : Can I have your tips on dealing with Car Salespeople?



hovegator
05-20-2004, 04:31 PM
I know this is completely off the subject of babies, but at least it goes along with my last 20 posts about carseats and new cars. :) I have decided to buy a new car. Most likely a 4DR Explorer XLT 4x4.

I consider myself to be the better haggler of the two of us, (boy did that come as a surprise to me when my husband and i bought our last car). But I could still use any haggling advice you have to give. Any secrets? Anyone have a car salesperson in their family?

Help me save some $$$ so my baby can have some toys too! :)

Thanks!
Alyssa

MartiesMom2B
05-20-2004, 05:32 PM
My DH does not like to have a male salesperson, if possible. Also we always bring in ADs from the papers and after test driving a model that we liked, DH pointed to the AD and said this is the truck that we want. Incidentally it was the one that we test drove. We didn't haggle out a price and we paid over $3,000 less than invoice. Also if they don't have terms that you like, get up and stand and tell them that you're leaving (especially if they are trying to tack stuff on).

Here is an excellent web site to check out. http://www.dontgettakeneverytime.com/
This was featured on Dateline, when they were doing undercover investigations on car dealerships.

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

american_mama
05-20-2004, 07:30 PM
Haven't bought a new car, but I got some very good and basic advice from a friend who did. He shopped around at various dealers and would get a price of say $19,000. BUT when he'd talk to another dealer, he's underprice it and say, "Dealer x will give us a price of $18,700. Can you beat that?" If they could (or could match), he'd save money. If they couldn't, he hadn't lost anything.

sarahfran
05-21-2004, 12:31 AM
Good luck! BE STRONG!

I did walk out on a salesperson once when we were down to haggling over the last $300. I stood up and said "well, that's a shame. I was hoping to buy the car from you" and walked out. He came running after me and (caught me in the pkg lot) and said "I'm not going to let this deal go over $300"... so the deal was done.

I have a friend who got a FAB deal on a car by using Autobytel.com. He put in his parameters, location, etc. and within a few days got calls from several local dealerships. The deals he got from them were WAY better than what he was finding from going in to dealerships. It might be worth a shot--it would give you a sense of the going rate if nothing else. I've also found that Edmunds.com's "True market value" gives a good rough idea of how much dealers are negotiating.

Let us know how it goes! Good luck!
-Sarah
Mom to Dylan, 8/18/03

:) Motherhood is such a joy! :)

MartiesMom2B
05-21-2004, 08:41 AM
Alyssa:

I forgot to tell you one more thing. Do your research at the library first. Go to the reference section and ask for the RED book on cars. This shows the real dealer invoice price. Xerox these papers and keep them with you. This will give you an idea of what they got the car for and will help you haggle. My cousin used to work for the Jack Gillis car book and gave me this tip.

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

miki
05-21-2004, 09:40 AM
After you've done the research, go to the dealership in the middle of the week if you can. When my husband and I went shopping for my car, we happened to have just moved and weren't working yet. We went shopping in the morning. It was also December so we were looking to get a deal on that year's car, not the new ones for the next model year. Anyway, the showroom was empty and the sales manager was the one we dealt with. He basically said right away if we wanted the car he would give it to us for X which was $300 over invoice. My husband asked why such a good deal. The guy told us it's the middle of the week and he's not going to have people banging on the door to buy anything so he'd like to make a quick sale.

flagger
05-21-2004, 09:53 AM
In addition to the above, also go in the evening about 30-45 minutes to close. You would be surprised how many managers will want to make a deal when they just went to get OUT of there. Go in there fresh after a nap.

Never talk about a trade-in while doing the negotiations on your purchase. Always keep a spare key so you can drive off in your vehicle, they always seem to "lose your keys" in an effort to keep you there longer.

Get financing before you go in and know your credit score. Many dealerships are not disclosing your credit score so they can "sell" you a higher interest rate.

Always, always say NO right before the finance manager is about to have you sign. You might get those floor mats, the upgraded stereo, the window tinting if the FI-guy thinks he is going to blow what the salesperson and manager think is a done deal.

