Quote:
Originally Posted by TuxedoCartman
I worry too about an escalation of hostilities, so to speak. By now, there've been so many expose's and word-of-mouth stories of shady dealer practices, that I wonder how many people go into a dealership intent on being hard negotiators, just to guard themselves against imagined (or real) unseen hooks and charges. For example, why should you believe a dealer's invoice on a car, when you've heard of them trying to sell you $500 coats of wax as a "polypixidustical paint protection shield"? Car dealer equals scum in the public's eyes anymore; and whether or not certain individuals are undeserving of that reputation, there's a reason it got there in the first place.
Just wondering out loud...
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If you search the interwebs enough, you get an idea what a car actually costs a dealer. It's a huge pain in the ass to do, but if you research enough you will have within 300-400 dollars of what it probably cost them.
Then you walk into a dealership and tell them you want x car for y dollars (with y being the list price). It tends to go easier if they have the car on the lot than having to order it, because they will always want to get rid of inventory sitting around rather than doing dealer trades or other crap.
The way it goes from there will determine what happens next. If a dealer blows you off and acts like they make no profit over MSRP, leave. If they tell you they can't do what you've researched the list price to be, then try to get within a few hundred dollars of it (by this point both parties have realized that 500-800 over list is a reasonable number but haven't really verbalized it). Getting a hard to find car like the FR-S for 800 over list is worth 300 bucks, at least to me.
Then you just politely say "no" to everything they offer from warranties, to payment protection, etc. It also helps to have your own bank to do the financing or pay cash--because if you have a trade you WILL get lowballed on it and given excuses as to how even if the car/truck is in excellent shape I can't sell THIS kind of model in THIS market.
If everything goes well, take all of their paperwork home, read over it, don't sign a damn thing in their offices. If it all looks kosher come in a day or two late and tell them you agree to their terms.
The other strategy is telling them "I need to buy a car now, what is the best deal you can you give me?" This is crazy and will often mean you will get a car/truck you may/may not want with options you may/may not need, but I got a 4WD Sierra farm truck for 12000 under MSRP this way (my current vehicle) because it was an unsold 2010 when the 2011's had come out, with an unpopular bench seat and vinyl interior.
It's pathetically agonizing, the car dealer process. They still make money, I still get what I think is a "fair" price, but why is it necessary? Are other buyers so ignorant/lazy that they think that giving away 2000 dollars for stale popcorn and crest whitening strips smiles is the norm? I've seen people haggle for 20 cents at the checkout line at the grocery store then shrug when the dealer tells them it's not 24999, but 25999. Worse yet, are the 'tards who want to pay 30k for a 25k sports car that will be barely worth 10 grand in 5 years that make all the car dealers salivate and demand ADM.
What I refuse to do is give a damn when the dealer tells me I'm wasting his time.
If he gave me a fair price, I'd be glad to stop wasting his time... but this usually means buying a car/truck is a waste of my own time.