Negotiating for a new car.....SCARY!!!?

Question

I have my eye a new vehicle. The dealer already is telling me the incentives total $3800 for a 2007 model car. Will it be a waste of time to deal further with the car or do you think I can go below that? I know they need to move them off the lot for next model year. Any Thoughts?

Answer 1

The incentives come from the Manufacturer, so yes you can negotiate below just the rebates. You will get the best price when you are in the dealership ready to buy. I would research the vehicle's invoice at edmunds.com, so you have a better understanding of how much markup is in the car.

Smaller cars, such as Mazda 3's and Civic's do not have much mark up, however an Escalade will have over $4,000. The best close for you will be to offer the dealership a commitment to purchase Don't say this if you are not ready to actually take the car home.

A fair price is $500 over invoice, however if it is a leftover 2007 model and there are several 2008 models in stock, the dealership might be more aggressive at reducing the price even further. Make sure you negotiate everything separate, such as the vehicles price, rebates, trade in, and any fees. In addition, sometimes there are special financing rates in lieu of the $3,800 so ask about that and have them figure payments using the rebates with bank rates v/s the vehicles reduced price with the special rate.

I will give you a link to a dealer worksheet you can use and fill out before you make your decision. You can email me through Yahoo if you have questions. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Form:
http://www.theautoevaluator.net/dealerworksheet.html

Explanation:
http://www.theautoevaluator.net/Worksheet.html

Answer 2

The more you think the more chance you have of losing. And from your comments, I can see you are thinking.
"You know they have to move them off the lot" Who told you that, do you have access to the dealer's sales, allocations, profit by vehicle sold, sales of accessories, warranties, special non-disclosed incentives, floor plan rebates from manufactuer. Of course a big no. I hope you get my point.

Also do not listen to the chatter. I have helped a number of people buy cars. I tell them to expect X, Y and Z, and they are shocked when it goes down exactly as I described.
Right off the bat I would bet you not close to the lowest price possible. The incentive has NOTHING to do with the dealer's margins. That is a discount offered by the manufacturer. Meaning the dealer is saying I don't need to discount because the OEM has discounted. Huh? The reason they have to offer incentives is because they set the MSRP at some fantasy level. It is like a store raising a price 20% then offering a 20% off sale.
Summary - Go to at least four dealers. Until you hear four "No's" you are not getting the best price. Back to my first point.....No thinking required, keep going back to each dealer and asking for a lower price.
When they ask, "Do we have a deal" Sure as long as the other dealer's don't beat your price.
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Answer 3

well, some dealer will drop it, if your were to approve on the spot...and take the car on the spot,. which sign it!......, ;^) but don't buy it yet! First let him check out your credit, after that then you can go from there... you might wanna test drive it for a week or so.. can you can do that use any rental car company... because get your self in to a new car is almost the second biggest decision .. simmer to buying house.. so now, go to driving.ca... and don't buy American cars.. in the long run, if were to get stick and tired of diving it.. its gonna be hard to sell, and more stress for you... until then good luck!

Answer 4

YES.... I had the same problem, got those stupid cards. Call the company and tell them that you would like to pay your debt, and if there is a settlement amount. Depending on how overdue these are then there should be a settlement amount. If these are like a few months of charges then just ask. "Is there a way to get the balances lowered if I am to pay today (or send in the mail, or whatever you are doing) " ? It never hurts to ask. The worst that could happen would be that they tell you no and you already have the money to pay it off. Go for it!

Answer 5

Check around, It's not hard to call a few car lots and get quotes over the phone, even from other cities. let them know you're shopping around. It's not uncommon to sell a $20,000 car for $23,000 and give a $3000 "discount".

Answer 6

Save yourself a lot of time and headache and use:

http://www.carsdirect.com/home

I practically bought my car online without talking to anyone.

More important than the price, is the interest rate on the loan- get your own financing before going to the dealer.