Advice needed: bargaining, leverage, and finally buying

[cnk]

It's not that the mindset is "don't negotiate". It's that you shouldn't expect to be very successful at negotiating below MSRP at most dealers due to the quick turnaround on these cars. So you can't use the usual tactics like walking out and expecting a call back from the dealer later on because chances are, they'll just sell it in a few days to someone willing to pay for it.

[S2kphile]

Get your first color choice because you'll be living with it for a while. If you can get MSRP +TT&L you're getting a good deal especially since its a Subaru and there are markups everywhere for this car.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by cnk

It's not that the mindset is "don't negotiate". It's that you shouldn't expect to be very successful at negotiating below MSRP at most dealers due to the quick turnaround on these cars. So you can't use the usual tactics like walking out and expecting a call back from the dealer later on because chances are, they'll just sell it in a few days to someone willing to pay for it.

I agree that it's not a sure bet, but it's possible. The theme reads "don't bother" instead of "try, but be ready to accept MSRP..."

[rainmonkey]

Hi again everyone,


Thanks so much for all the feedback. Just thought I'd make an update.

Put down 1k deposit for (soon to be) my dark grey brz limited.
total damage (before tax, registration, etc...) is 27.9k down from their "msrp" of 28,317.00

First time buying a car, did I do well? I think I did.

[thermobox]

I think anything off sticker is effing amazing! Congrats! Most dealers are charging a mark-up across the country that ranges from 1,500-6,000 over sticker.

[cnk]

$400 off is $400 off so you did great. My dealer wouldn't budge, but I was the first one on the list since they had just filled the 2 orders that were previously put in. Worked out though as I just got the call that the car is on the boat now so I should get it mid Sept. to early Oct. Not bad considering I put my order in on Aug. 10th.

[inimitable]

Be persistent! The ball is still in your court; so long as you have the means to buy, no one is going to refuse to make a sale. That said, it's a pretty popular car right now, so it's pretty tough to find much leverage beyond MSRP. However, you most certainly shouldn't settle for anything less than you want in terms of options, color, and trans.

In my case, I didn't even have one ordered, but I made up my mind that was going to go after what I wanted. You can find more on that if you search some of my other posts. In short, I went on the Subaru website and began to query all the Subaru dealers in the area, broadening the scope of my search as I got feedback by calling each dealer. Things were made easier once I realized that I could then access and check each dealer's inventory via their websites which were all linked to Subaru.com. The lists of the inventory turned out to be pretty accurate, which was quite a relief to all the cold-calling I had been doing prior. I was not only able to see those BRZs they had in stock, including trans., color, prem. vs limited, etc., but also what was in transit - i.e., likely at the nearest port ready to be delivered. These filters really made my search so much easier!

All in all, I spent a grand total of 2 days on the hunt, meanwhile scanning the forums and Googling for answers to any other questions and concerns, primarily to do with the whole process of buying; this was the first time I had ever bought a new car, and really even any car from a dealer the was more than ~$5K.

In my case, I was also willing to do some traveling. Honestly, I'd probably have flown across the country if I had to; I thought it would be a fun trip back; a chance to get quite familiar with the car. At the same time, I imagined I had a small advantage, perhaps with the exception to Cali. & Texas, because I live on the [East] coast, in New Jersey; I figured we'd have quick access being closer to ports and major cities.

Finally, I found exactly what I was looking for a little over an hour north, in NJ. I made the call to make sure there was no mistake, that the car met my specifications, definitely wasn't reserved by someone else, and to inquire about price. I was delighted to hear what I thought I never would, that I could get it for $200 less than MSRP! I didn't even try to haggle! When I asked whether it was going for MSRP, as this was NOT the case for some of the other dealers I tried, not to mention that this was the first place that actually had the exact specs (mainly color SSM) I was looking for, the dealer said, "uh, it was yesterday..." at which point, my heart sank a bit, but then sprang to relief and joy when he continued, "but I can do a couple hundred under..." and of course, I had to have him repeat and clarify himself to make sure I wasn't dreaming (a few days prior I had been to a nearby Toyota dealership where they had a couple of FR-Ss in stock, and when it came time to talk price, they wanted ~$5K+ over MSRP!!!!! and tried all kinds of tactics to induce me to buy...). The next morning I took the train north and drove it home a happy customer and new BRZ owner.

Summary:
-be persistent & take some notes
-"haste makes waste" - don't settle for different specs - this is a big and important purchase, and you want to be happy with it in the future when you reflect
-use the search feature on Subaru.com, then access dealer websites & inventory (for more about how I went about this, look at some of my earliest posts)
-be willing to travel at least somewhat
-you may get better search results by focusing on the coasts and ports
-MSRP might not be so bad after all, but don't be willing to pay more than that
-check out the thread on blacklisted dealers charging MSRP+ or pulling shady business practices

Good Luck!


Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2

[DR1FT]

If your getting it at msrp id say go for it. Don't waste your time negotiating cause the dealer knows they can move the car at their asking price. I purchased my car at msrp things went smooth I jst asked the the dealer to throw me a free extended warranty to seal the deal and they did.

[Turbowned]

Looks like you did well! Just watch out for the add-ons they might try to sell you after.

[rainmonkey]

just want to say one thing:

It is here...
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...
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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT