Advice needed: bargaining, leverage, and finally buying

[rainmonkey]

Hello, I've been lurking for a while and now that I have the capacity to actually purchase a brz, I thought I'd get some opinions.

I'm looking at the limited since I like the extra creature comforts. Both dealers are quoting 28,317 --- supposedly msrp. Of course I will be negotiating.

The cards I have to play with are as follows:
Dealer A pros: in stock now
Dealer A cons: second choice color (galaxy blue) and further away from me (not by that much tho)

Dealer B pros: color I want (dark grey), closer, and I test drove at this place.
Dealer B cons: the car is at the port and expected to arrive some time in September (early sept he said)

Also the guy who helped me out with the test drive is out sick today so in speaking with someone else, does this mean he will get the commission instead?

The cars are in fairly high demand so I don't know how much bargaining power I have. I know the invoice for the limited is somewhere around 26.5k.

Any suggestions how to play this scenario best would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you,
Rainmonkey

[cnk]

Honestly, if you can find it for around MSRP, that will probably be the best you can get it right now with all the hype going around about the car. The car is in such high demand that most dealerships will just pass on your offer knowing that someone else will buy the car.

Every dealer I spoke to in NJ basically said that they sell the BRZ, WRX, and Sti for MSRP and you can take it or leave it. There are some in other parts of the country that have gotten them for a few hundred less, but usually it's marked up $1-3K above MSRP.

[PMok]

1) find out what both dealers are asking. If they are marking up above MSRP then game over, walk away.
2) use them against each other. Tell A the color is not your preference and would rather wait to get your preferred color from B unless A can come down in price. Tell B you can get the car from A now but you like the dk grey color more. so you'll wait and buy from B if they will give you a better price.
3) if you really are ok with 2nd choice color, and it's a better deal take it and drive the car home.
4) if you really want the dk gray, wait for it and use A pricing/availability as a bargaining chip at B.
5) enjoy the drive.

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Originally Posted by rainmonkey

Also the guy who helped me out with the test drive is out sick today so in speaking with someone else, does this mean he will get the commission instead?

If someone else closes it, it'll get split 50-50 between them, assuming the second sales person doesn't **** over the first one. But you can just make it clear that another person helped, and that first guy will still get credit.

[wbradley]

Firstly, if the first guy treated you decently, make it clear you were dealing with him and despite him being off sick you want to give him the credit. The manager might then take over, or it might be a split, or the first guy might be SOL because he's home today pulling the meat whistle

Secondly, you can try but based on 3 days on the lot before being sold you shouldnt expect much if any discount.

Thirdly, if you pay over MSRP you're nuts!

[Hix]

It took me about 50 phone calls to find a dealership that would sell me the car at MSRP. First one that said yes I purchased over the phone; whole transaction time was 5 mins or so. Not a whole lot of bargaining power on this car since the announced average sales price is 3.99% higher than list over the whole sales run so far.

[Dave-ROR]

Hmm $499 over invoice here. :shrug:

[Turbowned]

Go for the DGM if it's your first choice! Personally I prefer the GBS just because there aren't any other Subarus in that color; DGM is a standard color for every other model, as sexy as it may be.

Clay Subaru and Village Subaru both have DGM's listed at $28,317, and Patrick Subaru has a GBS for the same price. $28,265 is the MSRP for a Limited 6MT with destination but those three have wheel locks added, raising the price to $28,317. You're wasting your breath trying to negotiate the MSRP. No one is discounting BRZ's right now, except possibly on a factory order in which you could be waiting a while. The average time spent on the lot for a BRZ is like 3-5 days, it's the shortest time of any car in production right now! Just make sure the interest rate and payments are where you want them to be.

You should totally buy one from me so I can get the commission, and use it to buy a BRZ of my own! Just kidding; I don't think I can swap for one anyway.

[GregV]

If the car is already at port it is a no brainer to wait for the options/color you want.

Are you financing? Your only room for negotiation will likely be interest rate. If you can convince either to budge on MSRP at this point then by all means go for it.

[DeeezNuuuts83]

^ But most of the time, you can't really negotiate interest rates, unless it's a place that has in-house financing (and usually is meant for people with terrible credit scores, plus the rates are usually bad).

[GregV]

Originally Posted by DeeezNuuuts83

^ But most of the time, you can't really negotiate interest rates, unless it's a place that has in-house financing (and usually is meant for people with terrible credit scores, plus the rates are usually bad).

Most dealerships should have a relationship with a lender they use most often even if it is not in-house. They will offer a lower rate if it means you finance with them. I had my dealer match penfed's 1.9% even though I wasn't even eligible for a loan from penfed.

[avp1]

Yes, you can't expect any discount on this car. Subaru promotional financing is 3% for any loan from 24 to 60 months. You may try to negotiate match below that. Another possibility is get discount t on accessories you do not ask for. I got $250 off, because dimming mirror and bumper protection film were there, but I didn't want them.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by GregV

Most dealerships should have a relationship with a lender they use most often even if it is not in-house. They will offer a lower rate if it means you finance with them. I had my dealer match penfed's 1.9% even though I wasn't even eligible for a loan from penfed.

Correct.

And I don't understand the "don't neg" mindset. At worse, they say no. There are a number of people here who have paid less than MSRP so it's far from impossible.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by avp1

Yes, you can't expect any discount on this car. Subaru promotional financing is 3% for any loan from 24 to 60 months. You may try to negotiate match below that. Another possibility is get discount t on accessories you do not ask for. I got $250 off, because dimming mirror and bumper protection film were there, but I didn't want them.

I got 1.94% through Subaru finance because they wanted my business and had to beat PenFed's 1.99% (at the time). They will definately beat someone elses rate if it's possible.