anybody got buying a car tips?

[trojanfight]

just had a pretty horrible experience at dealer. my 2010 dodge charger is worth 12k...they offered 7k. found the same camaro SS down the road with less miles and for 1000 less off price..thinking they likely would match...but no they refused making excuses about having a warranty. to top it off my 700+ credit score was worth 9 % interest.

any ideas how to deal with crooks like these?

 

[outofyourmind]

1) Go to your bank or credit union and get your financing set up before you go buy.
2) Go to another dealership.
3) Not sure what it is you want to do by your description.

 

[MISKO]

you will never get the blue book value for the car .. the dealership has to resell it and make some money and a bank isnt going to finance a car that is worth x amount for over what it is worth ..

 

[SDGuy73]

just had a pretty horrible experience at dealer. my 2010 dodge charger is worth 12k...they offered 7k. found the same camaro SS down the road with less miles and for 1000 less off price..thinking they likely would match...but no they refused making excuses about having a warranty. to top it off my 700+ credit score was worth 9 % interest.

any ideas how to deal with crooks like these?

You will only get blue book price from a private buyer. No dealer will give you close to it's value. They have to resell it and make a profit.

 

[outofyourmind]

what happened to @trojanfight.
just up and disappeared
what was the final verdict

 

[trojanfight]

Q

You will only get blue book price from a private buyer. No dealer will give you close to it's value. They have to resell it and make a profit.

Thing that is confusing is the blue book has prices for trade in and private seller. So if dealer won't pay that price either. I get they got to make money but making 5000 off of it seems a rip off deal.

 

[outofyourmind]

NADA shows about a $5k difference on your car between retail and rough trade in.
It doesn't matter if it's in perfect shape, they will hit you at 'rough'.
Just the way it is.

Sell it yourself if you want retail.

edit: i cant see that there is anything special about your car, sorry, but there are like a gazzillion of them around which also crushes the price.

 

[7Samurai13]

Always go to multiple places to get your vehicle appraised. Yes you will almost always get more selling the car on your own but have to do more work to do that. Spend money to advertise it, time cleaning and detailing the car, time meeting strangers at your house or at another location, etc.

Although the dealership is not giving you full KBB for your car, realize that they rarely get KBB while selling the car either. Seeing the prices online is what they are asking for them, not what they are selling for. Typically people want $1-2k off that price while negotiating if not more. The minimal cost to put a car through a service department is $300 if the car is perfect.

While using KBB people always think their car is perfect cause it's their baby but no car is in "excellent" on unless it has 500 miles on it. Good to fair is usually what you will find they use unless you have beat your car to shit.

If you feel that the dealership/salesman is a crook then go somewhere else. $5k sounds like a lot but often times they are looking at auction reports for what they can buy a similar car for and why spend $2k more for your car when they can buy something similar for cheaper? If you do your service work where you are trying to buy your car you can argue that they should show loyalty to you and that it puts value on your car when they try and sell it because they have a story with it.

 

[BTHOtu]

1. Do research. Know everything about everything about the car you want. You would be surprised how clueless the sales person is about what he is trying to sell you.

2. It's good to be pre-approved by your bank. I use USAA. You can have it done at the dealership but beware - they will run your numbers through a dozen or so banks to try and offer you a "better deal" and each one is going to pull your credit. Your score will drop like a ton of bricks. I don't give them my numbers until after a deal has been made.

3. Go to the dealership on the last weekend of the month...in the afternoon. People are tired and want to go home. Plus they are more flexible when trying to lower their end of month inventory.

4. Never mention a trade. Always talk about the car. The goal is to get a deal done on the car. Throw the trade in later as part of the negotiating. Never talk about a down payment either. Thrown that in later while in the finance office as a tactic to get a lower interest rate.

5. Never. Never ever. Never ever ever mention anything about a monthly payment, monthly budget, or anything that will mark you as a sucker. I do some calculations before hand and come up with the highest total cost that I am willing to pay.

6. Stay firm but fair. Don't try to get them for a ridiculously low offer but one that is fair. You want a price that is fair, maybe on the low side, but enough meat on the bone to take you seriously. Write your price down on a piece of paper and sign it. Say these exact words. "I will drive this car home today for $_______" They will then take it to their imaginary sales manager and come back with some bullshit. Stay firm and don't be afraid to break the deal. Because you did your research before hand, you already know where to get this car at the price you want. Use this information to your advantage.

7. Don't sweat "the box" The most effective sales tactic that they have is when they leave you sitting there in a confined office, or at a table for a long period of time with nothing but your thoughts. They are most likely out back smoking, bullshitting, talking to their so-called manager about what a sucker you are. I will normally get up and wonder around the lot. Make them come looking for me. Or if it takes too long I'll head over to my car.