JElaineB
05-21-2004, 10:50 AM
Go to Consumer Reports http://www.consumerreports.com and pay about $12 or $13 for their pricing info on the car you want. You can print out the info immediately. Negotiate with the salesperson, but when they quote too high you can say you know the price they paid for trhe vehicle because you got it off the internet. We did this and the salesperson's face fell. He scurried off to his mananger and came back with a much better price. Consumer Reports will tell you how much the dealer actually paid for the vehicle, then suggest what you should pay for it (I think 4% to 5% over dealer cost). It was definitely worth the small amount of money we paid for the report.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

kcimato
05-21-2004, 11:43 PM
First of all decide what type of car you want......Mini van,suv, sedan.Test drive everything in that class. When you do, tell the salesman you are just starting to look and this is your first outing. He'll probably ask what else you are looking at and go ahead and tell him. Do not committ to anything until you have driven everything.

Go to www.edmunds.com It is an excellent and informative site. They have pricing for every car and it tells you what the MSRP is and what the dealer pays and what you can expect to pay. There is also a link on how to negotiate for a car.They also have discussion groups for every car where people talk about prices they"ve paid and problems they have had with the car.

The salesman will also ask when you need the car and be sure to let him know you are in no hurry. If he asks how long you have been looking tell hime for the last 2 or 3 months. Also tell him you are not buying today. Resist his special deal of the day. Also don't buy a car with options you don't really want. Set yourself a limit. If it has an upgraded stereo and you don't want it. tell them to take it out and put the standard one in and if they can't tell them you don't want to pay for it.

I looked for an SUV for 2 years before I bought one. Through a combination of all these strategies I ended up buying a Nissan Murano at Car max. If you have one nearby with the maker you want, they have the best prices. You can also use this as a price point for your car.
Sorry this is so long. But do check out the edmunds sit and get educated before you step in a dealership.

BTW the Murano is an awsome car ( yes I know it is funky looking) but you get over it once you drive it.

Hope this helps.

luvbeinmama
05-22-2004, 02:28 AM
In addition to knowing what car you want (exactly), and doing the research on price (know how much you want to pay), make sure you either have financing worked out ahead of time (like through your bank) or know the interest rates and what each interest rate would cost you per month. My brother & SIL went in to their local dealer, knew what they wanted & how much they wanted to pay, so the salesperson (or finance person) tried to work them on the "monthly payment" angle. My SIL knew how much it would be per month at the interest rate and purchase price they wanted and avoided being scammed because of it.

HTH!

barbarhow
05-22-2004, 08:11 AM
Yup-that monthly payment stuff drives me batty! Don't tell them that you are trading in. Make it sound like you are buying an additional car. Then later after you get actual numbers on the table you can tell them that you have changed your mind and want to trade in your car. You will actually do better 95% of the time sellling your car privately-it can be a hassle and some areas of the country it can be pretty difficult-but it is usually worth it.
We go in telling the dealer that we already have financing.
I always sleep on the decision.
I have walked out on many a dealer. I tell them up front I will deal only with pricing and have no interest in hearing the payment thing. If they come back with the payment thing I walk.
We actually have a Ford dealership here that prices their cars much lower than the other dealerships. There is no haggling about money. The price is the price. That is where we bought my Explorer. It kind of took th "fun" out of it, though we did get a good price.
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03

firstbaby
05-22-2004, 09:57 AM
I second going to Consumer Reports and paying about $10 for the car report - it includes any dealer incentives going as well so if the sales person tries to paint the picture that they can't go below invoice it isn't true!

DH used to sell cars but you've gotten some great advice so far. One last point is that many times these people do not have a base salary - they are straight commission. So as much as you may feel like they try to keep you there to wear you down, they've also invested a lot of time that they could have been talking to others. So if you get up and leave (and I mean really be serious about it) they know statistically there is a low probability that you will ever go back. They will work very quickly to try and keep you there/get you back to come to terms. Good luck!

hovegator
05-22-2004, 02:14 PM
Thanks for all your good advice. Hopefully this thread will be helpful for others in the future. We ended up buying a new Exlplorer XLT yesterday and i think i did very well. Don't feel like i was taken too badly! SO now i'm off to the car seat forum to ask questions about that! :)

Thanks again!