Haggling with Dealers?

[Ctowner]

Here are my tips from my accumulated experience on both sides of the fence:


-Always be ready to leave, and never get attached. If you are clear that you could walk out at any second, there is more urgency on them. If you get attached, they know they have you.
-Communicate clear, and don't waste time. The less time both you and the dealer have invested, the better. Find what you want, make a decision on how much YOU want to pay, and communicate clearly that you will buy immediately at that price.
-Nothing is free. Anything they agree to fix, include, etc ups the bottom line regardless of what they say
-Never believe what they claim to have bought the car for or what they "have in it". Rarely is this a truthful number
-Research research research. For new cars, find out what other people are paying, what invoice price is, what incentives are currently available, and what the Dealer Holdback is on that particular brand. Dealer holdback is an additional amount they get off their price that is not widely published. This number can easily be $1k. In addition to this, dealers sometimes have factory coupons that are not puiblicly announced. For used cars, find out a reasonable selling price from many sources, and the black book or trade in value. Keep in mind a dealer will general rate teh car one step down from its actual condition when determining a trade in value. Once you figured out about what they paid, you need to add in a little profit for them...they need profit to exist.
-If the salesman says no way to your price, but gets the manager, you are probably on the right track. If the manager lets you walk with no hesitation, you were too low.

[GoudyL]

Originally Posted by Citius

I'm sure that you guys have bought a few cars off the lot. I was wondering if you had any tips on how to haggle with used car salesman?

Some tips that I've heard:
-Point out everything that is wrong with the car (scratches, chips).
-Don't show any emotion towards the car.
-Start with a low offer.
-Most dealers will come down $1000 off the initial price.
-Silence is golden. Don't break silence with useless chatter.

Do you guys have any other tips? I'm looking at buying a car from a used car dealer this week and I could use any advice.

Also, what are some good places to find out how much a vehicle is worth? I read somewhere that Kelley Blue Book is kind of biased towards dealers. I've looked into NADA and Edmunds.

There are two NADA guides, the consumer guide(retail pricing), and the professional guide(wholesale pricing). The auto dealer will be mighty happy to see you whipping out your little NADA guide. Not that they aren't useful

Best bet is to fully quote the car on Edmunds.com.

I like to give ranges, rather than point prices. Note the dealer will *always* come back at the high end of the range. If you are astute, you can point out that they are doing this, and that you are not impressed. I'd hate to be pinned down on any price, and I'd make sure they give the first offer.

Of tell them you just started looking and they are your first stop, bonus points for having print outs of other cars at other dealers.

Never talk about a trade in's/financing untill you've worked them all the way down.

Don't do dealer financing, your local credit union will have better financing in almost all cases.

And don't be afraid to walk, this is very much a buyers market for cars.

[David Fermani]

Originally Posted by Xtreme-Klean

I work for NADAguides.com.
If you happen to know the dealership name and the following info on the car I can get you the aprox price the dealership is willing to sell the car.

I will need the vin#, year, make, model, options, and condition.
I feel NADAguides is more precise because we get our pricing from local real world price (AutoTrader price).

The price a dealer is willing to and actually being able to sell at are 2 totally different values. NADA doesn't have a clue with how much the dealer has into each vehicle, just their *asking of list* price on a vehicle for sale and/or what a vehicle sold for recently. They also don't equate for and the variances in condition either. Yes, it's a decent guide(much better than Edmunds & Kelly BB), but nothing beats going on AutoTrader and seeing what *comparable* vehicles in a 100-200 mile radius are going for. Take in the lowest priced listings with you into the dealer (or private party)and start from there. Many times right before a dealer is getting ready to wholesale an older unit, they list it at a blow out price. Remember, sources like Edmunds & Kelly BB are guides and many times they are way off are real world, on the street *asking prices* because they don't represent actual vehicles for sale. Also, I feel many times when shopping with the NADA book, that a good price to pay is loan value or below.

[PedroDaGr8]

Also, be careful of how they try to steer you. They will try and focus on one thing or another. For example, how much do you want to pay a month or how much is your trade in worth. These are all rouses. The idea being they try to get you to focus on this to distract you from the bigger picture, HOW MUCH IS THE CAR.

I remember a friend who was a car dealer telling me one way they do this is the four corners method, where they write things down on paper and fold it up (to try to push things out of your mind).

[OTG Signs]

Buy privately. Period.

[Mark355]

If they're not insulted, your offer wasn't low enough.

[brian1g]

I usually inquire via email on a car i like, ask the best price they can give you otd. I give the contact info in the email and say if the price is right ill be in to test drive in the next day or two.