8. Eventually they will agree with you. You might have to come up a little just to get it done but once they realize that they aren't dealing with an idiot they normally just want to get you out of there so that they can make money off of another sucker. Now it is time to throw in the possibility of a trade. Know how much your car is worth. Bring a copy of the blue book value and know what the auction value is. They will offer you below that - so that they can auction the car off and make money off of it. They don't normally resale the car at that particular dealership. They want to get rid of it asap but make money off of it at the same time. Dealers will not offer you what you think your car is worth, only what is possible to maximize their overall profit. If you want to make money - put out an ad on Craigslist.

9. They will take you to the finance office. Remember, you are there to sign loan papers - not to purchase expensive and unnecessary extended warranties. You don't need them. You can pay your car off quicker without adding another 5-7 grand on top of the loan.

10. Drive your new car home and celebrate the fact that you didn't get hosed

 

[Nascar Addict]

I'm 42.
I have never bought a new car.
I never plan on buying a new car. Because I don't have money falling out every orifice.
I buy a car when the one I have has the wheels falls off. I save up. Then I go buy a decent late model used car. And I quickly pay the "female dog" off.

This plan got derailed last January. D.U.I. guy took out my car, and I had to find a car quick. Life is a "female dog."

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Do online. Cash in full if you can afford it. Got a car about $1,200 below invoice + free ski tickets (season passes) which I sold for $600 and got some all weather mats and speaker upgrade free. The dealer was giving me a pretty hard time when I was asking for the all weather mats free (kind of like a "Okay... but c'mon man...").

Anyway, online is the way to go. Went to a car lot, asked if a guy was willing to cut me a deal and he said no. Just walked out. It was pretty satisfying when he emailed me a week later (after working the deal online at another dealership) and I was able to reply saying, "Found another dealer thanks."

Ask for free stuff. "Hey can you throw this in?" "Was talking to another person, and they said you can often throw in......" will get you a long ways. Usually can get $500 of value right there with those questions.

COMPLETELY avoid places that are pitching "No haggling" stickers. There's some places that like to pitch price as is, no haggling from either end. AVOID. It's a COMPLETELY 100% buyers market for cars these days. If there's a dealer not willing to haggle, move on. Ask invoice price only, research before you buy.... If ANYTHING shows up in the lot that you didn't ask/pay for, walk. DO NOT trade in. Sell independently. You will ALWAYS get ripped off on trade ins.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

1. Do research. Know everything about everything about the car you want. You would be surprised how clueless the sales person is about what he is trying to sell you.

2. It's good to be pre-approved by your bank. I use USAA. You can have it done at the dealership but beware - they will run your numbers through a dozen or so banks to try and offer you a "better deal" and each one is going to pull your credit. Your score will drop like a ton of bricks. I don't give them my numbers until after a deal has been made.

3. Go to the dealership on the last weekend of the month...in the afternoon. People are tired and want to go home. Plus they are more flexible when trying to lower their end of month inventory.

4. Never mention a trade. Always talk about the car. The goal is to get a deal done on the car. Throw the trade in later as part of the negotiating. Never talk about a down payment either. Thrown that in later while in the finance office as a tactic to get a lower interest rate.

5. Never. Never ever. Never ever ever mention anything about a monthly payment, monthly budget, or anything that will mark you as a sucker. I do some calculations before hand and come up with the highest total cost that I am willing to pay.

6. Stay firm but fair. Don't try to get them for a ridiculously low offer but one that is fair. You want a price that is fair, maybe on the low side, but enough meat on the bone to take you seriously. Write your price down on a piece of paper and sign it. Say these exact words. "I will drive this car home today for $_______" They will then take it to their imaginary sales manager and come back with some bullshit. Stay firm and don't be afraid to break the deal. Because you did your research before hand, you already know where to get this car at the price you want. Use this information to your advantage.

7. Don't sweat "the box" The most effective sales tactic that they have is when they leave you sitting there in a confined office, or at a table for a long period of time with nothing but your thoughts. They are most likely out back smoking, bullshitting, talking to their so-called manager about what a sucker you are. I will normally get up and wonder around the lot. Make them come looking for me. Or if it takes too long I'll head over to my car.

8. Eventually they will agree with you. You might have to come up a little just to get it done but once they realize that they aren't dealing with an idiot they normally just want to get you out of there so that they can make money off of another sucker. Now it is time to throw in the possibility of a trade. Know how much your car is worth. Bring a copy of the blue book value and know what the auction value is. They will offer you below that - so that they can auction the car off and make money off of it. They don't normally resale the car at that particular dealership. They want to get rid of it asap but make money off of it at the same time. Dealers will not offer you what you think your car is worth, only what is possible to maximize their overall profit. If you want to make money - put out an ad on Craigslist.

9. They will take you to the finance office. Remember, you are there to sign loan papers - not to purchase expensive and unnecessary extended warranties. You don't need them. You can pay your car off quicker without adding another 5-7 grand on top of the loan.

10. Drive your new car home and celebrate the fact that you didn't get hosed

Nicely done.

Last time around, I created an exel spreadsheet that I could plug in every variable (sale price, document fee, taxes, title fee, trade in value, down payment, interest rate, length of loan) and it would spit out the monthly payment. I liked that tool.