Haggling with Dealers?

C

Citius

New member
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.
 
Shop online via Edmunds. You can get the deal done without leaving home. Make them compete against each other. Once the deal is done, all you'll need to do is go to see and inspect the car and paperwork.
 
Oh yeah, take your time. When they don't hear from you for a couple days they usually start to look for you.
 
I love haggling with dealers. My family or friends ask me to go when there buying a car.



- if your going to trade a car in, get the lowest price first you can on the car before you even tell them your going to trade a car in

- start low like you mentioned. Its a back in forth game between you and the sales manager or whomever is in charge.

- don't like the numbers, get up and leave!!

- they will throw numbers at you that are WAY LOW as you walk away, keep walking.

- tell them you just started looking and they are your first stop

- If they only come down $1000 like you said I would walk, there's plenty of dealership that will take more off with some back and forth games.
 
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).
 
Walk in there knowing full well it's a buyers market right now.



Don;t tell them about any discounts or trade in's until you get the very lowest price possible on the car you want. Keep changing the subject everytime try to bring it up too soon. (and they will)



If they want you to buy all the extras tell them no thanks.



Don't waffle around from car to car. Know which car you want before you even get there. Be stuck on that car and that car alone. Because once he has to deal with you knowing you're not interested in any other "Gem of a deal" on the lot the talks get more serious and the deals start to happen.
 
Save yourself the hassle and go through the internet department. They'll be the guys giving you the better pricing and trade ins and such, because they are more high volume, and so typically are more concerned with selling it than getting top dollar.
 
I say avoid used car dealers all together.



I used to sell for Ducati & BMW and frankly- I've seen enough to say I will never EVER buy off of a dealer again.



Here is the thing, all the above talk is fine and dandy- but the bottom line is that a dealer will not sell unless they are making money. period. -and you're playing their game on their home turf and there are a million tricks...



Get a loan through a local credit union and find a car that is being sold privately you would be surprised at how much MORE car you can get for your money.



And yes, it's a buyers market for privately sold cars -I just looked at a low mileage 2000 Civic Si -normally these cars sell pretty quick when listed- Apparently, I was the first person to show up and the car was on Autotrader for a month.



The crappy 3 month warranty (or even the 3 year warranty) a dealer will throw in is not worth it. I heard of several 3rd party warranty companies not following through with claims.



A privately owned car with receipts of maintenance work (and or that is still under factory warranty) is your best bet for a decent car.





OR...
 
I will agree with the others.



Another trick I use:

Bring a friend, wife, husband, etc. If you have a friend who is a mechanic, even better. Have them play Devil's advocate. So some interest, but at the same time have them bring up all sorts of reasons why you shouldn't buy it or go somewhere else. Don't let them get to over the top though. This has helped me and my friends get the price we were looking for or sometimes even lower.



Most importantly, always be ready to walk away. There are millions of cars out there for the picking.
 
All these tips sound good. Thanks guys.



Xtreme-Klean said:
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.
Click to expand...



I sent you a PM.
 
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.
 
Citius said:
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.
Click to expand...



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.
 
Xtreme-Klean said:
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).
Click to expand...



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.
 
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).
 
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.
 
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.
 
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