I have found that I get a lower quote on the car and usually less haggling is involved. For me its just a lot less stressful emailing about the car than having to drag my wife to the dealership for a day full of haggling.

[jdoria]

I have a little experience in this area.

All of you guys have posted valid processes to get a car with minimal hassle.


1. Do not buy ANYTHING from the F.I. office.

2. Used cars is an open field. You will never know what the previous customer decided to take for his used car. Whats a good price? Its what ever you feel is for that particular car! So using NADA, Galves, Black Book, etc are all just GUIDES, they can not replace common sense and perceived value.

3. New car business is a drag on the dealership. If the profit from new cars paid the electric bill every month, that was a considered a good month. We only want to sell you used cars and fix your existing car.

[onelazydawg]

becareful when using NADA as a price point as it gets its values from car sales in specific regions. problem is that dealers often reprice deal to original asking price on unit to bump up trade value for financing reasons, and to cover the loss or upside down nature of trade in. this skews the price suggesting car had higher resale value.

[Jayhawker]

I don't know where to start...I have done it all from sales, to f&i to the desk. Dealerships are there to make money. If you are buying used, most cars getting 3500 back of book and even worse on the more expensive cars. You really need to know what the real value of the car is, then base your offer of that, not what the dealer has it listed for.

TAKE A PAYMENT CALCULATOR WITH YOU...if you plan on financing. A smart person will over inflate your payment to get more profit in the back (its call "leg" and even though it's unethical, dealers do it all the time) like selling you a warranty "for only $18 per month". READ EVERYTHING.

The one benefit of buying from a dealer vs buying from an individual, there is recourse when buying from a dealer.

If you have questions, just ask and I will tell you what I know.

[lbls1]

That is one of my favorite car shopping activities. Just some general tips bc a lot of good things have been said.

1. Always do your homework and research. You should definitely know (or have a good idea) of what you want and what price range a car typically sells for before you shop.
1a. You should also have a good idea whether you intend to buy new or used.
2. You should do a thorough financial analysis of your cash on hand, current expenses, and include a (sketchy at least; detailed is better) projection of your expected monthly payment and expenses with this new vehicle.
3. Storage; you have to have a place to put it (or plan a place to put it)
4. Car's expected life expectancy; How long you plan on keeping it all things being equal.

5. Look at an online price comparison like edmunds. It will give you a great start in knowing what an average price for a car should be.
6. Start locally and get a first price. Never, (repeat) never settle on a car on the first visit (although sometimes luck will have it that the first dealer will end up being the place you buy from....you won't know that until you've shopped around though).
7. Listen to the sales person's pitch, then haggle (negotiate) intelligently. Realize this; A dealer already knows his bottom price, and if you come in below it then that dealer will not sell you the car.
8. Shop around. A better price/deal/car can always be found. Never negotiate with incentives or finance rates. You want to negotiate with the selling price; incentives will come automatically (if its offered). How sweet a deal it could be to get the best price possible and incentives as a bonus.
9. You also need to figure out who will finance your deal. This should be a part of your financial analysis before shopping. Do not allow a dealer to finance the car without checking out the specifics. You could potentially get ripped off if you do not find out all of the aspects on financing before purchasing a car.
10. When you find the best opportunity, act! Waiting or indecisiveness will cost you to lose a good price or car opportunity; However, if you are not sure that you want the car or if its the best deal then move on and continue shopping.

It can be fun; as long as you maintain control. Regardless of what is said by anyone, ultimately you will make the decision whether to purchase.

[AcuraYYZ]

A couple rules I learned from my dad:

-Make sure your car is CLEAN outside once your serious and ready to talk trade-in value.

-If you drive a car worth more than $25-30K which are not trading in, PARK OUT OF SIGHT. If a salesman sees you come in driving a newer Lexus or Audi he's going to get the impression that "you've got money" and will pay full/higher prices.

-Be firm and walk-out if the price isn't good. Salesmen will usually follow you out and try to make a deal.

-Don't praise/compliment the car or show your very interested. If the salesman knows you love the car he'll think your willing to pay list.

-Buy from a name-brand dealer. Non-name brand dealers get the cars that were in accidents/in worse condition. Stay away from "---- Fine Cars" type places. Most OEM dealers won't keep accident cars on the lot since they're worth much less and aren't worth the trouble. Even if it's a Honda on a Dodge lot, you're safer than a no-name place. Name-brand dealers will sell cars that they can stand behind and offer proper warrantees. None of this "Lubrico" ********.

-Check the car CAREFULLY. Look for accident/replacement parts everywhere possible. Remember, if a car is in an accident, it will not show up on car-fax or carproof if the damage wasn't reported to the police. If I crash into a tree and pay $10,000 out of pocket to fix a car it's not on the VIN check.