car negotiating (Bill?)

[heatherlynn]

Sorry I'm so full of questions today! :(

I'm thinking of buying a new Sienna since mine is 10 years old and falling apart little by little (literally).

Anyway, does anyone know how to negotiate by email/internet? I did an internet request with one dealer, but they asked if I wanted to come in today. Should I have them email me a price? Do I just say give me your lowest price? How do I find out much the dealer paid for a car?

Ugh. Thanks again gang!

[beansprout13]

When we bought our Honda, I did internet price requests for 5 dealerships within 50 miles of my house. Some gave me price requests, some didn't and asked me if I wanted to come in. I took the lowest internet price and then began "shopping" that around to the dealerships (all by email). Two of the dealerships weren't willing to do it this way, so that left me with 3 dealerships. I kept emailing back and forth until basically two dealerships were a few dollars apart (one was offering a lower car price, one was willing to waive some fees so they were basically the same price). I then negotiated our trade in separately (asked them for ballpark figures based on description). The dealerships with the lowest price got our business!

[KBecks]

OK, first you need to figure out exactly what you want on your car. I'd make an appointment with the internet sales department at one dealer and go do your test drive there, but do your research ahead of time. But you need to see and drive the car and maybe look at a couple trim levels to see exactly what you want. That's the key to negotiating online is to compare exact apples to apples. This was easier with Honda because they don't have a lot of option packages, Toyotas are tricker because they have more packages and codes you'll need to understand and know the pricing on.

Do research at Edmunds and a Toyota/Sienna online forum -- there is a Sienna online forum where people can help you figure out the exact option packages, etc. etc. etc. And they should have an ongoing discussion of what people are paying. Edmunds will also have information on options and invoice pricing.

So then when you know exactly what you want, you email the internet sales teams of however many dealerships are in your area that you are willing to drive to ... I think I chose ones within 100 miles... and say, I want to buy this specific van with these specific features, and I'm aware of your current promotions and incentives, please give me your best price and please itemize destination and tax. I intend to purchase in the next 5 days and will buy from the dealership that gives me the best price.

Then sit back and let the bids come in. Some dealerships won't do it, they'll want you to come in but some will send you competitive offers. I did it for my Odyssey and contacted maybe a dozen dealerships and got a very good bid. Then I offered to the dealer I test drive with match it, which they did. But I could have gotten it from the dealer who made the offer too.

So, do a lot of homework up front. We sold our older vehicle privately and had financing in hand, but the dealer matched or beat our finance rate so we went with them for that as well.

HTH!

[niccig]

I sent this email out to about 12 dealers around us - we have a lot of dealers.

"I want to buy a 2WD Honda CRV by the end of the month.

2008 Honda CRV EX-L with navigation. Colour Preference: Tango Red Perl

I have already taken a test drive and will only be coming in to purchase the car.

Please provide the following information by email:

* Your best price itemized as: Vehicle + destination charge + all fees + sales tax + registration

* An explanation of all fees "

I wanted the price breakdown as some dealers replied with what seemed to be a great price, but when asked, it was minus destination charge, fees, sales tax, registrations. I wanted to know what the price for the vehicle was, minus all of that, so I could really compare. I was also leary of the extra fees they can tack on, so I wanted to know that up front. Ask if there are any extras put on the car - some dealers put in lojack etc and won't remove. The dealer we ended up at, had lojack, a "better" security alarm and blue tooth, but there was no hassle to get them removed.

Some dealers didn't have a clue, and wouldn't give me the information I wanted, or it was a really low price for a vehicle that didn't have the options I wanted - they didn't read the email. The dealer we went with, had the best price and was upfront from the first email. When we went in to sign, he was with another customer and they tried to get us to take a sales guy off the floor. I refused and we waited, as the Internet Sales Rep. have different pay structure - apparently on wage and bonus for how much they sell, where's sales guy work on commission. I wanted the person I have been communicating with over email.

It really was the easiest way to buy a car, and we saved quite a bit. DH was impressed. If you're the one doing all the emails/research, make sure you're the one doing all the talking when you go in. I let DH do it at first, but after 5 mins he turned to me and said, you know more about what we want than I do, I'm just here to sign the papers.

There's a couple of web sites taht helped me...I"ll look for them.

ETA - http://www.carbuyingtips.com/ - this was very useful about how to research/prepare yourself
I used a Honda Forum and I posted as I was in the process of getting Internet quotes, to get people's advice
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html - confessions of a car salesman - very interesting to see some of the tactics that use.

[BillK]

I won't bore you with my reply since all those above me pretty much said everything I'd have said. :)

[StantonHyde]

I always rely on Consumer Reports car price report--it tells you exactly what the dealer paid. When I bought my first car, the guy quoted me a price. I pulled out the report and put it in front of him and I got the car for $300-500 over that price. The other info PPs gave you is important too--because there might be a dealer who is willing to go lower because of selling incentives etc.

[Melbel]

I negotiated the purchase of a new Infiniti QX56 and Honda CRV within the last 7 months via phone/email. To streamline the process and get the best price, I found that it was helpful to work with those dealerships that physically have the vehicle you want on the lot, ready to sell. The higher volume dealerships and/or dealerships with competing dealerships (i.e. another Toyota dealership within close proximity) tend to be more competitive price wise. With the CRV, we bought it from a dealership 2.5 hours away and saved nearly $2k compared to the best quote in town (even after providing local dealership with opportunity to match). The salesman even delivered the vehicle, so there was no trip to the dealership!

[HIU8]

When I bought my Camry in 2002 I did the whole thing via internet and then phone. I got the car for $100 under invoice. I happened to find a really tech savvy dealership that was more than happy to deal with me.

For our Odyssey, I did an internet search and called around and then went to the most low pressure dealership I could find. We knew what we wanted, how much we should pay and we just laid it out like that. We were/are prepared to walk away if the salespeople are not willing to "play" our way. I paid something like $2500 less for the same car with the same features as my neighbor who just went to the dealership down the street.

[cmo]

If you are going the internet price quote route, tell them you want the 'out-the-door price'. That should include all the big and small fees, taxes, etc. Include your city & county of residence so they can correctly calculate your sales tax. All the PPs have already given some great advice, so I won't repeat it!

[wendibird22]

I always rely on Consumer Reports car price report--it tells you exactly what the dealer paid. When I bought my first car, the guy quoted me a price. I pulled out the report and put it in front of him and I got the car for $300-500 over that price. The other info PPs gave you is important too--because there might be a dealer who is willing to go lower because of selling incentives etc.
:yeahthat:

We bought an 07 Ody back in September and did exactly that. Walked in with the CR report that showed exactly what the dealer paid and what their incentives were and asked for their best offer. Then took that offer (in writing) and went to a competitor who beat that offer by $800 (basically $200 over their cost). Knowing the incentives is important, not just the financing or cash back offers they are offering buyers but also the incentives/discounts that the dealer received on that car that lowered their costs.

[heatherlynn]

Thank you all sooo much! I was seriously thinking that I'd buy yesterday, but it didn't work out. I'm amazed that the high/low prices were $2k apart but I wouldn't really have realized it if I didn't have them break out their pricing. I was also surprised by how savvy some dealers were and how some were so clueless.

Anyway, you all are just amazing and I just have to say how thankful I am that I'm part of a group that is so helpful, intelligent, and kind. :)